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- "Their dog does not eat candy…
"Their dog does not eat candy."
Translation:Il loro cane non mangia caramelle.
145 Comments
171
Why is "il loro cane non mangia la caramella" wrong? candy can be singular or plural, both, no?
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.
That is not correct. The English sentence would need to say candies, not candy.
Edit: I don't know what English sentence I was referring to here.
Candy vs candies depends on the sentence though.
Surely the plural of candy is candy just as the plural of fish is fish. Candies, fishes and sheeps should be avoided! ;)
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.
we don't say fishes and we don't say sheeps...but we DO say "candies! in English.
Fishes in the ocean. Fishes in the sea. All jump up. With a one, two, three!
A very common nursery rhyme used when playing with babies and toddlers.
"Fishes" is a perfectly acceptable, if less common, plural of fish.
Actually, fishes is correct when you are talking about different kinds/groups of fish.
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"
- 603
It's complicated. "Eating candy" means eating the substance that is candy, or eating candies in a general / habitual sense "Eating candies" means eating several actual candies (or possibly candies of different kinds).
From what has been said, in Italian you use the plural to indicate more than one, where English uses the singular to indicate the substance.
The noun candy can be countable or uncountable. In more general, commonly used, contexts, the plural form will also be candy. However, in more specific contexts, the plural form can also be candies e.g. in reference to various types of candies or a collection of candies.
Fishes Is A Perfectly Acceptable Word If You're Referring To Multiple Types Of Fish, Just Like Peoples If You're Referring To Multiple Groups Of People.
Not necessarily. Saying "candies" is pretty regional in English, mostly Europeans say it. Americans use the word "candy" for both singular and plural. I.E. "Can I have some candy?" Candy can mean more than one in this case.
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
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.
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Even though you didn't really answer the question, you made it very clear to me. I am assuming that if it is was THE CANDY is would be LA CARAMELLA or THE CANDIES would be LE CARAMELLE. But in this situation it isn't a THEY, it's just CANDY, so it is a food group, not an item, therefore always plural.
That helped. Thanks!!!
In English is possible to use the word " candies " abd then it wouldn't be up to us to guess it was ment to be " caramelle " instead of caramella. Not nice that we have to guess.
Yes, how can we guess is it in the plural ? " caramelle, since in English shows just candy? A lot of Duo mistakes. A lot!
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.
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It's wrong, but I have no idea why. Anyway, I'm glad the dog doesn't eat it. Mine would have.
- 147
I know, right? In English, "candy" has a plural. Duo Lingo shoukd correct the question to "candies".
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."
- 170
I think the use of "le" at least should not be considered incorrect! The article in such cases is optional....
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.
The single dog is the subject of the action. loro is plural in reference, but is simply and adjectival modifier of the one cane.
SORRY, BUT I AM ITALIAN AND WHEN I HAVE TO TRANSLATE THIS PHRASE FROM ENGLISH TO ITALIAN IF I WRITE "THEIR DOG DOES NOT EAT CANDY", OBVIOUSLY DUOLINGO DON'T ACCEPT IT BECAUSE I WRITE CANDY AND NOT CANDIES. WHY IN THE OPPOSITE SITUATION I HAVE TO USE THE PLURAL WHEN I READ A SINGULAR WORD. IN MY OPINION THE ENGLISH VERSION IS WRONG LIKE "THEY ARE MY FISH" AS LORO SONO I MIEI PESCI. FOR AN ITALIAN LIKE ME THIS HAVE NO SENSE.
"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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
- 382
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.
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).
Trunk, elevator, pants...these are all words native English speaking people use.
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).
This is a wrong sentence. the word "candy" in the English sentence is not correct, because candy = caramella and candies = caramelle.
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.
Why is it Il loro cane for their dog? I've never had a definitive answer on this. It's like saying The their dog. Any assistance would be great. Thanks
How about: "Il loro cane non mangia dolci.", since dolci is one of the offered translations for candy when you hover over the word.
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?
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.
Yes, candy can be caramella, and caramello for singular, and caramelle for plural. It can also mean sweets
Why wouldn't "dolci" be OK?
I'm planning to return to the university and I'm confused that this is not an option.
I am confused about the use or not of the definite article with possessives. I always get it wrong.
Oops, accidentally put "il tuo cane" for "your dog," instead of "il loro cane" for "their dog"
is it necessary to put the article before "loro"? it show's me it is but i'm doubting it...
Please note that candy is caramella not caramelle, which is plural of candy. Kindly ensure this is corrected
Their can also refer to ''his'' or ''her'' in English. Therefore, ''il suo cane ...'' should also be correct.
Native Italian speakers-Since caramelle is plural why is the article ‘le’ before caramelle considered wrong in this sentence?
That's wrong caramella=candy, so much feedback about it, correct it!
I believe that it is assumed that the dog does not eat all kind of candy, or many candy so caramelle should be fine.
I Believe "Il Suo" Should Be Acceptable As Well, As "Their" Could Be A Possessive For A Third-person Of Unknown Gender In English, As Well As The Third Person Plural.
in this sentence it is written candy = singular = caramella but it corrects me as caramelle ..why?
Caramelle is sweets where I am from, not this american bs. Why is it marked incorrect!?
I think the fact that he DOESN'T eat candy is what makes it automatically plural -- it covers all the possible candy there could be.
- 170
I think the main problem here is with the duolingo program itself. Usually "caramelle" has been translated as "candies", therefore, one assumes when given the word "candy", one should translate it as caramella. The usage should be consistent!
candy.. caeramella candies.. caramelle why my answer was wrong when i chose caramella for candy it should be accepted
"Candy" In English Can Both Be A Singular Count Noun (One Piece Of Candy, A Candy), Or A Mass Noun (Some Candy, Candy), While This Is Not The Case In Italian, "Caramella" Is One Singular Piece Of Candy, While "Caramelle" Is Multiple Pieces Of Candy, Since The Sentence Here Is Not "Their Dog Does Not Eat A Candy", It's Clearly Using It As A Mass Noun, Which Would Take The Plural Form In Italian.
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That's irrelevant to this situation. In every single other sentence in which "caramella" has been the correct answer, the English translation has said "candy". In every single other sentence where "caramelle" has been the correct answer, the English translation has said "candies". In this one specific sentence, unlike all the others, the English translation says "candy", yet doesn't accept "caramella".
The problem is not with Italian vs. English. The problem is with the inconsistency in the translations that they CHOSE for this sentence, which goes against the translations they chose for all the other ones. My objective was to translate the English sentence into Italian. It said "candy". If I went by the fact that "candy" can be both plural and singular in English, which answer was correct would be random, which was why they chose to translate "caramelle" into "candies" to begin with.
Do you not see what the problem is? Cause it's not a linguistic one. It's an oversight one.
Its written as candy so plural should have been caramella not caramelle
Candy is in the singular, not the so called right answer makes it a plural: consistency please!
Now the in the english sentence the word candy is singular it supposed to be caramella not carmelle why did you count my answer wrong
Candies should have definitely been written since it is a word in English. However, because grammar could translate differently, they could have clarified by saying "candy (pl.)"
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Candy : caramella Candies : caramelle.
Non sono d'accordo che la mia risposta non è buona
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The British "sweets" would clear up the singular or plural confusion with this question. As there is nothing to indicate whether the candy/sweets is singular or plural within the context of the sentence, both singular and plural should be acceptable answers. I lived in Italy for 4 1/2 years AND took 2 years of college Italian; Duolingo is inconsistent, especially compared to life experience and formal education.
Candy is singular in this sentence, not plural.. caramelle is plural. Caramella is single.
As regards candy , I think they should use both versions : candy singular and candies plural (even if it's correct or not) just to clarify the difference between caramella and caramelle...
Stupid Italians!... [he jibes] No wonder they also gesticulate with their hands.
