59 Comments
You just don't use it in this case. It wouldnt be wrong, it's just not the way a native speaker would phrase it
nzarra: So what would that be? I can't be sure who your response is directed at. How would a native express that idea. Thanks.
You just don't use the 'un' in this case - I asked my gf and she's from Italy
Can I ask a girl, " sei figlio unico?" Or I have to ask" sei figlia unico?"
Good question. I don't know the answer but if it's the latter, it should be "sei figlia unica"
Talking with a female person you have to ask "Sei figliA unicA?" With a male person "Sei figliO unicO?" In italian adjective must be in agreement with the noun that can be feminine or masculine
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This question is still waiting for an answer, please, how to ask "Are you (female) an/the only CHILD (offspring, issue)?" Not "Are you the only daughter (possibly with male siblings)?" Thank you.
(PS I'd use 'the' when conversing in the context of '-of your parents'' but 'an' in the context of classification in the world at large.)
"Sei figlio unico?" or "Sei figlia unica?" indicate basically Are you the only child? (If you are "Figlio unico" or "figlia unica" you cannot have silbling). If you want to ask "Are you the only female/male child?" you must specify and the sentence will be "Sei l'unica figlia femmina?/Sei l'unico figlio maschio?" Used normally when you know that your listener have al least a sibling of the other sex. "Sei UN figlio unico"!"/Sei UNA figlia unica"!"" indicate that the "figlio unico/figlia unica" is special and there are not another one like him/her. "Sei UN figlio unico"?"/Sei UNA figlia unica"?"" have the same means of "Sei figlio unico?/Sei figlia unica?" or "Are you a special son?" (the second meaning is unusual) "Sei l'unico figlio?/Sei l'unica figlia?" The parent/parents is/are implied. E.g. Sei l'unico figlio di Marco? Are you the only child of Mark? Sei il figlio unico?/Sei la figlia unica?" Means "Are you The Only (specific of famous) child? (unusual)
Sorry for my terrible English, I'm not native speaker (I am Italian). I hope to be understandable.
I believe that this Italian expression has only the meaning as given by Duolingo. For your translation I would expect "sei l'unico figlio?"
"Are you an only child?" is certainly best, but it also listed "Are you an only son?" as an a acceptable response. While a literal translation, "an only son" isn't something anyone would say in (American) English. It sounds like something a foreigner would say that is grammatically correct but doesn't really make much sense. The intended meaning of that phrase is presumable "Are you the only son?"
"Are you an only child?" should probably be the only option.
I used "only son" and am wondering if the question were being asked of a girl, meanaing "are you an only child" , would "figlio" then still be appropriate, since it's masculine.
Wouldn't "Are you the only son?" work?
Are you an only son doesn't really make sense in English.
Are you his only child, I believe is the perfect sentence as in English writing.
Valentino: No. There's no 'his' in the sentence. Sei means you're addressing someone directly, asking that person if he is an only child.
Yes, it can. Parents with one son and one daughter have an only son. Sometimes in American English it implies only child, though, even if son or daughter is used.
Could this also be, "you are the unique son" or does that have a different connotative meaning?
That would mean something different in English, since 'unique' has a different meaning. Unique means that something is different or unlike the others. So if someone were the unique child, maybe they would be tall when everyone else is short, or blonde instead of brunette, in a family of brunettes.
My answer 'You are an only child?' is commonly used in England. The clue would be in the voice intonation that it is a question and not a statement. In text the question mark tells you it is a question.
According to my Italian friend, this is also acceptable
It came up on mine that the right answer is "are you a single son?" does that really make sense to anyone else? "Are you an only child?" makes sense.
For some reason the correct answer is coming up as "are you 1 only child"...
Mine told me the correct answer is "you're 1 only son". I'm very confused.
Hunter...It means 'you're an only child' with 'figlio' (son) standing for 'child', just as the plural 'figli' can mean both 'sons' and 'children/sons & daughters'. So 'you're 1 only son' makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and shouldn't be considered regardless of what DL might provide as an alternative.
Se stasera non sarotornato a casa .. ci sara qualcuno che non dormira`!
tukatingamietumba: Because that's what a single child in America in called: an only child.
Being "an only child" is a classificatory English language expression that is used instead of saying someone is "the only child in a family". With "an only child" the "in the family" part is implied.
Langopedia: I've never heard or seen that before and can't imagine anyone in the US knowing what it means.
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By definition - one baby or baby animal that is born and is not a twin, etc. Herr Lehrer, singleton means (bedeutet) Einzelkind.
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You're very welcome! I'm looking for a native Italian to help me out with my language oriented questions. In exchange, and if needed, I may help out with German, Swiss German, and/or with the Hungarian language.
The correct answer on Duolingo exercise is "Are you only son?" This is not grammatically correct. It should have an "an" inserted between "you" and "only."
So. No article in front of 'unico', yet one still cannot use unique. I sometimes feel like DL makes this stuff up as the need arises.
Hi Briguy84, >> "you are the unique son" No, that doesn't really have any meaning in English
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So the indefinite article is left out with family members, as the definite article is? I'm a little confused as to when I should or shouldn't use them.
