"Perché lui non tira su i pantaloni?"
Translation:Why doesn't he pull up his pants?
82 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
1546
Hilarious! I'm glad we're learning these practical phrases.
Reminds me of when I recently learned that tiramisu = tira mi su = pick me up. My mind was blown.
281
My mind is blown too. I always thought it odd that an Italian dessert had such a Japanese-sounding name. TIL.
1943
Until today, I thought it may "Tear me apart". It seemed to make sense to me at the time.
Thank you for that explanation; it helped me understand why translating it to the English idiom 'he puts on his pants' is wrong. Could you answer two follow up questions for me?
(1) is this true?
he puts on his pants = lui mette suoi pantaloni (preposition 'su' not required because verb mettere is being used as a transitive verb that takes a direct object ...)
http://italian.about.com/library/verb/blverb_mettere.htm
(2) would that be a case where we can omit the possessive preposition suoi? (#2 in link below)
he puts on his pants = lui mette i pantaloni
http://www.arnix.it/free-italian/italian-grammar/possessive-adjectives-in-italian.php
769
I assume that the reason there's no reflexive or possessive or something along those lines is that the only trousers (pants, leg tubes, whatever) someone would pull up would be their own. Nobody runs around pulling up other people's trousers, so common sense trumps grammar.
1057
Italian does not use the possessive when ownership is obvious, it uses the definite article. So YellowStripe is partially right. Dropping the obvious possessive, in this case 'i suoi' is not just trumping grammar. It's the way Italians speak. (It's better explained in the early tips learning from French!)
281
Oh. Duh. That's why suspenders are called "tirantes". Pants-puller-uppers. I learn something new every day here.
Generally that the subject is the owner:
- Parcheggio la (mia) macchina - I park my car
- Hai perso il (tuo) portafogli - You lost your wallet
- Vai a casa (tua) - Go home / Go to your home
With the third persons it also happens when you normally wouldn't use the article:
- È suo padre / È il padre - He's his/her father
And there are some less intuitive cases where the rule is inverted:
- Mi fa male la spalla - My shoulder hurts (literally the shoulder hurts me)
- Mi ha rigato la macchina - He scratched my car (literally he scratched the car to me)
291
Does this also mean "to get his act together" as in English, or does only the literal meaning work in Italuan?
53
Can we get this clear we are learning English English and not American English and thus the correct translation is 'Why doesn't he pull up his trousers'. Pants or knickers in Italian are mutande or mutande da donna respectively.
First person singular in English: I do Second person singular: you do Third person singular in English: he does, she does, it does. For plurals, it's "we do", "you (all) do", "they do".
"don't" = " do not" "doesn't" = "does not"
You are using the wrong verb form when you say "he don't"; just like you can't say "I doesn't". I hope that helps.
1057
Well well, what a hoot to learn about 'tiramisu' from tikidog. DL sure conjures up some weird phrases. I've been reviewing Italian both from English & French, and taking part in the discussions this time!! I'll have to check out how to say 'pick-me-up' in French to let that group know about the non-Japanese 'tiramisu'. I must object to 'tirante' for suspenders; it's more a guy or brace. Bretelle may be better, like the French 'bretelles'.
1057
You are absolutely correct in your question. 'Do' and 'Does' are often used in questions and negation, but there is no reason not to use 'isn't' are 'aren't in a question, as progressive or continuous forms of the English present. You can use 'do' or 'does' affirmatively in a sentence, such as 'She does play the piano'. Don't expect the DL bot to understand all that, though!!
348
Because it is a verb (tirare), not an adjective.
tiro = I pull
tiri = you pull
tira = he, she, it pulls
tiriamo = we pull
tirate = you all pull
tirano = they pull