109 Comments
"Oppure" is used here to clarify that the question is NOT asking "Are these things you eat: candies, cookies?" but instead asking "You may have one: candies or cookies." "Or" has many meanings and "oppure" means the "exclusionary or" - when "oppure" is used instead of "o", you are clarifying that only one of the options given is allowed.
So a good way to remember it is: "oppure" is more like "as opposed to", which makes the options mutually exclusive (but don't write "as opposed to" as you'd probably be marked wrong - just a way of remembering.)
this is such a succinct and helpful distinction that I'm giving you a lingot (the first one I have given away)
526
Except the "instead of biscuits" was marked wrong, which is the usual way of saying "opposed to"
Well "instead of" implies that the latter option is the default, to be replaced by the former, whereas "opposed to" is more neutral
As a programmer, that summed it up nicely for me. Thanks, and have a lingot.
tl;dr: it's a nerdy reference to nerdy stuff for nerdy people like nerdy me.
Essentially, the commentors above are making a reference to 'formal logic', a field concerned with either understanding or creating systems by which one can reason about statements of truth and statements of falsehood. Programmers have made use of formal logic as the basis for the languages by which they communicate with computers.
'OR' and 'XOR' signify a relationship between two statements, statements which one might call 'P' and 'Q' for convenience and abstraction.
P OR Q is a true statement in three cases: when P is true and Q is false, when Q is true and P is false, and when both P and Q are true. P OR Q is a false statement in only one case: when both P and Q are false.
P XOR Q is a true statement in only two cases: when P is true and Q is false, and when Q is true and P is false. P XOR Q is a false statement in two cases: when both P and Q are true, and when both P and Q are false.
All that to say, 'o' in Italian behaves similarly (but not the same) to an 'OR' operator in Western formal logic, and 'oppure' in Italian behaves similarly (but not the same) to an 'XOR' operator in Western formal logic.
Exclusive or. For example "A XOR B" would mean "A or B but not both A and B".
I think i figured out a way to memmorize it. If the question could be answered with "yes", you should use "o". Ex. " Bevi la birra o il vino?" "Sì."
If the asker wants the question to be answered by repeating one of the options, he/she should use oppure. "Bevi la birra oppure il vino?" "Il vino"
Am i right about this, or are there times this wouldn't work?
Самое лучшее обяснение для меня было, что "opure" - это когда надо выбрать только что-то одно, а "o" - может быть и то и другое.
- 1289
O means simply "rather"; while Oppure means "or rather", and is used for emphasis .
I think the correct translation in English would be "Do you eat candy or cookies?" "Rather" with the Present Tense sounds odd. ( > "WOULD you rather eat candy or cookies?" Of course, that means something else).
Actually, we would be more likely to say ' wiould you prefer sweets or biscuits?' Not being Yanks, of course
As a software engineer, my brain just processes oppure as XOR. As an American, I find it refreshing to have an exclusive or.
I wrote "do you rather eat candy or cookies" as an answer, but it said I was wrong. :P Never heard anyone speaking "do you eat candy or rather cookies", although I believe both forms are gramatically correct.
Although Duolingo accepts answers in British English, it has chosen American English as its standard.
American English is, however, as rich and diverse as that of the motherland. Unfortunately for those of the 'correct' persuasion, language is elastic and prone to change and variety. Not unlike life itself.
It doesn't mean "do you rather" or "would you rather" in the sense of "do/would you prefer," but "or rather," simply adding emphasis to "or." You could also, as TiagoMoita notes, leave out "rather" altogether.
E and ed, ma and bensì, che and cosa, now o and oppure Lord help. Lo.
in English we don't normally use candy and cookies apart from brands so why does this not translate as sweets and biscuits??
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@molierose524 If "sweets and biscuits" was not accepted report it. Duo accepts both British English and American English.
In the US, I have never heard the expression, "Do you eat candies, or rather cookies?" That language seems very stilted. My translation, "Do you eat candies rather than cookies?" was not accepted, but it seems more like natural speech.
I think Duo's translation is fine, even though it is not what we normally say. The point here is to understand the Italian, and Duo's translation allows us to do that.
I agree. "Do you eat candies rather than cookies?" sounds better than Duolingo's answer, and should be accepted.
Would, "Would you rather have candies or cookies" be an acceptable translation?"
Definitely "would you rather eat candies or cookies", "have" would depend on context, because it could imply possession instead of eating.
I find this translation awkward. As a native English speaker I would say: Do you eat candy rather than cookies?
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Courses teaching British English-Amercian English-Australian English would be very instructive.
"Caramelle" is plural, but my translation of "candies" was marked wrong and corrected to "candy." Perchè?
I am getting the feeling that in Italian, one may use "oppure" when offering a choice to someone? Is that correct?
I agree that we would probably say "Do you prefer sweets or biscuits?", or "Would you prefer sweets or biscuits?" in English
I would say rather than is an acceptable and more likely phrase in American English.
can you say, "do you eat candy rather than cookies?" it was counted wrong since I put than in the sentence
Why does it only accept 'or rather' and not that as well as 'or' by itself? This is frustrating when it tells me the translation can be either and it only accepts one.
- 1289
Oppure strictly means "or rather" which in English (and I assume Italian) has a subtly different meaning than simply "or" by putting a greater emphasis on one's actual preference; so in this instance the ideal translation would be: "would you rather eat sweets or biscuits" . As to the translation options duolingo provides per word these are just suggestions on which you have to make a judgment and context call ( and sometimes they can be, especially as the lessons progress, wackily way outside the ballpark)
This is very unwieldy English. We'd say 'do you eat sweets rather than biscuits' but that gets marked wrong.
Is "rather" necessary in the translation? Got marked off for leaving it out..
Seems like bad English to me. You don't say "You eat sweets or rather biscuits?" It should be "You eat sweets rather than biscuits". You also don't say "Do you eat candy or rather cookies"? It should be "Do you eat sweets rather than cookies". Maybe this is American rather than pure English grammar.
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caramelle is the Italian word for sweets in general. They could be wine gums, or jelly babies, or caramels or toffees or...
In Lancashire, the word "toffees" is used to mean any sort of sweets. I came across as very rude just after I moved up there and was eating from a bag of sweets (possibly Dolly Mixtures) when someone asked of he could have one of my toffees. I stood there, bag in hand, and told him I didn't have any - because I to my understanding, I really didn't have any toffees.
He pointed to the bag and said "What are those then?" "Dolly Mixtures. Would you like one?"
I was happy to share - I just didn't know of the change in terminology in a different part of the country.
Do you eat candies rather than cookies? Can an Italian give me a distinction in how you would say this?
"Sweet' is English for 'candy and biscuit is English for cookie so my answer was correct!
The translation I saw said Do you eat sweets or rather biscuits?. This is not good English. It would be more grammatical to say Do you eat sweets rather than biscuits.
Interesting! So the Italian language has a simple way to put exclusive 'or' in a question, whereas I can't see a nice way to do that in English (same in German). If it is not a question one can say "either..or" in English
The statement is about choosing candies or cookies in general. If you are speaking of a particular cookie or candy, then the definite article is needed.
Mangio biscotti oppure caramelle. I eat cookies or candies. Mangio i biscotti verdi oppure le caramelle rosse. I eat the green cookies or the red candies.
"Do you eat biscuits or sweets?" is a correct translation in England... i.e., where English comes from
Biscuits and cookies are the same thing! Why is it wrong this time when I've had "biscuits" accepted previously?
Biscuits is in the system, so either it's a glitch or you had some other problem with your sentence.
"Do you eat caramels or biscuits?" Is signaled as wrong. What's wrong with this translation?
