Welcome to another episode of Coffee Break Italian Season 3! This time we’re introducing a new type of verb: the conditional mood. Join Mark and Francesca as they explain how and when to use the conditional in order to be more polite; to give advice; and to say that something would happen or occur if circumstances were different. We then hear the conditional in context during a conversation between two characters at a doctor’s appointment. Along the way, we hear some useful expressions including fare gli straordinari and non se ne parla nemmeno!.

In this episode of Coffee Break Italian, Mark and Francesca introduce a new grammar point: the very useful si impersonale or “impersonal si”. We learn how the word si can be used as a generic subject in order to avoid specific reference to a person or group of people. We also learn how to form this impersonal structure with different tenses, provided the verb is in the third person singular form. We then hear this grammar point during a conversation between Elena, a teacher of English, and her friends Alberto and Cinzia. Listen out for some useful phrases such as: dare una mano, fare due passi and roba da matti!