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This is confusing. This is the possesive section so all of these ones about "some" are really throwing me off.
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It seems that Duolingo often throws in other words with the themed vocabulary in order to expand the number of sentences you can make. I find it to be quite helpful to learn the new vocabulary in this more contextual setting.
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could someone patiently explain how to tell the difference between 'they read from the newspapers' [and] 'they read some newspapers'?
I cannot see how to distinguish the two functions of 'dei' here.
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Leggono i giornali = They read the newspapers
Leggono dai (da+i) giornali = They read from the newspapers
Leggono dei (di+i) giornali = They read some newspapers
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i read from the newspapers (that my dog is dead). i read the newspapers (and that's that)..
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Italian friends: could this also be translated "they're reading newspapers"? It seems that you have SOME article in Italian- it wouldn't sound right to say "leggono giornali", would it? But in English, "They're reading some newspapers" would not be used in most contexts.
"we read newspapers" I understand is correct according to explanation given on the combination with "di", that can express indefinite quantity
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I'm so confused. There are so many meanings for the same thing. I thought dei meant "of the" in masculine singular.
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Could it also mean "They read about the newspapers"? According to my dictionary, 'di' can also be used to refer to the subject of a discussion, though the examples it gives are all without an article.
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The word 'about' does not have a direct translation. The nearest would be 'Leggono su giornali.' - They read up on newspapers - They studied about newspapers.
My comment above: 'Leggono dei alcuni giornali' should be 'They read some other newspapers.'
We see lots of people trying to make 'word for word' translations, and often it just doesn't work.
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Could it be 'They read of the newspapers.'?
(In English, this basically means 'They read about the newspapers.')
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duolingo translates giornali as daily newspaper. I had to put it to pass the lesson. Is that corret
The correction I received is “They read some daily newspapers”
Is this is the right section? It doesn't seem like 'they' possess the newspapers. It's the first time I've seen dei used to mean 'some'
Here's some info about it from about.com: http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare125a.htm
I am using a grammar book published by Wiley and it includes a section about "di + definite article" meaning some/a few. I think it is included in this section because often that combination is possessive, but it is teaching that there is another meaning for it as well.
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That's what I was thinking too. It makes sense to put it in this section to show that the possessive word isn't always possessive but can sometimes mean 'some' instead.
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My favorite Italian dictionary (wordreference.com) has no mention of "some" as a translation, and neither does google translate. Maybe it's colloquial or otherwise not literal?
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I found out a way to cheat on the speaking ones. You can press the microphone button and then press the button that repeats the sentence.The microphone picks up the woman's voice and counts it as correct.
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I think 'they read some newspapers' should be 'leggono [dei] alcuni giornali.'
