"Their dog does not eat candy."
Translation:Il loro cane non mangia caramelle.
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Why is "il loro cane non mangia la caramella" wrong? candy can be singular or plural, both, no?
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Not in Italian. In English, candy can act as an uncountable noun, but in Italian it is countable. So when you say "candy" meaning candy as a food group, you have to use plural in Italian.
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That is not correct. The English sentence would need to say candies, not candy.
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Surely the plural of candy is candy just as the plural of fish is fish. Candies, fishes and sheeps should be avoided! ;)
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The plural of candy changes depending upon if it is a countable noun. Candy is the correct usage in this situation because we arent counting it, but if I have a countable amount then you use candies.
I have a bag of candy, there are 10 candies in the bag.
Ah! I can interject here. Tthe counts as one, no matter how many inside, therefore singular.
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we don't say fishes and we don't say sheeps...but we DO say "candies! in English.
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Actually, fishes is correct when you are talking about different kinds/groups of fish.
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Technically 'fishes' is correct for the reasons above but it isn't commonly used. 'The restaurant serves many kinds of fish.' or the expression: "There are many fish in the sea"
It was really confusing to me too! So, thank you for the explanation :D:D
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O.K. but from the sentece to traslate it is not clear whether candy is meant as a food group or a single piece of candy, un bonbon
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Thank you arisasdf for this explanation. I also got this sentence wrong because up till now, all the lessons referred to caramella as candy and caramelle as candies. It was never explained that in Italian, candy as a food group, needs to be plural. This is why I read the comments: to learn from my mistakes.
They're saying "the dog doesn't eat candy," not "the dog doesn't eat the candy." If they were saying tje soeant doesn't eat THE candy, than you would say "il loro cane non mangia la caramella." but I'm not sure if that's even what you're asking.
Candy..caramella../candies...caramelle...the way the sentence is written misleads you..
I completely agree. There was no previous explanation about the proper singular/plural usage in a sentence like this one. It should be made clear that in Italian, candy (singular in English) is considered plural. Although, growing up, my parents used the singular for candy, with or without an "a", unless specifically referring to "candies".
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I understand the explanation given by arisasdf. If Italians use the plural for candy, when would they use the singular? Per favore, an example.
The best example I can think of for using singular with candy is if a mother tells her child he can have a piece of candy for behaving or doing something good. In English, we would have to specify ONE piece of candy, because "candy" is both plural and singular. In Italian, it's just "la caramella" instead of "le caramelle."
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And I am marked wrong for not also including 'delle caramelle' as correct. I would consider that to be 'some candy'. My dog does not eat some candy doesn't seem to be the way one would phrase things. Language and expression is fluid, but these inconsistencies are difficult.
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The single dog is the subject of the action. loro is plural in reference, but is simply and adjectival modifier of the one cane.
Candy is singular, candies are plural. This question/answer is wrong.
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Why wouldn't "dolci" be OK?
I'm planning to return to the university and I'm confused that this is not an option.
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I am confused about the use or not of the definite article with possessives. I always get it wrong.
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Oops, accidentally put "il tuo cane" for "your dog," instead of "il loro cane" for "their dog"
I am having trouble understanding when to use "loro"and when to use "sue". In this sentence what is the indicative word that tells me what to use, and why?
Loro is used when you're talking about a group of people (their) and suo is used when you're talking about a single person (his/her/it).
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is it necessary to put the article before "loro"? it show's me it is but i'm doubting it...
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Please note that candy is caramella not caramelle, which is plural of candy. Kindly ensure this is corrected
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Shouldn't the Italian phrase include LE in front of caramelle?
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"Caramalla" is the singular. It wouldn't make sense to say, "The dog doesn't eat a candy" (Which needs an article, so would translate to"Il loro cane non mangia UNA/LA caramella").
"Caramelle" is the plural. In this case you are saying that the dog doesn't eat candy in general, so "caramelle/le caramelle" is what you have to use.
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I disagree. There has to be a consistency with sentences. In any other case you have to follow the given sentence with absolute precision (is it acqua or l'acqua, is it singular or plural etc). It is not possible to be correct if game rules just change for one sentence and then change back. Bunch of girls have eaten one caramella/vegetable rather often, why cannot one dog eat just one candy?
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She isn't talking about 'game rules', she is talking about general italian grammar. You can also see arisasdf's comment above. While I'll admit that it is not a perfect crossover from english to italian, the italian translation is correct here.
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annchop says it above it would have had to say ( una la caramella ) I think annchop is right on this one. But I see your point it does seem like they keep changing the rules on us.
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When would it be correct to say "caramella"? I'm pretty sure it's been used in Duolingo during my lessons, I just can't remember the context.
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You're right in a way. "La" or "una caramella" is singular for "The" or "a candy (US)/sweet(GB)", but "le" or "delle caramelle" is the plural for "The" or "some sweets(GB)" but US still has "The" or "some candy" as plural in this case. I think the Americans use candies when they are talking about various brands or selections.
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How about: "Il loro cane non mangia dolci.", since dolci is one of the offered translations for candy when you hover over the word.
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If the noun were feminine, such as la mucca, would it be la lora mucca? In other words. is there a masculine AND feminine version of "their"?
what is the difference between "caramella" and "caramelle"? as i understood "caramelle" is a plural. So in the sentence should be "il loro cane non mangia la caramella"? if they are translating as caramelle, so should be candies, or i'm wrong?
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Candy is used as a mass noun, which takes the plural in Italian. If it had been "the candy", then it would have simply been the singular noun.
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Yes, candy can be caramella, and caramello for singular, and caramelle for plural. It can also mean sweets
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For English people this is easier to understand because we use the word 'sweet/sweets' as opposed to 'candy' so the sentence would be 'Their dog does not eat sweets' (plural). To use caramella i.e. in the singular it would have to be 'Their dog does not eat a sweet'.
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I'm English too but not aware that the plural for candy is not candies. On multiple choice questions Duolingo should have the native English words in brackets like pants (trousers), trunk (boot), elevator (lift) and math (maths).
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Trunk, elevator, pants...these are all words native English speaking people use.
Stupid Italians!... [he jibes] No wonder they also gesticulate with their hands.
This is a wrong sentence. the word "candy" in the English sentence is not correct, because candy = caramella and candies = caramelle.
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In the sentence there is no proof that the dog never eats candy. So the dog may be refusing ONE specific candy. I think caramella should be accepted as correct answer
I am confused! I just learned that "loro" cannot be used when it applies to animals, and that essi would be used instead. But, I was graded as wrong.
