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- Topic: Italian >
- "Io aspetto il cameriere."
94 Comments
You wait for the waiter. But wait, isn't it the waiter's job to wait? If not, why are they called waiters?
The waiter waits on you while you order. You wait for the waiter while other people order.
Ok, so you wait for the waiter to finish waiting on other people so that he'll then wait on you? Waitception lol
And then you have to wait for the waiter to wait for the food while he waits on other people.
But actually, it doesn't: "Waiting for" is what the customer does; "waiting ON" is what the waiter does.
After reading all those replays, the word "wait" has lost all meaning to me.
It's like rain on your wedding day. It's a free ride when you've already paid.
'To expect' is the reflexive verb aspettarsi, where you have to say mi aspetto for i expect etc. 'To wait' (or more correctly, 'to await') is aspettare
it can mean 'expect' in the same way that the English verb 'await' includes an expectation of tier arrival. If you have read the classic English novels then you have probably run across something like--Good. I shall expect you around four, then.... . This is the expect that is included, to await something anticipated.
I wait for the waiter while he waits the other waiter waiting the waiter boss to wait for my wait.
No, it should be la camerierE, because 'e' ending in Italian singular nouns is correct both in maschile e femminile.
1238
My dictionary offers 'la cameriera' for the waitress, with translation for 'il cameriere' being only for the waiter.
"Il cameriere" = "the waiter" (m. sing.)
"I camerieri" = "the waiters" (m. pl.)
"La cameriera" = "the waitress" (f. sing.)
"Le cameriere" = "the waitresses" (f. pl.)
So yes, we have an ambiguity, since "cameriere" can be both masculine singular and feminine plural and you can only tell them apart from the context (e.g. the accompanying article, if any).
It isn't incorrect in colloquial English, but 'waiting on' usually means serving. 'I wait on the waiter' would imply role reversal, where you are serving a meal to the waiter.
I disagree. I'm waiting on Dave before I can leave seems like perfect English. It implies to me that Dave is within your presence but being slow. While waiting for Dave implies more that you are waiting for him to arrive at the location and he is not currently there yet. Although they could both still be used.
Lengthy discussion from merriam-webster.com, which could be used to support either point of view:
— wait on also wait upon
1a : to attend as a servant ......
b : to supply the wants of : serve .......
2 : to make a formal call on .........
3: to wait for .....................
American dialectologists have evidence showing wait on (sense 3) to be more a Southern than a Northern form in speech. Handbook writers universally denigrate wait on and prescribe wait for in writing. Our evidence from printed sources does not show a regional preference; it does show that the handbooks' advice is not based on current usage settlement of the big problems still waited on Russia — Time I couldn't make out … whether Harper was waiting on me for approval — E. B. White .... the staggering bill that waited on them at the white commissary downtown — Maya Angelou. ..... One reason for the continuing use of wait on may lie in its being able to suggest protracted or irritating waits better than wait for for two days I've been waiting on weather — Charles A. Lindbergh ....... the boredom of black Africans sitting there, waiting on the whims of a colonial bureaucracy — Vincent Canby ........ doesn't care to sit around waiting on a House that's virtually paralyzed — Glenn A. Briere. .....Wait on is less common than wait for, but if it seems natural, there is no reason to avoid it.
As a British English native speaker, I'd say it's a definite Americanism. 'Waiting on' someone always means serving them in British English
- 923
Also British, I do sometimes say 'waiting on' meaning to wait for. Perhaps it originally came from America, but it is definitely within our shores now
I'm a California native over age 60. The first time that I remember hearing the phrase "waiting on" in this sense was in 1970, and it sounded strange to me. It still does, even though I hear it more now. The Rolling Stones immortalized the phrase in their 1981 hit "Waiting on a Friend," which I think had nothing to do with restaurants. "Waiting for" is more standard, and I think it is the better translation.
I am also a native British English speaker and "waiting for" is what sounds weird to me. I've always said "waiting on". Perhaps it's regional? (I'm Scottish)
A lot of 'American English' comes from the English spoken when certain waves of Settlers left England for America. The spoken English moved on in Britain but was retained (or developed differently) in America. However, you can also see this effect in regional locations across Britain and sometimes they will intersect.
Me too hah..hah..hah..
And also read my comment,you'll have much pun,I mean FUN.Sorry for the joke..have fun :D
That would be a more Spanish-like construction, where "a" is used when the direct object is a person. In Italian, you don't use "a" with aspettare. "Aspetto il treno" (I wait for the train) or "Aspetto il cameriere" (I wait for the waiter).
I didn't know it also meant to wait FOR ... so to me when I read it, it said I wait the waiter. Thanks for your help with this.
- 1238
you are welcome. It can also mean 'to expect', which maybe helps remember not needing 'per' in the Italian.
So much to remember ... I'll never give up though, I love it troppo! Thanks for your help, I didn't think anyone would respond. Have a good one.
In correct English you need to 'wait for' or 'await' someone. And Duolingo uses 'correct English' to measure success.
To me this isn't about who is waiting for whom ... it is why doesn't it say ... Io aspetto per il cameriere ... it means I wait for the waiter but it doesn't say 'for' ...
In Italian you 'await' and not wait for (grammatically speaking)--the meanings are correct. No 'per' is included in this construction.
the hints suggest cameriere = servant so I entered "I wait for the servant" and Duo marked it as wrong :-S
Im curious about "waiter" vs "server". In english they're interchangeable as they have the same meaning. Is that the case for Italian as well?
"Aspetto" looks like a cross between "expect" and "espero". That's how I figured it means "wait" in 1st person.
Wow..I wait for the waiter.It means that I AM the waiter and the one (I mean the serving waiter) I'm waiting for is the waiter,who makes other waiters (I mean the waiting customers XD) + other serving waiters wait.
So..the main topic is that,we are the real waiters who wait for the servants whom we call waiters,am I right?
So, do you not pronounce the final 'e' in the word cameriere, or is the audio just cutting off for me?
Unlike English, all letters are pronounced in Italian (unless you want to count gl or gn combinations) So the final -e is pronounced, it might just be a question of getting used to an e sound that is not nearly as common in English. You'll get there soon!
Yes, except that as noted by Loo Foo, the vowel sounds are sharper and shorter than how we say "air" and "ay" in English. It's more like the "err" of "error" and "eh"
Also the "i" isn't really a distinctly separate syllable, so it's sort of like kamer-yereh
This IS why they are called waiters for their making us waiters..I mean await XD
'Wait for' is covered in 'aspetto'? Normally i was thinking it'd be 'io aspetto per il cameriere'?
Any pointers?
