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- "Cosa sono?"
137 Comments
When I was younger I believed there was a higher power outside of the universe; in a "Horton Hears A Who" sense. After that I always questioned our being. Afraid that one day I would wake up grown-up or not being, maybe life was all a dream...
In Italy when using the form"SONO"you absolutely must express the corect i.e.the right question will be:Cosa SONO IO? or Cosa SONO LORO? because in italian language exists-IO SONO+LORO SONO
Thankyou! I wondered this myself, because my first instinct on hearing 'Cosa sono' was 'What are they'.
No way... you can say "cosa sono?" without adding anything else and it means... "what am I or what are they?". If you want to specify, it's OK, but there's no "absolutely must".
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There is certainly a must if you want to be clear. If you want to be vague, then Io or Loro not needed.
Great commemt!!!! I was going to say the same thing, but you explied it much better.
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I was thinking just that! How do I know this is not: What are they... and had a sense that it should include io or loro. Thanks for clarifying
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That was definitely a good joke!!! Poor Adele. I swear I saw and image of her literally rolling on the floor.
What am I? Your mother? Do your own laundry!!!!
Is this the sort of context this question would be used?
"What am I?" is plain wrong in English - it implies an answer like "I am a table". You can say "Who am I?", and respond "I am not your mother!"
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"If I am not for myself, Who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, WHAT AM I? And if not now, when?" Rabbi Hillel
It works if you're dressed for halloween and you want your friends to guess what youre dressed as
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In The Example Jakster Gave, 'Who' Would NOT Work, But 'What' Does. "Who Am I, Your Mother?" Just Sounds... Completely Wrong.
I've got more problems with english here :D [i.e. also wrote 'these'] those are quelli/e?
What are these? why would that not be considered acceptable? would that be cose?
That should be right. The full sentence would be 'cosa sono questi/e' for 'what are these' and 'cosa sono quelli/e' for 'what are those'; however, Italians often drop the subject... 'cosa sono' can also be 'what are they'.
"What are they?" is accepted. But unless they use questi, these wouldn't be accepted
You could say "I'm what?" though. I.e., someone calls you a whale. In disbelief, you respond, "I'm what?"
'What I am' (given as a correct answer) might work in a subordinate clause [I don't know, what I am.] but i don't think it is usual or right to ask: "What I am?"
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much appreciated reference. However, this says that you are, but not what... Descartes: cogito ergo sum, a proof of existence
I wrote "what am I?" and it said it was wrong and that it was "what are they." Given that "sono" is used both for "I" and "they" either answer should have been accepted.
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WHO AM I? (a self-searching philosophical treatise) [also called: nan yar? and Koham?]
multi-media presentation: https://ramana-maharshi.weebly.com/who-am-i.html
original texts (including manuscripts) https://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloadbooks/whoami_all_languages/who_am_I_Sanskrit.pdf
The context will probably help you understanding whether "sono" applies to "I" or "they". But as a context-free statement, "Cosa sono?" could logically, in my mind, be understood as "What am I?" or "What are they?". Would Duolingo accept both answers? If not, why not?
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"What am I?" is infinitely more common for "cosa sono?", because (1) when fielding insults or being slighted is part of the culture, one is constantly defending one's self with these 2 words in an indignant tone; (2) the curiosity behind asking "what are they?" is less likely and, in truth, would more probably be "what are these?", which would be accompanied by 'questi', (3) cosa sono? = natural/common "What am I?" than "What are they?" (4) more natural for 3rd pp: "che cosa sono questi?" or "che sono questi?".
So, relying on grammar, yes, both are possible.
However, there is more ambiguity when using Lei and lei. Part of conversational Italian is clearing up ambiguities, advice to a beginner? get used to it (remember: un casino is not for gambling!!)
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excellent!! hey, did you live in Italy? sounds like it.
"grammatical vs common usage"? is that a thing?
Is the sentence "Sono tartaruga" the right answer for a question like this? Some respect doulingo, please.
@Ismail.H You have to put an article "una or la". "Sono una tartaruga", sono la tartaruga", unless tartaruga is your name... "sono Tartaruga" :D
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Hillel in Italian. (If I am not for myself, then who will be for me? And if I am only for myself, then WHAT AM I? And if not now, when?)
Why focus on who I am when I can focus on who they are? OH WAIT! It's the same question!... obviously!
Not sure if this is responding to your question, but I hope it's helpful: In formal English, verb "to be" (am/is/are) uses "nominative (subject) case" (I/we/he/she/they) before & also after; in informal English, uses "accusative (object)" (me/us/him/them) after. Examples: It is I (formal) vs. It's me (informal). I am he (formal) vs. I'm him (informal). It is they (formal) vs. It's them (informal). [If you use the formal in speaking, it's technically correct but sounds a bit snobby or old fashioned.] For questions, using the accusative just sounds wrong: What/who/how am I; what/who/how is he; what/who/how are they--all sound fine. Using me/him/them in these sentences doesn't sound right.
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Not Entirely. It Means "They Are", And "I Am", But "You Are" Is A Different Word (Two, Actually) In Italian.
Oh! I absolutely agree with so many people,, there is not much sense in this translation if there is no previous context!!!
I listened it many times and I always heard "Posa sono" and only in slow pronunciation it is really "Cosa sono". Of course, bt meaning of the phrase I understood it, but I really listened it many times - "Posa" ))
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In Turkey, To Be Exact. I've Heard It Was Also Used As A Unit Of Measurement In The Ottoman Empire.
If the question had been; 'Cosa sono io?' I'm sure I would've translated it correctly.
I answered "What are?". How I could determine is that "Cosa sono loro?" or "Cosa sono io?" that sounds super non sense...
Yes, I agree. Thanks. Unfortunately I have no choice but to study Italian through English, that is far from my mother tongue either...
@katerinasiap "Cosa sono?" is correct (what are they?, what am I?), "chi sono?" is correct (who are they?, who am I?), "chi cosa sono?" just like that, it's not possible to say, but "chi e cosa sono?" is correct (who and what are they?, who and what am I?). Obviously it depends on the context. Hope it's helpful.
Everyday asking myself.. while that "philosophical" thinking right after waking up xd
Duolingo should really update Italian. I see the posts with negative feedback from six years ago but there was no action... It is not funny guys as far as you are not providing these courses free...
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Could this mean, "Which group do I belong to?", if a teacher or coach divide people into groups 1, 2, 3 and 4?
I remember this from when we had gymnastics at school :)
'Cosa sono' can also be translated as 'what are they' or 'what are these'
The pronunciation of the male speaker often drops ending sounds and/or syllables. Having been an NPR Radio announcer, I listened to this three times, and STILL could not hear 'soon' from 'suono'- not good.
I am Italian. In italiano per "cosa sono?" si intende "cosa sono QUELLI?" e non "cosa sono IO?"!
I'm having an existential crisis right now due to this question. What am I? Are we here? Is life an illusion? Are we real? Is this a dream? How did we evolve from a one celled organism that used to photosynthesize, to being humans that use technology in everyday lives (for example to learn languages)? What is the meaning of life? Is there lore in mc?
This speaker is totally saying "cosa sunuo." Neither fast nor slow can I make myself hear "cosa sono" out of that recording.
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Checking on Google Translate this seems to be incomplete, what am? Reading the comments I see it needs io or loro to finish the sentence
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Note that "Sono" can mean both "(I) Am" or "(They) Are", So this sentence could also be translated as "What are they?", Which would likely be used more often.
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Why it wasn't previously accepted as the correct answer but instead "che cosa sono io"?
Bugger me, I just wanted to learn a bit of Italian as I have bought a small hovel in Pulia. I'm seventy and still have trouble with my own bloody mother tongue. According to what I have learned, I'll be living off vino Un banana. Chio
This is the last question before Duolingo becomes self-aware and takes over the internet.
