Italian · Upper intermediate (B2) · Chapter 3 of 12
Film, books and media
Libri e film
Talk about books and films in Italian: recognise the passato remoto, summarise a plot in the present and give a nuanced opinion.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Recognise the passato remoto in books and in southern speech
- Summarise the plot of a book or film
- Give a nuanced opinion about a book or film
Listen
In Cosenza, Carmela and Vittorio, who moved there from Milan, talk about the novel their book club is reading. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Vittorio
Allora, Carmela, hai finito il Gattopardo? Io sono arrivato a metà.
So, Carmela, have you finished The Leopard? I'm halfway through.
Carmela
Sì, l'ho finito ieri sera. Ma io lo lessi già da ragazza, a scuola. Mi piacque tanto, e anche questa volta mi è piaciuto moltissimo.
Yes, I finished it last night. But I'd already read it as a girl, at school. I liked it a lot, and this time too I really loved it.
Vittorio
“Lo lessi”? A Milano nessuno parla così: diciamo “l'ho letto”.
“Lo lessi”? Nobody talks like that in Milan: we say “l'ho letto”.
Carmela
Qui in Calabria invece il passato remoto lo usiamo anche parlando, soprattutto per le cose lontane nel tempo. Ma dimmi: ti piace?
Here in Calabria, on the other hand, we use the passato remoto when we speak too, especially for things that happened long ago. But tell me: do you like it?
Vittorio
Sì, anche se all'inizio mi sembrava un po' lento. La trama è semplice: nel 1860 Garibaldi sbarca in Sicilia, e il principe di Salina capisce che il suo mondo sta per finire.
Yes, although at first it seemed a bit slow to me. The plot is simple: in 1860 Garibaldi lands in Sicily, and the Prince of Salina realises that his world is about to end.
Carmela
Esatto. Ma per me il personaggio più interessante è Tancredi, il nipote del principe. La frase più famosa del libro è sua.
Exactly. But for me the most interesting character is Tancredi, the prince's nephew. The most famous line in the book is his.
Vittorio
“Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come è, bisogna che tutto cambi.” La conosco: la usano tutti quando parlano di politica.
“If we want everything to stay as it is, everything has to change.” I know it: everyone uses it when they talk about politics.
Carmela
Sai che all'inizio nessuno lo voleva pubblicare? Lo rifiutarono due editori, e uscì nel cinquantotto, quando Tomasi di Lampedusa era già morto.
Did you know that at first nobody wanted to publish it? Two publishers turned it down, and it came out in '58, when Tomasi di Lampedusa had already died.
Vittorio
Davvero? Che peccato. E l'anno dopo ha vinto lo Strega, vero?
Really? What a shame. And the year after, it won the Strega, didn't it?
Carmela
Sì. E nel sessantatré Visconti ne fece un film bellissimo, con Burt Lancaster e Claudia Cardinale. Te lo consiglio.
Yes. And in '63 Visconti made a beautiful film of it, with Burt Lancaster and Claudia Cardinale. I recommend it.
Vittorio
L'ho visto anni fa, ma non mi ha convinto del tutto: è lunghissimo. Magari lo rivedo dopo il libro.
I saw it years ago, but it didn't completely win me over: it's extremely long. Maybe I'll watch it again after the book.
Carmela
Fai bene. Allora ci vediamo giovedì al gruppo di lettura. Sono curiosa di sentire cosa ne pensano gli altri.
Good idea. See you on Thursday at the book club, then. I'm curious to hear what the others think of it.
Understand
The passato remoto
The is another past tense. It means the same as the passato prossimo, “I did”, but it's for a past that is finished and far away. You'll meet it in novels, history books, biographies and fairy tales: (Garibaldi landed in Sicily in 1860).
In conversation, northern Italians almost never use it. In much of the south, especially in Sicily and Calabria, people use it when they speak too, and in Tuscany it's also still heard in conversation. You mainly need to recognise it: the / form () and the form () are the most common.
| Person | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | ||||
| / / | / | |||
| / |
Irregular passato remoto
Many common verbs are irregular, but usually only in three forms: , / and . The other forms are regular: gives . So if you know the form, you can guess the other two: → .
follows the same pattern: . is regular here: (he / she died). Its participle is irregular: (he has died).
| Infinitive | / | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Telling a plot, giving an opinion
To summarise the plot () of a book or a film, Italians use the present, as in English: . + infinitive means “to be about to”: (The film is about to start).
At B2, try to give opinions with nuance, not just or : say what you liked and what you didn't.
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| I liked it, although it's a bit slow. | |
| It didn't completely win me over. | |
| You can read it in a day. | |
| The ending surprised me. | |
| I recommend it (to you). |
More in the grammar: The passato remoto: the narrative past
New words
- la metàhalf · = I'm halfway through
- soprattuttoespecially, above all
- all'inizioat first, at the beginning
- lentoslow
- la tramaplot, storyline
- sbarcareto land (from a ship)
- stare perto be about to · = it's about to end
- il personaggiocharacter (in a story)
- la frasesentence; line, saying
- rimanereto stay, to remain · irregular: , ; congiuntivo
- pubblicareto publish
- rifiutareto turn down, to refuse
- l'editorepublisher · masculine; = publishing house
- il gruppo di letturabook club, reading group
Practise
1.Carmela says Which tense is ?
2.Match the passato remoto forms with their meanings.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
3.Complete with the passato remoto of .
In May 1860 Garibaldi landed in Sicily.
4.Complete with (the film).
Quick, let's go in: the film is about to start.
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.The film didn't completely win me over.
6.Which is the most natural way to summarise a plot?
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Mi è piaciuto, anche se all'inizio mi sembrava un po' lento.
I liked it, although at first it seemed a bit slow to me.
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.