Lezione Numero Due/Lesson Number Two
Watch a video:
Lesson 2, Part 1: Language Instruction
Il Carnevale/Carnival
- Oggi in Italia inizia il Carnevale./Today in Italy, Carnival begins.
- Carnevale is a farewell to meat.
- It's an historically pagan celebration of the passage from winter to spring.
- For Christians, il Carnevale became the period of big celebrations before quaresima/lent, that is instead a period of repentance, when people give up certain luxuries (until Easter Sunday).
- Next Tuesday, Martedì Grasso/Fat Tuesday, Carnevale ends and the quaresima begins. There are big festivities.
- We eat sweet treats, like frittelle (fried sweet dumplings, cream puffs) e chiacchiere.
- People (mostly kids) wear costumes. There are guge parades in Venezia, Viareggio (vicino a Pisa), Ivrea.
Determinative Articles
Listen to the instructor speak about determinative articles:
Determinative articles (MP3 - 1.1MB)
Where Do You Come From
| ITALIAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| (Tu) Da dove vieni? | Where do you come from? |
| (Io) Vengo da Salò, in Italia | I come from Salò, in Italy |
| Io Vengo da Boston, negli Stati Uniti | I come from Boston, United States |
Listen to the instructor speak about how to express where you come from.
Da dove vieni? Where do you come from? (MP3 - 1.7MB)
This, That, These, Those
| ITALIAN | ENGLISH |
|---|---|
| Questo (masc. sing.) | This, close to the speaker |
| Codesto (masc. sing.) | That, close to the listener, mostly in disuse |
| Quello (masc. sing.) | That, from the both the speaker and the listener |
| Questo, Questa | This |
| Questi, Queste | These |
| Quello, Quella | That |
| Quelli, Quelle | Those |
| Questa sera-> Stasera cuciniamo | Tonight-> Tonight we cook |
| Questa cipolla è più grande di quella. | This onion is larger than that. |
| Queste cipolle sono più piccole di quelle. | These onions are smaller than those. |
Listen to the instructor speak about how to say "this", "that", "these", and "those".
This, That, These, and Those (MP3 - 1.3MB)
Compiti/Assignments
Dettato/Dictation
Ascolta e scrivi. /Listen and write.
Use this audio file for the dictation exercise.
Dictation exercise (MP3 - 1.7MB)
Related Resources
Light on the Piazza: The Newsletter for Lovers of Italian Culture
