One World Italiano Lezione 39 - Livello Pre-intermedio (A2)

In this thirty-ninth lesson, Veronica will teach us how to talk about past events using various imperfect expressions. Today, Veronica is in a gossip mood! Yesterday she couldn't go to a party because she was sick, and now she wants to call her friend Laura to ask who was there, what happened, etc. In short, she wants to gossip a little and let us in on it! By listening to her phone conversation, we learned some new expressions for describing past events. There was/There were = "There is"/"There are" in the imperfect tense Negative form = "There wasn't"/"There weren't" The noun "gente," although it indicates a plurality of people, is singular: therefore, the accompanying verb is also singular = C'era tanta gente "C'era tanta gente" has the same meaning as "c'erano tante persone": in the latter case, the verb is plural because "persone" is a plural noun. The imperfect, as we know, is used to describe things, situations, and people in the past tense and to describe situations that were repeated over time. The imperfect is also used to describe simultaneous actions (e.g., "While I was eating, I was watching TV" = two actions that occurred simultaneously in the past, which is why the imperfect is used). The imperfect is also used to describe actions that extend over time, unlike the past perfect, which is used to describe immediate actions. E.g., "While Laura was speaking, Claudio wasn't listening and was looking at his smartphone": these are actions that lasted a long time. The imperfect is also useful to describe unfinished actions that occurred at a specific moment but are extended over time. E.g., "At 10 o'clock I was still sleeping." (I don't care when I went to sleep or when I woke up, I just want to say that I was asleep at that time, and sleeping is an action that extends over time.) We also learned some new expressions. To put on airs: A person who puts on airs is a snob. It's not worth it: There's no point wasting time and energy trying to achieve something. Come mai?: Meaning "why?" Scommetto che...: Meaning "I'm sure of this, so much so that I'll bet on it." Study with us online: https://www.oneworldonlineschool.com/ Study with us in Italy: https://oneworlditaliano.it/ Follow us on Facebook:   / oneworlditaliano   Follow us on Instagram:   / oneworlditaliano