- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "Quante ragazze mangiano?"
105 Comments
It could be a reasonable question depending on the conversation. For example, if we were talking about a restaurant or the school cafeteria and I asked, the answer probably would not be "All of them." It could be a specific number during a certain period of time, or a percentage of all the girls. It could even be "None!" (Because they do not like our menu, or because they eat at the new place/in their house, etc.)
271
To make sense in English you would need another qualifier, like "How many girls eat here?" or "How many girls eat between noon and 1:00?" With no other qualifiers, asking "Does the girl eat?" means you are asking whether the girl eats at all, ever. So, of course all girls eat, unless they are starving themselves.
774
That was my choice but, but having chosen to use the verb in that way and being marked as wrong, I chose they less controversial route.
I think the question is posed this way in order for us to understand the translation more clearly. Yes it doesn't make total sense in English to say it this way, but for the purpose of learning Italian it is easier not to have the added complexity of the word "are" in the sentence which is not the focus of this excercise.
325
There's a rather archaic, poetic way of expressing something like, "Look, he's eating", which is, "Behold, he eats". This old usage is buried so deep in the language that it's rarely recognised today.
@LindaLee - Not exactly. Stanno is the plural form of "stare" and stare nearly always acts as the auxiliary verb with the gerundio form of the main verb. (There are some uses of the gerundio that don't take stare as an auxiliary)
"Stanno mangiando" = they are eating, and they are doing it right now, as we watch
"Sto bevendo" = I am in the process drinking, see me lift my cup
"Sta camminando" = He/She/It is walking and the action is still happening at this point in time
Etcetera.
Hope this helps.
36
Absolutely. How many girls ARE eating? How DO you feel? How much money DO you have? How many girls DO eat? I also do not understand why the latter is not accepted. Is my English that poor? :(
124
How many girls eat totally wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The right question: How many girls do they eat?!!!!!!!!!!!!!
A lot of people should learn english well..