Emergency services
Servizi di emergenza
- Know the names of emergency services of your new country.
- Calling and advising about situations.
- The past perfect
Learn to handle emergency situations in Italian using dialogues and key expressions like 'emergenza' (emergency), 'ambulanza' (ambulance), and 'incendio' (fire). Master the trapassato prossimo tense to describe past actions effectively.
Listening & reading materials
Practice vocabulary in context with real materials.
Vocabulary (14) Share Copied!
Exercises Share Copied!
These exercises can be done together during conversation lessons or as homework.
Exercise 1: Translate and use in a sentence
Instruction: Pick a word, translated and use the word in a sentence or dialogue.
1
Avere un'emergenza
To have an emergency
2
L'emergenza
The emergency
3
Il kit di primo soccorso
The first-aid kit
4
Il soccorso
The rescue
5
Avere paura
To be afraid
Exercise 2: Dialogue Cards
Instruction: Select a situation and practice the conversation with your teacher or fellow students.
Exercise 3: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Choose the correct solution
1. Quando ________ un'emergenza, avevamo già chiamato la Croce Rossa.
(When ________ an emergency, we had already called the Red Cross.)2. Prima che arrivassero i pompieri, ________ spento il fuoco con un estintore.
(Before the firefighters arrived, ________ put out the fire with a fire extinguisher.)3. Lei ________ chiamato il paramedico perché aveva sentito il paziente peggiorare.
(She ________ called the paramedic because she had heard the patient getting worse.)4. Eravamo andati al pronto soccorso dopo che ________ salvato la persona dall'incendio.
(We had gone to the emergency room after ________ rescued the person from the fire.)Exercise 4: The office incident
Instruction:
Verb Tables
Sentire - Hear
Trapassato prossimo
- Io avevo sentito
- Tu avevi sentito
- Lui/lei aveva sentito
- Noi avevamo sentito
- Voi avevate sentito
- Loro avevano sentito
Controllare - Check
Passato prossimo
- Io ho controllato
- Tu hai controllato
- Lui/lei ha controllato
- Noi abbiamo controllato
- Voi avete controllato
- Loro hanno controllato
Chiamare - Call
Trapassato prossimo
- Io avevo chiamato
- Tu avevi chiamato
- Lui/lei aveva chiamato
- Noi avevamo chiamato
- Voi avevate chiamato
- Loro avevano chiamato
Ringraziare - Thank
Trapassato prossimo
- Io avevo ringraziato
- Tu avevi ringraziato
- Lui/lei aveva ringraziato
- Noi avevamo ringraziato
- Voi avevate ringraziato
- Loro avevano ringraziato
Essere - Be
Trapassato prossimo
- Io ero stato/a
- Tu eri stato/a
- Lui/lei era stato/a
- Noi eravamo stati/e
- Voi eravate stati/e
- Loro erano stati/e
Exercise 5: Il trapassato prossimo
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
Grammar: The past perfect
Show translation Show answersaveva avuto, avevano usato, aveva chiamato, erano andati, avevi visto, avevamo salvato, avevano spento, avevamo chiamato
Grammar Share Copied!
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Verb conjugation tables for this lesson Share Copied!
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Trapassato prossimo
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| (io) avevo salvato | I had saved |
| (tu) avevi salvato | You had saved |
| (lui/lei) aveva salvato | He/she had saved |
| (noi) avevamo salvato | we had saved |
| (voi) avevate salvato | You had saved |
| (loro) avevano salvato | they had saved |
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Lesson Overview: Emergency Services in Italian
This lesson focuses on how to communicate effectively during emergencies in Italian, using common scenarios such as calling for help during an accident, reporting a fire, or requesting an ambulance for sudden illness. It is designed for learners at the A2 level, introducing important vocabulary, practical dialogues, and the use of the trapassato prossimo tense (past perfect) to describe actions completed before other past events.
Key Learning Points
- Vocabulary: Essential words and expressions related to emergency situations: soccorso (rescue), incidente (accident), ambulanza (ambulance), incendio (fire), pompieri (firefighters), malore (illness).
- Dialogue Practice: Simulated phone calls to emergency services covering different scenarios, helping you practice realistic conversations and specific questions like Dove ti trovi esattamente? (Where exactly are you?) and responses including providing personal information and explaining situations concisely.
- Grammar Focus: The trapassato prossimo tense is emphasized to describe actions that happened before another past action, for example, avevo chiamato (I had called), avevamo spento (we had put out). This tense enhances your storytelling and reporting in past narratives.
Example Vocabulary and Phrases
- Chiamare i soccorsi - to call for help
- Incidente stradale - road accident
- È già arrivata l'ambulanza - The ambulance has already arrived
- Ho provato a spegnere il fuoco - I tried to put out the fire
- Mio padre ha avuto un malore improvviso - My father had a sudden illness
The Trapassato Prossimo Tense in Context
This tense expresses what had already happened before another event in the past. For example:
- Example: Ieri pomeriggio, mentre lavoravamo, un collega aveva sentito un forte rumore vicino alla stampante. (Yesterday afternoon, while we were working, a colleague had heard a loud noise near the printer.)
Verb conjugations follow the pattern of the auxiliary verb (usually "avere" or "essere" in the imperfect) plus the past participle. For example, Io avevo chiamato, tu avevi sentito.
Differences Between English and Italian in Emergency Communication
Unlike English, Italian often uses more formal and structured ways to report emergencies, especially on the phone. For example, the repeated use of full sentences like Ho già chiamato (I have already called) is common to clarify actions taken. The trapassato prossimo tense, which corresponds loosely to the past perfect in English, is essential for describing events that occurred before other past events and is more frequently used in Italian narratives than in casual English.
Useful phrases include:
- Pronto, sono caduto... – Hello, I have fallen...
- Hai già fornito i tuoi dati? – Have you already provided your details?
- Stanno arrivando, per favore stai al sicuro. – They are arriving, please stay safe.
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