ItalianA2Lesson 4.2
🇮🇹 Italian A2 · Lesson 4.2

Dal dottore — At the doctor's

Understand advice using deve, dovrebbe and the imperative.

Listen first

A doctor gives advice to a patient with the flu.

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New vocabulary — tap to hear
il medico / il dottorethe doctor 🔊
la medicinathe medicine 🔊
deve riposareyou must rest 🔊
dovrebbe bereyou should drink 🔊
la ricettathe prescription 🔊
la farmaciathe pharmacy 🔊

Now say it

Tap the phrase to hear it, then press the mic and repeat — we score your pronunciation for real (Chrome/Edge).

« Dovrebbe riposare e bere molta acqua per qualche giorno. » 🔊
You should rest and drink plenty of water for a few days.
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Pronunciation

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Read the dialogue

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Dottore, ho la febbre e mi fa male tutto il corpo. 🔊Doctor, I have a fever and my whole body aches.
Ha l'influenza. Deve riposare e bere molta acqua. 🔊You have the flu. You must rest and drink plenty of water.
Devo prendere una medicina? 🔊Do I need to take any medicine?
Sì, prenda questa. E dovrebbe stare a casa due o tre giorni. 🔊Yes, take this one. And you should stay home for two or three days.
D'accordo, vado subito in farmacia con la ricetta. 🔊All right, I'll go straight to the pharmacy with the prescription.
Grammar in focus · dovere & advice

Dovere expresses obligation: deve riposare (you must rest, formal), devi bere (informal). For softer advice use the conditional dovrebbe / dovresti (you should): dovrebbe mangiare di meno. The formal imperative uses the Lei form: Prenda la medicina! Beva molta acqua! Note the endings: -are verbs take -i (parli!), -ere/-ire verbs take -a (prenda!, dorma!).

Write it yourself

Write 3 pieces of advice for a friend who has a cold, using deve or dovrebbe.

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Tip for this task
Ottimo! « Dovrebbe » is gentler than « deve », e.g. « Dovrebbe bere una tisana calda. »

Quick check

An adaptive quiz confirms you've got it and schedules the right words for review.

1. “You should rest” (advice, formal) is…
2. The formal imperative “Take this!” is…
3. Where do you go with a “ricetta”?
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