Italian · Intermediate (B1) · Chapter 12 of 12
Telling your story
La mia storia
Review B1 Italian: tell a life story with all the past tenses and the passive, and talk about hopes and dreams with the congiuntivo and conditional.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Tell your life story with all the past tenses
- Explain why things happened
- Talk about hopes and wishes for yourself and others
- Imagine a different life with se + congiuntivo imperfetto
Listen
In Matera, the journalist Leonardo Bruno interviews Angela De Luca, a retired teacher who runs a B&B in the Sassi, the old town. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Leonardo
Signora De Luca, grazie per l'intervista. Lei è nata qui a Matera, vero?
Ms De Luca, thank you for the interview. You were born here in Matera, weren't you?
Angela
Sì, sono nata nel sessantaquattro, proprio qui nei Sassi. Ma quando avevo sei anni, la mia famiglia si è trasferita in un quartiere nuovo.
Yes, I was born in '64, right here in the Sassi. But when I was six, my family moved to a new neighbourhood.
Leonardo
Perché?
Why?
Angela
Nei Sassi si viveva male: molte case non avevano l'acqua corrente. Per questo lo Stato aveva costruito dei quartieri nuovi.
Life in the Sassi was hard: many homes had no running water. That's why the state had built new neighbourhoods.
Leonardo
E Lei che lavoro ha fatto?
And what did you do for a living?
Angela
Ho insegnato matematica in una scuola media per trent'anni. Quando sono andata in pensione, ho comprato una vecchia casa nei Sassi, in cui ho aperto un bed and breakfast.
I taught maths at a middle school for thirty years. When I retired, I bought an old house in the Sassi, where I opened a bed and breakfast.
Leonardo
Perché proprio un B&B?
Why a B&B, of all things?
Angela
Siccome amo la mia città, volevo che i turisti la conoscessero bene. E mi piaceva l'idea di tornare dove ero nata.
Since I love my city, I wanted tourists to get to know it well. And I liked the idea of going back to where I was born.
Leonardo
Com'è cambiata Matera negli ultimi anni?
How has Matera changed in recent years?
Angela
Moltissimo. Nel duemiladiciannove è stata Capitale europea della cultura, e oggi la città viene visitata da turisti di tutto il mondo.
Enormously. In 2019 it was European Capital of Culture, and today the city is visited by tourists from all over the world.
Leonardo
Ha ancora qualche sogno per il futuro?
Do you still have any dreams for the future?
Angela
Sì. Mi piacerebbe scrivere un libro sulla storia della mia famiglia, e spero che i miei nipoti restino a Matera. Se potessi tornare indietro, rifarei tutto.
Yes. I'd like to write a book about my family's history, and I hope my grandchildren stay in Matera. If I could go back, I'd do it all again.
Understand
A life story: the past tenses
A life story uses all the past tenses you know. The tells the main events (, ), the describes how things were (, ), and the goes further back (). The passive and help you talk about what was done and what people did.
For years, use + the number: , or simply (in '64), (in 2019).
| Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| I taught for thirty years. | ||
| imperfetto | … | When I was six… |
| trapassato prossimo | The state had built new neighbourhoods. | |
| impersonal | Life was hard. | |
| passive | The city is visited by lots of tourists. |
Hopes and wishes, for you and for others
After , use the congiuntivo presente: . After a past verb like , and after (I'd like someone to…), use the congiuntivo imperfetto: (I wanted tourists to get to know it).
For your own wishes, use the conditional: . To imagine, use + congiuntivo imperfetto + conditional: (If I could go back, I'd do it all again).
- Vorrei che tu venissi a trovarmi.I'd like you to come and see me.
- Mia madre voleva che facessi il medico.My mother wanted me to be a doctor.
- Se avessi più tempo, imparerei il tedesco.If I had more time, I'd learn German.
Linking ideas
In a longer story, these words hold your sentences together and show why things happened. Use them to speak in longer sentences, not just short ones.
| Italian | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| where, in which | ||
| since, as | , … | |
| that's why | ||
| since then | ||
| when | , … | |
| in the end |
More in the grammar: If-clauses: se + present, se + congiuntivo imperfetto · Relative pronouns: che, cui, il quale, quello che · The conditional: would and would have · The congiuntivo: the Italian subjunctive · The passive and si: è stato fatto, si dice · The trapassato prossimo: had done · The sequence of tenses: la concordanza dei tempi
New words
- l'intervistainterview (for a newspaper, radio or TV) · feminine; a job interview is
- proprioright, exactly; really · = right here; …? = why… of all things?
- trasferirsito move (house, town) · like : ; = we moved
- vivereto live · ; = life was hard
- lo Statothe state · masculine; with a capital S for the country's government
- costruireto build · like :
- insegnareto teach · = I taught maths
- la scuola mediamiddle school · feminine; for children aged 11 to 14
- il mondoworld · masculine; = from all over the world
- la storiahistory; story · feminine
- il nipote / la nipotegrandchild; nephew, niece · = grandchildren
- restareto stay · with : /
- tornare indietroto go back (in time or on a road)
- rifareto do again · like : = I'd do it all again
Practise
1.Complete: “Quando ___ sei anni, la mia famiglia si è trasferita.”
2.Complete with the congiuntivo imperfetto of .
I wanted tourists to get to know it well.
3.Complete with the trapassato prossimo of .
The state had built new neighbourhoods.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.If I could go back, I'd do it all again.
5.Complete: “Spero che i miei nipoti ___ a Matera.”
6.Match the Italian with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Sono nata a Matera, ma adesso vivo a Roma.
I was born in Matera, but now I live in Rome. (said by a woman)
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.