We talked mainly about the verb immaginare in part 1 of this lesson, and now we'll focus on supporre. 

In our first example, supporre is easily interchangeable with immaginare, both in Italian and in English.

Buongiorno a Lei, signora Baudino. Cercava me, suppongo. Prego. -Grazie, sì.

Good morning to you, Missus Baudino. You were looking for me, I suppose. Please come in. -Yes, thank you.

Captions 5-7, Provaci ancora prof! S2E6 La strana ossessione - Part 5

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In the next example, on the other hand, supporre is a bit more nuanced and we have translated it with "to assume." We're not really imagining here, we are making an assumption based on evidence, or reasoning. However, the speaker could easily have used immaginare if he had been trying to conjure up the past. The important thing to keep in mind is that "to assume" is one way to translate supporre." Another Italian verb could work here, too: ipotizzare (to hypothesize). It's used quite frequently in ordinary conversation. 

Per questo motivo, possiamo supporre che proprio in questo momento, i conservatori abbiano chiamato il loro miglior pittore ad eseguire sulla parete dell'Arengario, eh, quella Resurrezione che diverrà il simbolo identitario della città.

For this reason, we can assume that right at this moment, the conservators had called their finest painter to execute, on the wall of the Arengario, uh, that Resurrection which will become the iconic symbol of the city.

Captions 49-53, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 13

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In this next example, supporre doesn't seem to be interchangeable with immaginare, because we're talking about a supposition based on something concrete.

Questo perché la testimonianza della tua amica Camilla, ti fa supporre che la signora Predolin sia una vittima innocente.

This is because the account of your friend Camilla causes  you to assume that Missus Predolin is an innocent victim.

Captions 105-106, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 13

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We translated it with "to assume," but it could also be "to presume," another possible translation of immaginare.

In English, we can use the imperative of "to suppose" as in: "Suppose I were to ask you on a date. Would you say yes?" In Italian, we'd likely use the first person plural: Supponiamo (let's suppose).

Adesso supponiamo che stai passeggiando per strada e un passante ti chiede: "Mi scusi, mi potrebbe dire, per favore, che ore sono?".

Now, let's suppose you're walking down the street and a passerby asks you: "Excuse me, could you please tell me what time it is?"

Captions 28-30, Marika spiega 18 Modi di dire Sì senza dire Sì

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We hope that you have a greater understanding of the verbs immaginare and supporre and when (and how) they are used.

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There is already a lesson about dunque on Yabla. It primarily discusses the noun form of this word, il dunque, equivalent to il punto (the point.) 

But dunque is first of all a conjunction, a somewhat more formal equivalent of quindi meaning "therefore," "so," or "then." 

Immagina che tu e una persona di tua conoscenza siete saliti su di una barca, fate un giro in mare e chiacchierate. State dunque facendo la stessa cosa e nello stesso momento, quindi state condividendo questa esperienza.

Imagine you and a person you know have gotten on a boat. You go for a boat ride at the sea and chat. So you are doing the same thing at the same time, thus you are sharing this experience.

Captions 14-19, Marika spiega Espressioni legate al mare e al mondo nautico - Part 1

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We could have translated dunque as "therefore," "thus," "so," "so then," "as a result," etc. 

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One common way to use dunque is to introduce something you are going to say, such as an explanation, a list, or a question. In other words, you are saying, in essence, "Now I am going to tell/ask you something." So it can also be an equivalent for allora. See this lesson about allora. 

In the following example, an oncologist is about to list different types of tumors or cancers. He could have said, "Allora, esistono..." Dunque has a slightly different and perhaps a more serious feel to it, as in "Now I am going to tell you something important," whereas allora is very general and can be placed in a sentence just about anywhere. Allora can also stand alone.

Dunque, eh, esistono vari tipi di tumore al rene, alcuni sono più subdoli, più insidiosi, più difficili da combattere.

Well, uh, there are various types of kidney cancer. Some are sneakier, more insidious, harder to fight.

Captions 36-38, La linea verticale EP 7 - Part 2

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Professor Camilla uses dunque as she chooses a student for an oral quiz. In this case, she is going down her list of students, so we have translated dunque as "let me see..."

E mi affiderò al caso, anzi al registro. Dunque, Ilenia.

And I will rely on chance, or rather on the register. Let me see... Ilenia.

Caption 73, Provaci ancora prof! S2E5 Vita da cani - Part 5

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Of course, at the same time, dunque can be conclusive because its original meaning is "therefore." In English, the adverb "therefore" is used less and less except in formal or technical language. It follows, then, that we use it less and less in translations. We can think of it as meaning "as a result," or "consequently." In the following example, however, we are talking about art, about history. In this case, dunque is conclusive and can be translated with "therefore."

Ecco, dunque, quale potrebbe essere stata l'occasione, il perché della Resurrezione di Piero.

That is, therefore, what the occasion could have been, the reason for Piero's Resurrection.

Captions 28-29, La pittura più bella del mondo La Resurrezione di Piero della Francesca - Part 13

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The following example is informal.

I miei genitori sono invece nonni di cinque nipoti ed io sono la zia di quattro nipoti. -Sì. Nostro figlio ha dunque... sei zii, o meglio, tre zii e tre zie, da parte mia...

My parents are, on the other hand, grandparents of five grandchildren and I'm the aunt of four nephews and nieces. -Yes. Our son has, therefore... six aunts and uncles, or better yet, three uncles and three aunts, on my side...

Captions 21-25, Giuditta e Marino presentano La nostra famiglia

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Our first instinct was to use "so." We used it at the beginning of the sentence, although the Italian has dunque at the end, or, at any rate, not at the beginning. 

"Yes. So, our son has..." 

But then a subscriber commented that there was no translation of dunque and suggested "then," which could possibly have worked. Instead, we inserted "let's see..." because Marino was clearly doing some calculations in his head. However, we neglected to remove "so." Another subscriber noticed that things didn't match up and wrote a comment. After considering "well", we decided that although "therefore" might not be our first choice, it is conclusive and clear in its meaning and so that's what we chose. And that is the reason for this lesson. Dunque is a great word to know, but the translation is not always clear-cut or obvious. 

If you are about to make a list or explain something, dunque works great at the very beginning of a sentence. When you want it to be conclusive, it can be in the middle or at the end. It can also be used as "filler" for when you are thinking, similar to quindi and allora. 

Dunque non vuoi festeggiare in compagnia?

So, don't you want to celebrate in company?

Caption 36, Volare - La grande storia di Domenico Modugno Ep. 1 - Part 18

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