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- "I live with my mother and my…
"I live with my mother and my grandparents."
Translation:Abito con mia madre e i miei nonni.
203 Comments
If I leave the article at "madre", "padre", "fratello" etc. then why shouldn't I leave it at "nonni"?
Because it's plural; you wouldn't with "mia nonna e mio nonno", but an article is almost always needed for possessive plural pronouns.
Yes, well done duo for giving us a lesson with both a plural ownership and a single ownership (when discussing familial relationships) so we can talk about and see how the article is included in the plural and not in the singular.
It would have been even better if there had been a lightbulb explaining it. I don't learn by guessing.
I looked for the lightbulb too, and it wasn't there, and I think it should be since otherswise it's a guessing game, like you said :)
yeah but you learn by reading the comments. That is in fact how you learned this.
Thanks for this explanation. I will now stop shouting at the computer WHY WHY WHY
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Can you explain why "ed" cannot be used to precede "i miei nonni"? I reported it, 21 August 2019, but I'm not at all sure whether it's right or wrong. Thanks!
In actual spoken Italian, it appears the d is sometimes used, but according to the latest rules, it should not really be used just before any vowel, but rather only before another actual that will begin with the same letter (i.e ed e.... or ad a....) Of course, people are not always super strict even in their own language or grammar (and nor is DL), so the old overuse of putting the d in before any vowel still exists. This was explained to me by an Italian just last week, but it´s a bit above my pay grade and Italian level to verify, so I´m just accepting it. Hth.
According to my Italian friend, the "d" is added to break up strings of more than two vowels, so:
"i miei nonni" -> "e i miei nonni";
"io sono grande" -> "ed io sono grande"
It seems an arbitrary rule to me, but it is how it's done.
I don´t either, but sometimes with language, you just have to accept that that´s how it is. Languages are organic, not logical.
It's a rule regarding family - sister, brother, mother, etc. That's the rule. The rule is why! Singular drops the article, plural retains it, for family. This info is contained in one of the DL "tips" associated with the lesson.
Why? It translates to my mom and "the" my grandparents! It doesn't even make sense! Is it wrong to leave out the i like this: "mia madre e miei nonni." Would locals understand that or find it awkard?
No, for them it´s normal. Took a while to figure this one out, because DL just teaches it by trial and error. Takes a while to realize that though they teach you to use the article with both plural and singular objects, they never really explain that with family members, you still use the article in plural, but drop it in singular. Perhaps because a THE my mom would be redundantly definite for them?
I just answered "Io vivo con mia madre e i miei nonni" and it accepted it! I guess 'vivo' and 'abito' are interchangeable?! When is it better to use 'vivo' vs. 'abito' ? Thanks!
It was not accepted to day... but I confirm you may say either "io vivo" or "io abito"
I wrote this exact phrase but it marked it wrong. It stated Abito instead of vivo
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Yes, DL is a mess at times. Same thing happened to me. Yet in an earlier part of the same lesson, it had in Italian "Vivo com mia...." and the correct English translation was "I live with...". But now, when reversed and I write "Vivo com..." it's marked wrong and corrected as "Abito...". WHY?
One word is not enough: if you had submitted a report I could have told you why it was rejected.
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I just answered "Vivo con mi madre e i miei nonni." but was marked wrong because Duo insisted "Abito" is the only correct verb. This is not true since an earlier Italian-to-English translation quiz had the same Italian sentence I quoted! Reported it.
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I agree, VIVO should be accepted.
But you still have a typo
It should be “MIA madre” (not MI)
I believe vivare can be used in a more general sense, while abitare is used more in reference to living in a specific place. So both work here.
also wrong for me, yet the reverse translation it gave vivo as the word to translate into English... makes no sense.
I have no idea for, according to the rule, singular relatives = no article, but plural relatives = article. Can someone clarify once more?
mamorim, see the link I posted above. It shows that for singular family relationships ... my mother, your husband, his grandfather ... the article is ommitted. For plural family relationships ... my grandparents, your brothers ... the article is used.
mia madre BUT i miei genitori
Singular relatives don't take the definite article: mia nonna ma i miei nonni.
There's not a rule that said: " If you got a vowel you add a (d) to (e), and it becomes "ed i miei nonni"?
The rule is called la d euphonica, and the agreement of its application seems to vary. Here's a good link
I think that the problem is "tua madre", while the given sentence says "my mother".
"TUA" is not an article, but a possessive adjective and is used for a purpose different than a definite article.
"vivo" is sort of like to be alive somewhere, whereas "abito" is like where you live (habitat)
"col" is a contraction of "con + il" (Similarly "coi" is a contraction of "con + i")
I don't understand why there is an article used with "my grandparents" and not with "my mother." What is the rule?
Thanks for informing the variation of usage between singular and plural family members. Is there a grammar lesson for this on Duolingo? Or any grammar lessons?
Thanks, xyphax, for the link. I'm memorizing the rules that I didn't know or have forgotten over time away from Italian grammar.It's probably wise to use a standard Italian grammar with Duolingo.
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I'm sorry I still don't understand. I live with my mother and my grandparents.
<h1>1√ Vivo con mia madre e i miei nonni.</h1> <h1>2 X Io vivo di mia madre ed i miei nonni.</h1>So I was half right, but not sure why duoLingo suggested the second was wrong. The article has a vowel "i" and I read "la d euphonica" stuff. Is the modifier the base noun "nonni" or the "miei" that don't have a vowel.
My guess is that the "vivo DI" is the incorrect part in the second sentence. As far as I know, the "ed, i, miei, and nonni" are all correct.
Is this something you just need to know, or are there any rules? I thought only words ending in 'a' was feminine. Is it because the word describes something feminine?
When the word describes something feminine (like "mother = madre", "wife = moglie"), then use feminine articles like "una" and "la".
Most of the time, feminine words end in "a" and masculine words end in "o". But as you saw above, there are also words that end in "e" and they can be both: feminine or masculine.
For such words ending in "e" you maybe can infer which article it must be from the word's context (e.g. a mother is a woman - so feminine) or you just have to know which article you need to use.
So for example: - "the tiger = la tigre" (feminine) - "the dessert = il dolce" (masculine)
i lived between italians and i can tell you duolingo is way more strict when it comes to language than they are. looks like it recognize that you are in good progress and than it keeps an eye one very e i o whatever is not even present on the keyboard. Good luck original speakers :)
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I seem to recall that you use the article with mamma/pappa - la mia mamma, not mia mamma
i wrote "con" twice and i got it wrong....interesting...."Io vivo con mia madre e con i miei nonni "
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That's because the sentence wasn't "I live with my mother and WITH my grandparents" it was "I live with my mother and grandparents." Also, you would probably get marked off for using "con i" instead of the contraction "coi" but im not certain of that last point.
Think "I abide." It's an easy way to remember abitare. Of course, most U.S. English speakers never use the verb "to abide," but we do at least know it.
Why could I not say Vivo instead of abito. My translate says Vivo is I live..... Can anyone explain? Grazie
I used it and it was accepted. I can never remember abito as that does mean a 'dress'.
I keep forgetting to use abito. What's the difference between vivo and arbito? Is it about dwelling or residing?
I always remember abito (abitare) as "habitat". My habitat is at X - I live at/in X, but that's just me, lol.
The lesson had the phrase "Vivo con mia madre e i miei nonni' and its translation "I live with my mother and my grandparents". Now I used that sample but my answer haven't been accepted. Why the correct one is "Abito", but not "Vivo"? They teach one translation, but then you must guess which one is correct(((((
Why do they ask it one way in translate to English using vivo then when i translate from English to Italian they are using abito?
It's explained in the previous comments: the sentence is "with my mother and my grandparents," not "with my mother and with my grandparents."
Is it possible to use the preposition DA instead of CON: "Abito da mia madre e i miei nonni."?
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last time i put abito and GOT IT WRONG, so this time i put vivo, AND GOT IT WRONG AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Probably a typing mistake. I experienced that quite a few times, that it marked something wrong I was SURE was correct in terms of the words I chose (and the order). Then when I had to do it again at the end of the round, I wrote the same and got it right. So yeah, most likely hit a wrong key somewhere that wasn't registered as a typo.
I wrote: Vivo con mia madre e i miei nonni. Why is it incorrect? The answer given is: Abito con mia madre e i miei nonni.
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There is a difference between vivo and abito. Vivere is "to live" as in to have life in you, or to not be dead! Abito is to dwell, as in to live somewhere or with some-one.
Because it's a singular relative. Mia madre, i miei genitori. Mio fratello, i miei fratelli. Mia zia, le mie zie etc.
we have been taught that the definite article is not needed when referring to close relatives
This contradicts a previous exercise which translated ' He lives' as 'vive'
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I do not want a "Great!" or "Awsome!" or "Good job!" for every correct answer. A "Correct." is enough, together with Duo pepping now and then.
may I use wordings like this > abito i miei madre con nonni > because I speak about my mother and grandpas altogether?
Col = con il. So you wrote the equivalent of "con il i miei nonni." You can see that doesn't make sense. If the sentence to translate had been "with my mother and with my grandparents," perhaps "coi miei nonni" would have been correct, but now I'm speculating about a Duolingo answer, which is dangerous.
Because madre is a singular feminine noun. "I" is used with masculine plural nouns. Also, when referring to singular family members, the possessive pronoun is never used. You refer to your mother as mia madre, but your plural aunts as le mie zie.
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They both can be used in this sentence. Report it. Here are some examples from DL exercises:
“Mio cugino vive a Genova”—->”My cousin lives in Genoa.”
“Abita con i suoi genitori.“—>“He lives with his parents.”
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Italians do not use articles with the closest family members (if they talk about family themselves, but if you talk of someone's family then you should use an article : "Lui abita con la sua madre"
Very inconsistent will accept abito one time, vivo one time then another time it wll reject, very frustrating, I know that they want you to buy a course, annoying people is not how to sell your product.
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When this phrase is in Italian, it is "vivo". When it is in English, it must be translated "abito". This makes it very confusing to learn without further explanation.
Abito or vivo, make up your mind, we've been taught to use vivo for life and abito for a residence. Well which is it?
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It is not. Maybe you made another mistake? Next time copy/paste the whole sentence, otherwise we cannot help.
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/191390?comment_id=26945092
Abito and vivo seem to be interchangeable. Similar statements use either one. BUT whichever I choose is the wrong one - and is not given as 'another correct answer'. I change my choice of word to reflect the last Duolingo correction, and it's wrong again. Getting frustrated ...
Vivo means live as in "to be alive", whereas abito means "live" in the sense of residing in a location. They can usually both be used when referring to where you live, for example "Vivo a Venezia" and "Abito a Venezia" are both correct I think. I used vivo here and it was correct.
The exact same thing was written by duo in Italian for me to translate to English and it started with vivo not abbito. Now they want abbito instead of vivo. It's the exact same statement.
I used vivo here and it accepted it, perhaps you made another mistake? you might have left out the "i" in "i miei nonni".
I used abito instead of vivo and it was marked wrong. I thought that abitare was used for living in a place and vivere was the state of being alive, i.e. the opposite of morire. Confused.
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I know, they are so inconsistent. I think that "abito" refers to living in a particular situation or place. "Vivo" is more general.
Doesn't 'i" mean "the"? so wouldn't it be
I live with my mother and the my grandpartents
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Definite articles must precede possessive pronouns combined with nouns, the exception is singular close family member. "nonni" is plural, that´s why the article "i" is obligatory. (However, fidanzato/-a is not a close family member yet, so the article cannot be omitted.)
I am first language English, so it makes sense to me that 'abito' should be the translation for 'living with' - ie 'inhabiting'. Vivo, in English is much more about living and breathing.
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Interesting, but “Vivo a Roma” clearly means that my current residency is in Rome, nothing about breathing here.
“vivo” and “to live” have more than one meaning depending on the context.
In this DL sentence both verbs should work fine.
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Vivere means "to live", not only "to be alive", but also "to spend a life [somewhere or with somebody]". Abitare means "to inhabit", not necessarily "to live with", you can dwell somewhere alone. Both verbs should be accepted here.
Abito a Roma. - my house/apartment is in Rome
Vivo a Roma. - ditto or I work and spend my free time in Rome, but my house/apartment is elsewhere (most likely nearby, e.g. in Fiumicino or Lido di Ostia); in this case I cannot say abito a Roma
What can I say, Stefan and Nathan - you are both right!
But the little green owl wants what the little green owl wants. Sometimes you have to read its little green mind. And sometimes you just have to gnash your teeth at the unfairness of it all in the language of your choice.
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Sometimes we have to ignore the owl. It gives us just some options, not all options. There is much more out there.
I thought in another lesson it said that Madre was formal and therefore did take the article. Where is Mama took Mia because it's intimate. I'm confused.
I don't understand why it is mia madre- without the article but i miei nonni - with the article.
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The rule is that you use an article only with plural of your family members and you do not use it with your singular family members.
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Then you are stressing "io"
it would be like saying "It is me who lives with my mother and my grandparents"
I did "Vivo con mia madre e i miei nonni" and it didnt accept. Why vivo is correct isnt it? Cuz when u click on it it also showes on the suggestions as well
Why can't I say "vivo" instead of "abito"? It always marks wrong, but in the Italian-English translation it says Vivo...
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It's not needed if the vowels are different, but required if the vowels are the same, e.g. ed Emilio, od Otranto, ad Ancona. https://italiantutornow.co.uk/what-are-ed-ad-and-od-in-italian/
Why it take "...i miei nonni" we don't say with "...my the grandparents"
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Check the tips for possessives:
https://www.duolingo.com/skill/it/Possessives/tips-and-notes
"il mio" and its various constructions based on gender and quantity = "my," except when referring to close family members in the singular
The answer above is not the answer that it marked correct. There it says Vivo con mia madre etc. which is correct or are both correct?
Ok .Have now read that if it is plural you put in article!!! When one only has Duolingo to work with and no teacher or grammar book
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Actually you have to use article with “i miei nonni”
But you cannot use one with “Mia madre” (as it is a singular family member)
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“i miei” not “mei” (you have a typo)
Plus for plural relatives you need the article i (or le in some cases)
