53 Comments
how do i make it sound like a question? because it's hard to tell by the bot-lady voice..
Well it's Italian so I guess that you should just bunch your fingers together, with tips touching and pointing upward and shake your hand at the level of your head while speaking. At least that's how I would do it.
That's quite funny. I am Italian-American with family in New York, and I can totally relate.
Can you point us to a YouTube video that demonstrates that gesture? I need to learn Italian body language.
It is intriguing to see your list of languages and imagine being fluent in 6-7+ languages. I just completed the Spanish tree and consider myself competent in 2 (English & Spanish). Six day ago I started Italian and it's a challenge to start all over with a 3rd while maintaining the 2nd. I'm not sure if it's easier or harder learning the 3rd -- my guess is it gets easier but it's too early to tell.
I haven't really been studying Italian gestures yet, at least not very thoroughly. I can recognize a few but I haven't tried to memorize and use them myself, because I think that might be something for the most advanced learners that already feel completely comfortable with speaking the language. But of course I agree that it could be fun to learn. One of the most interesting videos on the matter that I have seen thus far is probably this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHZwYObN264
It definetly gets easier with time, especially if the languages are similar, and also more exciting :) Mixing them up is surely a big problem in the beginning, but making mistakes is just a part of the process. Good luck with Italian!
I hear ya. My case is a little different, though. Spanish is my native language, but as I'm fluent enough in American English for over 20 years, I somewhat struggle less with Portuguese, French, and Italian, but more in German (it makes Spanish look like English by comparison).
there's no indication that this is even a question. At least not from what i can tell
The question mark at the end of the sentence tells you it's a question in spite of the bot lady's voice
Yes, it should be correct. I haven't tried entering it though.
The simple present in italian (Mangiano pane) corresponds to both the English simple present "They eat bread" and the English present progressive "They are eating bread".
The gerund form of the verb (mangiando which literally = eating) is not used in Italian in the same way that English uses word "eating". The Italian gerund is not used often and you won't cover it in Duolingo until near the end of the course (after the last shortcut test).
So I recommend forgetting you heard about it and remembering that if the Italian sentence is in the present tense - you can use either of the two ways to express it in English. (Or at least you should be able to. If Duolingo doesn't accept it, it's a mistake)
An Italian I know said that the Italian gerund can be used in the same way that we use it in English, though it's more formal.
I'm Italian and I don't think it's formal. I'd translate "are eating" as "stanno mangiando", and "eat" as "mangiano".
so in this sectance theres doesnt need to be an italian word with the equivilant translation of 'do'? it can mean 'do the horses eat bread' even if thel iteral translation is 'the horses eat bread?' ?
Different languages often have different ways of making questions. English frequently adds in the word 'do' when creating questions from a statement. Italian doesn't do this.
ie. In English, the statement "The horses eat bread." is made into a question by changing it to "Do the horses eat bread?"
In written Italian the statement "I cavalli mangiano pane." is made into a question by adding the question mark at the end of the sentence ("I cavalli mangiano pane?"). In spoken Italian the question nature of this sentence would be indicated by changing your intonation. (Much as "The horses eat bread?" can be said as a question in English by using a questioning intonation - but this is less common than using the word "do" to make the statement a question).
Duolingo's audio is useless at question intonation though - it just sounds like a statement.
When it's a question they sort of accentuate the last word like austrailians do
im a beginner. how do I know it was a question when there was no question mark
In real life you would have to discern it from the way the sentence was said, specially the intonation of the word pane in this case (it would have a questioning inflexion ... not sure how to describe that )
Is the question mark and vocal inflection the only way to tell it's a question?
I don't understand the 'we' at the beginning of the sentence! does "we" automatically go in front of the sentence if its a question?
does anyone know how i would say "do the horses eat bread?" would like to know what the question word for do is
There is a question mark at the end of the sentence
where does the word "DO" come in? why isnt it just the horses eat bread....is the do there just because it is a question instead of a statement?
Why is it sometimes required to include "the" in a sentence and other times its wrong?
