ascoltare
listen
The Italian word 'ascoltare' is used to express the act of listening, just like in English. It is a verb that can be used in various tenses and contexts, such as 'ascolto' (I listen), 'ascolti' (you listen), 'ascolta' (he/she listens), and so on. It is an important word to know when learning Italian, as it is used in many everyday situations, such as listening to music, listening to a lecture, or listening to a conversation.
Example sentences using: ascoltare
Ascoltare la radio è rilassante.
Listening to the radio is relaxing.
This sentence demonstrates the usage of the word 'ascoltare', which means 'to listen', in its infinitive form. The phrase is used to declare a personal opinion about a habitual action. Note that Italian uses the definite article 'la' before the noun 'radio'.
Devo ascoltare il medico.
I must listen to the doctor.
In this example, 'ascoltare' is used to indicate an obligation or a duty. Verbs like 'devo' which mean 'must' or 'have to', often come before the infinitive form of another verb (in this case, 'ascoltare') to indicate necessity.
Ti piace ascoltare la musica?
Do you like listening to music?
This sentence is an example of how 'ascoltare' can be used in a question. The phrase 'Ti piace' literally translates to 'Does it please you?', but it's culturally understood it as 'Do you like?'. This demonstrates how questions can be formed in Italian by switching the order of the subject and the verb.