Learn about cause and effect situations
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Dana: Hi everyone, and welcome back to RomanianPod101.com. This is Intermediate Season 1 Lesson 2 - A Frustrating Romanian School Situation. Dana Here. |
| Mihai: Bună. I'm Mihai. |
| Dana: In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about cause and effect situations. The conversation takes place at the family dinner table at home. |
| Mihai: It's between Peter Mareș, Maria Mareș and Denisa. |
| Dana: The speakers are family members; therefore, they will speak in informal Romanian. Okay, let's listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUE |
| Maria Mareș: Cum a fost azi la școală, Denisa? |
| Denisa: Sunt foarte supărată pe Cristina și Sara, nu mai vorbesc cu ele. Sunt niște tâmpite! |
| Maria Mareș: Cum așa? Ce s-a întâmplat de te-au supărat așa de tare? |
| Petru Mareș: Tot din cauza notelor, Denisa? Nu ți-am zis că uneori e mai important să colaborezi decât să faci pe deșteapta? |
| Denisa: Tată, nu mai vorbesc cu tine. Mă superi. |
| Maria Mareș: Petru, las-o să vorbească. E important să ne spună ce s-a întâmplat exact și de ce s-a supărat pe fete. |
| Denisa: Păi, da, Cristina a început să zică celorlalți din clasă că eu am luat tema de pe Internet și că nu e corect că iau note bune și nu e pe merit. Dar, nu e adevărat! |
| Maria Mareș: Și i-ai spus asta? |
| Petru Mareș: Dar, stai puțin, de ce a zis așa ceva, în primul rând? Ce motive a avut? |
| Maria Mareș: Petru, iar ne întrerupi. Denisa e un copil cuminte și ambițios, dar, ca orice copil, are nevoie să fie ascultată și susținută. |
| Dana: Listen to the conversation with the English translation |
| Maria Mareș: How was school today, Denisa? |
| Denisa: I'm very angry at Cristina and Sara, I don't talk to them anymore. They're stupid! |
| Maria Mareș: How so? What happened for you to get so upset? |
| Peter Mareș: Is it because of the grades again, Denisa? Didn't I tell you that sometimes it's more important to collaborate than to be a know-it-all? |
| Denisa: Dad, I'm not talking to you anymore. You’ve upset me. |
| Maria Mareș: Peter, let her talk. It's important to tell us what exactly happened and why she got mad at the girls. |
| Denisa: Well, yes, Cristina started telling others in the class that I took the homework from the Internet and it's not fair that I get good grades and in fact I don’t deserve them. But that isn't true! |
| Maria Mareș: And did you tell her that? |
| Peter Mareș: But wait a minute, why did she say that in the first place? What reasons did she have? |
| Maria Mareș: Peter, you interrupted us again. Denisa is a good and ambitious child, but like any child, she needs to be supported and listened to. |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Dana: Well, it’s a good thing that Denisa is getting good grades, but it’s not good that she’s being accused of cheating. |
| Mihai: No, it isn’t, is it? The grading system in Romanian schools can lead to rivalries between children though. |
| Dana: I guess so. It can affect the parents too. How does the Romanian grading system work? |
| Mihai: Students are scored on a scale of one to ten, with ten being the highest score. |
| Dana: That’s pretty straight forward. What would be considered a passing score? |
| Mihai: At least five. This grading system is also used at both the undergraduate and postgraduate level. |
| Dana: Okay. Now, what about exams? What are the important exams for Romanian students? |
| Mihai: There are two. The first is taken in eighth grade and it’s called the National Exam. This is taken to see what high school students can go to. |
| Dana: What is the second important exam? |
| Mihai: The Baccalaureate. This is taken at the end of high school. |
| Dana: So after that exam, students can choose what to do with their lives - whether that is to go to college, a professional school or start working. |
| Mihai: That’s right. There are critics of the Romanian system, however. Some believe the exams only test the ability to take exams and not actual knowledge. |
| Dana: Okay, now onto the vocab. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Dana: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Mihai: tâmpit [natural native speed] |
| Dana: stupid |
| Mihai: tâmpit[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: tâmpit [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: supărat [natural native speed] |
| Dana: angry |
| Mihai: supărat[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: supărat [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: din cauza [natural native speed] |
| Dana: because of |
| Mihai: din cauza[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: din cauza [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: a colabora [natural native speed] |
| Dana: to collaborate |
| Mihai: a colabora[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: a colabora [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: deștept [natural native speed] |
| Dana: smart |
| Mihai: deștept[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: deștept [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: a lăsa [natural native speed] |
| Dana: to let |
| Mihai: a lăsa[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: a lăsa [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: exact [natural native speed] |
| Dana: precisely |
| Mihai: exact[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: exact [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: temă [natural native speed] |
| Dana: homework |
| Mihai: temă[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: temă [natural native speed] |
| Dana: Next we have.. |
| Mihai: notă [natural native speed] |
| Dana: grade |
| Mihai: notă[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: notă [natural native speed] |
| Dana: And last.. |
| Mihai: cuminte [natural native speed] |
| Dana: good |
| Mihai: cuminte[slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Mihai: cuminte [natural native speed] |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Dana: Let's have a closer look at the usage of some of the words and phrases from this lesson. The first word is.. |
| Mihai: a fi supărat pe |
| Dana: meaning "to be angry at." |
| Dana: This is a verbal phrase. |
| Mihai: First is the infinitive form of the verb a fi, meaning “to be,” then the adjective supărat, meaning “angry,” and finally the preposition pe. |
| Dana: That means “at.” In this case, “angry” is in masculine singular. |
| Mihai: You can use this to say that someone was upset by something in particular. |
| Dana: It shows the transitivity of that action. |
| Mihai: Yes, it highlights what the person is angry at. |
| Dana: Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Mihai: Sure. For example, you can say.. Mihai este supărat pe Andreea pentru că nu i-a răspuns la mesaje de trei zile. |
| Dana: ..which means "Mihai is angry at Andreea for not answering his messages for three days." |
| Dana: Okay, what's the next word? |
| Mihai: a face pe deșteptul |
| Dana: meaning "to be a know-it-all." |
| Dana: This is another verbal phrase. |
| Mihai: First is the infinitive form of the verb a face, meaning “to do.” Then there is the preposition pe and finally the articulated form of the noun deștept. |
| Dana: This means “smart one” and is in masculine singular. We translate it as “to be a know-it-all.” |
| Mihai: You can use this to show the arrogance of someone who claims to be smarter than others. |
| Dana: Is this an informal phrase? |
| Mihai: Yes, it is. In formal situations you can use a fi arogant |
| Dana: “To be arrogant.” Can you give us an example using this phrase? |
| Mihai: Sure. For example, you can say, Tatei întotdeauna i-a plăcut să facă pe deșteptul. |
| Dana: .. which means "Dad always liked to be a know-it-all." |
| Dana: Okay, now onto the lesson focus. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Dana: In this lesson, you'll learn how to talk about cause and effect situations. |
| Dana: We’ll start by looking at partial interrogations. We usually use these to ask about a specific cause of events or situations. |
| Mihai: They’re usually composed of the adverb cum, meaning “how,” or the indefinite pronoun ce. |
| Dana: This means “what.” These are then typically followed by a verb or a phrase. |
| Mihai: These phrases include a verb and a preposition, conjunction or adverb. |
| Dana: Let’s look at these interrogatives a bit more in depth. First we’ll look at “what for?” and “why?” |
| Mihai: You can express these with De ce? You can use this on its own, or with a verb or sentence to give context. |
| Dana: Next, let’s look at “How?” |
| Mihai: This is cum? It’s usually used in structures such as pairing it with a verb, or using cum de with a verb. |
| Dana: That means “how come…?” Finally, let’s look at “what?” |
| Mihai: This is Ce? You can use pentru ce with a verb. |
| Dana: “For what?” or “For why?” |
| Mihai: Or you can use din ce motiv/cauză with a verb. |
| Dana: “For what reason?” or “for what cause?” Now, let’s hear a couple of example sentences. |
| Mihai: Cum de nu ai mai mers azi la școală, Mihai? |
| Dana: “How come you did not go to school today, Mihai?” |
| Mihai: Ce s-a întâmplat? Cum se face că ești încă în București? |
| Dana: “What happened? How come you are still in Bucharest?” Let’s now move onto talking about reasons. There are so many different ways to give reasons. |
| Mihai: Right. We don’t have time to go through them all in this podcast, so make sure to check the lesson notes. |
| Dana: Yes. We’ll give you some example sentences though! |
| Mihai: Mai întâi a trebuit să merg la bunica, apoi să fac curat prin casă. |
| Dana: “First, I had to go to my grandmother and then clean up the house.” |
| Mihai: Din cauza banilor nu am mai putut merge în Grecia anul acesta. |
| Dana: “Because of the money I could not go to Greece this year.” |
| Mihai: N-am mai luat nimic de mâncare fiindcă ne grăbeam cu toții să prindem autobuzul de ora zece. |
| Dana: “We did not take any food because we were all in a hurry to catch the bus at ten o'clock.” |
Outro |
| Dana: Okay, that’s all for this lesson. Thank you for listening, everyone, and we’ll see you next time! Bye! |
| Mihai: La revedere. |
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