41 Comments
In English, it is more polite to say "I would like a candy" versus "I want a candy". Similarly in Italian, it is more polite to say "Vorrei una caramella" versus "voglio una caramella". It, however, is a different tense of the verb and not in this lesson.
Volere means want. Io voglio tu vuoi lui/lei vuole noi vogliamo voi volete loro vogliono.
Wouldn't vorrei usually be considered overkill for an informal conversation in Italian?
You wouldn't say "I want a candy" in English--you'd say "I want candy" or "I want some candy," or something like that. :/
The thing is, you cant just literaly translate everything, because not everything is the same in different languages... "la caramella" in italian is countable sort of like "(a) piece(s) of candy".
In British English, you'd never say "candy" like this. "Sweet" or "sweetie" would be better.
mm i have the same problem with translating this phrase coz we say "Lolly" in Australia.
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I agree with danitaz. In English it is a slightly more polite way of saying the same thing. A small child might say,"I want a candy", but an adult, or even a polite older child would be more likely to say, "I would like a candy". I think, although it is a different tense, it should be allowed.
She wants a candy would be '(Lei) vuole una caramella'. 'Voglia' is the 1st, 2nd and 3rd person singular subjunctive forms of volere.
Why is it i want a candy? Shouldn't be "I want some candy" or "i want candy" it doesn't make sense!
Does anyone know why this verb goes irregular on the tu and lei forms starting with vuo instead of vog? Is there possible confusion with another meaning?
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Wow, this lesson has A LOT of new words in it, and they don't always conjugate in a clear cut fashion. For the sake of my notes (and sanity), I really wish Duo would give us the root forms, then proceed in giving us all of its conjugates
awebb253 is you place your cursor over the verb in a sentence you will see suggested translations but also an option with a capital C. Select this and it gives you the present tense conjugations. Hope that helps and if you knew that already - c'est la vie!
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Thank you for the reply. I actually did not know that. However, I only use the app, so that is not an option for my practice. I do still appreciate the information, and if I use Duo on a pc, then I will be sure to remember your advice. Until then, I've download another app that helps with conjugation. Thanks, again
Am I the only one that thinks the infinitive of the verbs should be included in theese sentences? it would be a lot more helpful to me than this...
Isn't 'caramella' like 'dolce' meaning sweet ? (I was looking at the meanings of caramella suggested ). Which one do you say to say "sweet" ?
It totally depends on where you are. Caramella is specifically a piece of candy. So in America we would be unlikely to ever translate it with "sweet", because we don't use sweet as candy. So caramella is a specific thing (and a noun) "candy" in the US and "sweet or sweetie" in the UK. On the other hand, dolce means the adjective sweet, and "il dolce" is the noun dessert.
Does "caramella" cover all types of sweeties or candies? In British English a "candy" would be ONE sort out of many, as would "caramel". Using "sweet" for "dessert" or "pudding" (the last being most acceptable in middle class speech) would be a sociolinguistic marker of lower social status. Approve or not that's how it is!
I agree with milifient. "candy" is an American term. In English we would say "sweet"
In English, one would say, " I want candy" or "I would like a piece of candy", but one never says "I want a candy"
