"An elephant is an enormous animal."

Translation: Un elefante è un animale enorme.

[Chris123456]

Some great contributions on this page! Interesting how the subject has drifted slightly and how we are now talking about the enormous elephant (metaphorically the hitherto unacknowledged problems we share) that has been amongst us all this while!

[Koolkaren]

:)

[corbettf75]

The lesson that the "correct" answer gives is not at all clear. Every language needs at least two kinds of size words: words which cover a narrow section of the wide range of sizes (e.g. "enormous" at the top end of the size scale) and more general words which cover a wider range of sizes (e.g. "large" having vague limits between the middle of the range of sizes up to near the top).
The meanings of the two words overlap; so, in that sense the "correct" answer is correct. But the two words do not overlap very much. So, if the purpose of the test question is to teach us the equally important lesson that the two words would rarely be used to describe the same object, the "correct" answer is wrong.
It is clear, then, that this is a bad (because ambiguous and misleading) question and should be removed. A better question might be something like "A bear is large, but an elephant is enormous."

[PATRICKPIZ1]

pedantry run amuk.

[mukkapazza]

Hi everyone, thanks for all the comments! In the future be sure to report the sentence. That's the easiest way to get it fixed :)

[corbettf75]

Sometimes it is more important that an error be taken as an opportunity for thinking about why it is or isn't a wrong answer, than that it simply get "fixed".
I think Koolkaren is onto something. There is a bigger issue. What has duolingo learned from this and from the multitude of errors it has made -- both in Italian and English -- which have served to irritate and frustrate, when the goal should be the opposite?

[mukkapazza]

Thanks for taking this to another level, corbettf75! Editing sentences is not just a matter of inserting or removing a word. We actually do take your suggestions and your opinions into consideration. We do adjust our pedagogical approach to make the experience better for you. After all this is a program made for you and all of this is possible thanks to you amazing users. We could say more than "fixed!" and in the future I'll certainly consider explaining the changes... but describing how an engine works might only pique so many people's interest ;)

[Koolkaren]

Is there a way to get back to the question page straight from this discussion page after you have left the lesson? I often encounter things I think may not be correct but, still being new to Italian, I'm not sure if it is an error until I hear from other users. At that point I don't know how to access the question again to report it. I am not very tech savvy, so it's possible that it can be done, but I just don't know how. :)

[mukkapazza]

At the moment there is no way to keep track of all the discussions you follow (that would be quite a lot!) but you can create a new discussion if you have the exact sentence. I do recommend reporting or discussing it when you see it. If you report it and your suggestion doesn't work... no harm done! If you decide to post even the simplest question... you'll still make a lot of other users happy. Did that answer your question?

[Koolkaren]

Yes. Thank you. :) I have been trying not to report things when I'm not already fairly sure because early on I reported things as wrong and, of course, they weren't wrong at all. I was just a newbie and had misunderstood some element of grammar or something. After that, I usually didn't use the report feature until I had corroboration from other users. Now I feel welcome to ask my little questions in the report feature even if I may be completely wrong. :)

[peter2108]

You can search the 'stream' for your previous contirbutions - but only by content not by author. So you need to add a little "flag" like koolkaren to your posts to be able to find them again. There is no way of getting the actually question page again so that you can flag up what you now think is a mistake in a Duo answer.

[Koolkaren]

Thanks! :)

[jamiel]

Can grande really be "enormous" as well? I though enorme was more a superlative of grande?

[OlzWolz]

I don't think grande and enorme are semantically identical. Just like big and enormous in English. Grande =/= enorme

[Elena18]

Adding my agreement to all the comments here. Please report it! Hopefully, this will be corrected.

[Ispirac]

We know difference between enormous and big.But it is not fair that you put both answers together, because in that case we mark both as a correct answer,Thank you for understanding.

[Chris123456]

Totally agree - are their any native Italians out there who could give an authoratative opinion?

[Koolkaren]

I absolutely agree.

[inky1]

this is just not right, enorme and grande in this question is not the same. I answered correctly as it shows above and yet it´s incorrect. Grande in my mind is -big or large.

[Koolkaren]

It is disheartening that this is still an issue 4 months after the first comment. :(

[Trinidad238267]

In UN ELEFANTE E UN ANIMALE GRANDE (both "u") are type the same and this typo is not my FAULT!

[Angie922492]

I responded "Un elefante è un animale enorme" (as shown above) BUT, would "Un elefante è un enorme animale" also be correct? I think so (because adjectives that refer to size can be used before or after the verb) but, I would appreciate confirmation? Thank you!

[PATRICKPIZ1]

some adjectives can change position but they also change meaning. 'una grande casa' is 'a great house' (has all the amenities) but una casa grande' is 'a big house' 'il vecchio re' is 'the former king' and 'il re vecchio' is an aged king'