"Voi avete una zuppa."

Translation: You have a soup.

[Koolkaren]

I agree. I wrote it as above because I also didn't want to lose a heart, but it is not the way one would say it in English. 'You have soup', 'you have some soup', or 'you have a bowl of soup' are all more idiomatic English than the literal translation above. I think they should be accepted as well.

[JimTomasse1]

I agree, no one would say this in English.

[dwarven_hydra]

I believe some soup would be "Della zuppa", but other than that, yeah, you're right.

[Vitone]

Although this certainly isn't a common phrase in English it is conceivable that one might say this in English. For example one might notice that a restaurant offers a soup on their menu and then state "You have a soup. Can you tell me more about it?". Granted if this were a question and not a statement it would probably be more intuitive as it would be a more common use case.

[christopher]

Spot on. Additionally, everyone needs to be less worried about how it's rendered into parlance English and focus on the Italian grammatical points that it's trying to teach.

Ultimately, you all are translating the phrase to say things that aren't necessarily intended to be said even in the Italian. You all think "una zuppa" means "a bowl of soup." If you frame that in your mind, you'll never actually learn the language. You'll be creating a new language of what's-suppose-to-be.

From a guy who has down 4.5 living languages and 3 dead languages, you are going to have to be far more open minded to how other languages relate things to us. You won't be able to do that if you are constantly hung up on the best sounding English. There is no such thing as objective translation, exemplified by google translate. If you first don't truly understand what the other is trying to communicate, then you have no idea how to translate that. Since you all don't have the context, the only measure of correctness here is: is it grammatically correct in English?

Guess what? Though it might not seems logical to you all, it is grammatically correct in English. In modern parlance it sounds weird, but it is grammatically correct.

[Elena18]

As a professional language instructor, I must disagree with what you seem to be saying. It's all about what you can DO with the language- and how it actually functions to convey meaning in everyday life situations. I think duo would do well to list two translations- 1 marked "literal" and one marked "functional". .

[marziotta]

Yes, but the translations are mainly made with the reports from the users, for the few I have understood, who would decide what is context and what literal? Who would be the superusers to do it? Because evaluating every single sentence, not only for its correctness, but also for different purposes, would be a huge work. Nobody is going to do it. Not even me. :D

[DavidOfSeattle]

Agreed. No point to have people getting hung up on their English because of an odd translation when they are here to learn another language...the feedback is valid and the "a" should be optional. No reason not to have it that way.

[tonkoch]

From someone who is bilingual, it is far more important to be able to translate the functional meaning than the literal. Far too many people who think they know a lot of languages translate a lot of things very badly because they do not know they quite well enough.

The point being, if it could refer to a bowl of soup in Italian, then 'some soup' should be right. What everyone on here wants to know is whether in Italian that could not be right, not whether some other translation might be right.

And even closer to the point, it is not helpful at any level to tell people what they need or do not need to be worried about.

[deactivated user]

This is where doing extra work outside of DL is a must, especially reading things like magazines, newspapers, and books. Do not seek to learn by reading articles on the net, unless you know they are well written (good quality newspapers, academic papers, etc.).

[eltapatio]

Bravo Christopher!! i see that a lot "that is not the way to say it in English, it does not make sense" a lot of things did not make sense to me when i was trying to learn English, because i used to say the same thing,i used to think" English is backwards like "the red car" in spanish "el carro rojo" or a butterfly i would said what the butter has to do with a fly in spanish is la mariposa. so when i stoped thinking like that, then it was much easier for me.So I understand what you are saying.

[jaye16]

@christopherThe best I have heard in a long time. This should be on the very first lesson we do on Duo. So much effort and so many frazzled nerves are not needed. Let's get on with learning. Have a couple of lingots in gratitude. P.S. can I pass this on, giving you credit of course?

[PansyStone]

I disagree. I think you're missing the point

[TheFinkie]

I disagree very much. You are basically saying: "it doesn't matter what it means in English, you just need to learn the words". Users of Duolingo don't have this approach; we want to know how to actually TRANSLATE the words, and how Italian syntax compares to English.

In this question, for example, people aren't just saying "it shouldn't be "a soup"" just to be picky, we are genuinely confused whether this sentence ACTUALLY TRANSLATES as the rarely-used and very specific "a soup", or if it just refers to "a portion of soup", or "some soup".

[JimTomasse1]

No one would say this in English. Soup is kind of an implied plural in English. You could have a bowl of soup, a half liter of soup, a cup of soup, but not "a soup". It is like "gas". No one would say "you got a gas". Maybe this is particular to liquids in English.

[cboehm42]

The point in question is not "what's the best sounding English translation", but rather "isn't this translation also accurate". We do not typically use the article "a" for this sentence. As a result, we've posted as a means of ensuring that 1) we do understand the language we are learning, and 2) this logical answer can be accepted in the future.

[XlUi8bZ7]

Thank you

[JJessieJJ]

Would "voi avite zuppa" work as well?

[Marconione]

You have a soup, can you tell me more about it, is something one would never say. Ever! You just can't manufacture correctness to some of these of these rediculous sentences .

[NancyWilder]

"Voi avete" is the plural for "you have". Why would anyone say "You (all) have a soup."?

[IMfrederick]

This is not correct English; you have a bowl of soup is correct. I wrote it to not lose a heart :)

[gabrielaodiliz]

report mistakes!

[JYReader]

No one says "a" soup.

[GidiZisk]

Hi everyone, A few months ago before starting this lesson I created a table of all the relevant verbs of this lesson with conjugations to all the possible pronouns (to present tense, of course), I thought maybe some will be happy if I'll share it

English	verb	I	You	S/He	We	Voi	They
to be	essere	sono	Sei	è	siamo	siete	sono
to have	avere	ho	hai	ha	abbiamo	avete	hanno
to go	andare	vado	vai	va	andiamo	andate	vanno
to do	fare	faccio	fai	fa	facciamo	fate	fanno
can/(to be able to)	potere	posso	puoi	può	possiamo	potete	possono
to come	venire	vengo	vieni	viene	veniamo	venite	vengono
to want	volere	voglio	vuoi	vuole	vogliamo	volete	Vogliono
to give	dare	do	dai	dà	diamo	date	danno
to stay	stare	sto	stai	sta	stiamo	state	stanno
to say	dire	dico	dici	dice	diciamo	dite	dicono
to know	sapere	so	sai	sa	sappiamo	sapete	Sanno
to see	vedere	vedo	vedi	vede	vediamo	vedete	vedono
to eat	mangiare	mangio	mangi	mangia	mangiamo	magiate	mangiano
to speak	parlare	parlo	parli	parla	parliamo	parlate	parlano
to go out/to exit	uscire	esco	esci	esce	usciamo	uscite	escono
to take	prendere	perndo	prendi	prende	prendiamo	prendete	prendono
to be like/to please	piacere	piaccio	piaci	piace	piacciamo	piacete	piacciono
to read	leggere	leggo	leggi	legge	leggiamo	leggete	leggono
to finish	finire	finisco	finisci	finisce	finiamo	finite	finiscono
to drink	bere	bevo	bevi	beve	beviamo	bevete	bevono
to understand	capire	capisco	capisci	capisce	capiamo	capite	capiscono
to arrive	arrivare	arrivo	arrivi	arriva	arriviamo	arrivate	arrivano
to put	mettere	metto	metti	mette	mettiamo	mettete	mettono
to write	scrivere	scrivo	scrivi	scrive	sriviamo	scrivete	scrivono
to live	vivere	vivo	vivi	vive	viviamo	vivete	vivono
to remain/to stay	rimanere	rimango	rimani	rimane	rimaniamo	rimanete	rimangono
to know (a person)	conoscere	conosco	conosci	conosce	conosciamo	conoscete	conoscono
to feel	sentire	sento	senti	sente	sentiamo	sentite	sentono
to ask	chiedere	chiedo	chiedi	chiede	chiediamo	chiedete	chiedono
to find	trovare	trovo	trovi	trova	troviamo	trovate	trovano
to believe	credere	credo	credi	crede	crediamo	credete	credono
to open	aprire	apro	apri	apre	apriamo	aprite	aprono
to work	lavorare	lavoro	lavori	lavora	lavoriamo	lavorate	lavorano
to think	pensare	penso	pensi	pense	pensiamo	pensete	pensono
to call	chiamare	chiamo	chiami	chiama	chiamiamo	chiamate	chiamano
to look	guardare	gudrdo	guardi	guarda	guardiamo	guardate	guardano
to follow	seguire	seguo	segui	segue	seguiamo	seguite	seguono
to become	diventare	divento	deventi	devente	diventiamo	diventate	diventono
to enter	entrare	entro	entri	entra	entraimo	entarte	entrano
to leave (behind)	lasciare	lascio	lasci	lasca	lasciamo	lasciate	lascano
to bring	portare	porto	porti	porta	portiamo	portate	portano
to decide	decidere	decido	decidi	decide	decidiamo	decidete	decidono
to wait	aspettare	aspetto	aspetti	aspetta	aspettiamo	aspettate	aspettano
to pass	passare	passo	passi	passa	passiamo	passate	passano
to hold	tenere	tengo	tieni	tiene	teniamo	tenete	tengono
to die	morire	muoio	muori	muore	moriamo	morite	muoiono
to buy	comprare	compro	compri	compra	compriamo	compate	comprano
to use	usare	uso	usi	usa	usiamo	usate	usano
to remember	ricordare	ricordo	ricordi	ricorda	ricordiamo	ricordate	ricardano
to live (in)	abitare	abito	abiti	abita	abitiamo	abitate	Abitano
to cook	cucinare	cucino	cucini	cucina	cuciniamo	cucinate	cucinano

Few comments:
1- Most of the verbs are from TinyCards (46 + bere that I think they forget to add to this lesson).
2 - I added comprare (to buy), uscire (to go out), abitare (to live in a house/region), and cucinare (to cook), because that some exercises in this chapter or the next one have them.

Good luck!

[Susan88810]

This is great.......Thanks, I'll print it off and tape it to the office door!

[Maslahatjoo_95]

Thanks, I really need such conjugations to help me learn the verbs, but why you didn't put any space between the verbs? I'm a beginner and I can't get it this way :'(

[nati_gilbi]

"What warm dish do you have for lunch?" "I have a soup!" I think using the lexeme "a" is a more formal way of speaking in English.

[Kotza]

By virtue of the answer saying "soup", you're already signifying that it is singular. Getting the wrong answer for NOT saying "a soup" is ridiculous, even more so given that it makes no sense in English.

[knurse1]

I agree

[DonnaMarie]

I agree. Incorrect English

[ashlward]

Could you not just say "Voi avete zuppa"?

[Derpywhisker]

This reminds me of Jon Lajojie....

[hayley_t]

Usually with any kind of liquid you would never use "a". You would never say "I want a water" or "I have a soup" or "I drink a milk". If you wanted to indicated that it was only "one" of something you'd say "I want a bottle of water" or "I have a bowl of soup" or "I drink a glass of milk" or something along those lines.

[LawrenceHa271049]

This explains why Mario says it's a me.

[Kevin968039]

well this was an exhausting page to read And made all the more frustrating by both sides not seeing the merits in both points of view. (no, I won't add mine)

[eltapatio]

maybe it was not in a bowl

[BethK]

I wrote "you have some soup" and it was marked wrong. I did report it as a mistake but jeez.....

[mangoHero1]

A soup is theoretically correct english, but linguistically it does not sound right, and I've never heard anyone ask for A soup

[Freddioso]

'A soup' would refer to a kind of soup rather than any specific quantity, it could make sense, it's just a less common sentence than 'You have a bowl of soup'.

[Gian762]

I don't understand why I was counted wrong. "Voi avete" can mean " you are having" soup as well, right?

[IanShukis]

Do Italians notice the una? as in, would they say this is grammatically correct or incorrect? If that is how a native is going to speak, thats all i want. I don't care if it doesn't sound right unless it is truly wrong.

[tomfy]

I know - it is easy - that 'una' is an indefinite article which may (in many) cases be properly translated by 'a', but the question is - what does this sentence mean? In what situation would you use it? If you wanted to convey the same thing as would be conveyed in English by "You are having soup." would this be a possible way to do it.

[pslavin]

The meaning is correct without the article.

[Sofo007]

is that the verb ho?
how is it going?
io ho, tu ?, lui'lei ha, noi aviamo, voi avete, loro avono?

or something like this?

[jaye16]

Try this site. It gives conjugations and the best part is you don't have to know the infinitive. If you type "fa" it will show "fare" and all the conjugations. http://www.wordreference.com/conj/itverbs.aspx? Best wishes for a happy Duo journey.

[Sofo007]

thanks a lot mate ;-)
really usefull!!!!

[jaye16]

Glad to be of help.

[Souleia]

When learning a language, you need an open mind. That's what I'm getting from these comments.
Even more, I've also been taking Japanese in school and you need to keep other things in mind. The different culture and customs for one and the different ways you explain things.
In Japanese, you don't have some words, and you can't just translate it literally. Because, then it will sound like you don't know the language.
But, sense isn't the thing that you need to understand, too. The grammar is important and a sentence in Duolingo may not be used in real life, but you need to recognize the grammar in it. So, some of the amusing and some of the odd ones are just used so you can tell when to use them.

[ItalianPacifist]

Does this make grammatical sense in Italian?

[JasonDaven4]

no one says that in english

[Penny1945]

I wrote "you have a soup", which sounds daft to a native english speaker but even so it corrected me providing the answer "You all have a soup".

[MusicMan97]

this is incorrect grammar!!

[Marie578454]

How can i know this without taken it before ??!!

[mstone01501]

"A soup" in english could possibly indicate a choice of soups such as tomato or chicken noodle.

[PB_Bandit]

So I just got this wrong, but the 'correct' answer listed was not what I was expecting: "Y'all have a soup."

[fllue]

i have a very good soup

[matschi123]

Can someone explain, why the answer is "Voi avete una zuppa" and not "Hai una zuppa"? What is the difference? Is the second sentece incorrect or mean something different?

[TheFinkie]

Very simple: your first sentence is plural (speaking to multiple people) and your second is singular (speaking to one person).

[Sean681604]

Nobody says "You have a soup" in English - it's just "You have soup".

[Diana955905]

Not even seeing the English translation, don't know what this means

[Sandra235131]

Please tell me why we are using avete for "have", what about the other verb for have (Io ho, tu ha, etc)?

[Susan88810]

Maybe this will help. It shows the conjugation of the verb
"To Have" Avere.
Avete is the plural You have you all have.(voi as opposed to tu)

https://www.theitalianexperiment.com/learn-italian/to-have

[JulieAdams14]

I understand,but would it not translate in English as you have soup or a soup?

[Maxyzw]

In English, the "a" is not required. If you said to me, "You have soup," it would be perfect!

[Dick403354]

Stupid, the English is incorrect.

[AOLIj]

it should be ,,, you have soup or some soup not one soup

[Ronald966424]

Why is it not Tu ho una zuppa

[BrycenGree2]

This was fast

[TanyaMevine]

As soon as i stopped trying to translate every sentence literally and set my mind to the fact i was learning a whole new language, it became a lot easier. I felt as if i was saying things back to front and missing words out but i stopped dwelling and picking on every little thing until i was completely stressed and confusrd and just went with it. I almost gave up but I am glad that i didn't.
And now, although i find some of these comments very helpful, i try not to read too many. If its going good, I MOVE ON. Practice makes perfect... I hope.

[JPaige3]

Agreed. It's grammatically "You have soup" or "You have some soup"