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- Topic: Italian >
- "I have a snake in my boot."
"I have a snake in my boot."
Translation:Ho un serpente nello stivale.
267 Comments
Where is the possessive part of this sentence? Wouldn't "nello stivale" mean "in the boot", not "in MY boot"?
The verb "ho" indicates the owner of the boot. The possessive pronoun would be used, if the boot did not belong to the speaker. In other words, if the verb and the possessive pronoun refer to the same person, the pronoun is usually left out, especially when referring to clothes or parts of the human body.
I have asked my italian friends and they say 'il mio stivale' is perfectly acceptable.
Sometimes, the Duolingo interface leaves much to be desired- like a living person to talk to... In this instance, whether or not the 'ho' indicates the person or not, a boot standing by itself could be their boot, your boot, or no one's boot-but the snake would still be there! And Woody is still correct. IN MY BOOT.
i just dont quite get this, because the possessive part of the sentence is the snake, because the snake you have can be anywhere, i have a snake in your boots, i have a snake in the cake, i have a snake in her house. they will all start the same
You would use c'è instead of ho. (That is, there is a snake in the boot rather than I have a snake in my boot)
This was a great explanation, but I'm still a bit unclear as to when I cannot apply this rule. For example, in another question, I was asked to write out "he has his suit". I started to write the correct answer "Lui ha il suo vestito", but thought I'd try to apply this principle instead, and thus typed in "Lui ha vestito", thinking that "ha" combined with "lui" indicated the owner of the suit. This was incorrect. So, how do I know when I can apply this rule?
This makes no sense. Every sentence with a possessive verb up to this point has had the possessive pronoun mine or my. There is either confusion or there are 2 ways to say this
Then do no translated " my boot" but "on the boot" or even " in the boot" as they are the way most people would say it in English.
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The verb ho indicates the owner of the snake, not the boot. My snake can be in anyone`s boot
And this is normal for Italian's sisters Spanish and Portuguese. Though apparently, French doesn't omit the pronoun when it comes to possessives.
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True. Duolingo accepted mine too ,when I wrote "Io ho un serpente nel mio stivale". August 09, 2019
agree... I put "Ho un serpente nello mio stivale". Anyone know if this could work?
I believe it should be be nello mio stivale. Instead of nel il mio stivale.
It is just like brushing your teeth or washing your hands. In English there is a possessive, but frankly whose teeth would you brush if not yours? Mi brosso i denti. Mi lavo le mani.
Very good. Your examples explain why the boot sentence should allow "il mio" as an alternative translation. In English you would also omit the pronoun in your examples (washing hands, brushing teeth), but you would not in the sentence about the snake in the boot. Because it does not have to be your boot. At any rate, my Italian friends tell me you could either use or drop the pronoun, using it does not sound weird to them.
Yes, and in the interest of versatility we should be able TO brush teeth other than our own, whether common or socially appropriate or not. A teacher could brush fake teeth as part of a lesson. A care worker could brush a patient's teeth. As said mentioned above we can brush our pet's teeth.
I have to brush my dog's teeth regularly and I would brush my children's teeth when they were young
I have children. They are not old enough to do it themselves, so, I brush their teeth. I wash their hands.
"my boot" would be il mio stivale" but "nello" already means "in the" so the "il" is unnecessary and also incorrect (because you're saying "the" twice"
Agree.. i was thinking the same, and needed to scroll all the way down to your comment to finally find someone asking about the actual italian topic :-/ Did you find an answer? Doesn't make sense to me... There's no "my" in Nello. Btw it has a number 135 next to your comment.. i thought that would be the number of comments/responses attached to your comment, but I couldn't open any under your name/comment. Maybe i misunderstood
Just saw another comment.. makes sense that "ho" at the start of sentence already indicates owner
I totally agree. The are getting off a point out but not only that they are confusing me.
I totally agree. Even if if the first part of the sentence it says "I have", it can still be someone else's boot. I would have said " nel mio stivale ".
Can anyone explain when I use nel verses nello? I don't understand the difference? Thanks!
Masculine nouns starting with "s" or "z" take the article "lo" instead of "il" (eg., lo squalo, lo zoo). If they start with a vowel this "lo" becomes "l'" as in "l'abbigliamento". So all these masculine nouns get "nello" while masculine nouns which do not fall in this category get "nel". Hope this helps (and that I have understood correctly).
Masculine nouns that start with s+consonant use lo, if it's s+vowel (sabato, for example) I'm pretty sure you use 'il'.
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Also if the noun is masculine and begins with 'z' it uses 'lo', for example 'lo zucchero'
Why is one correct answer "Ho un serpente nel mio stivale?" Why isn't it "nello mio stivale?"
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I agree, I don't understand: if the word is lo stivale, why wouldn't "nello mio stivale" be correct
I put "nello mio stivale" as well, and want to understand why this is incorrect and why "nel mio stivale" and just "nel stivale" are correct. I read the explanation above from Zzzzz..., I guess I have to remember this exception?
It's because the word "nel"changes according to the word right next to it.
Example: Nel mio stivale/ Nello stivale mio
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This explanation is fantastic. Unfortunately, so far "... nello stivale mio" is not excepted.
ho una serpe nel mio stivale. this is the correct answer given. Why is serpente not acceptable? My answer was: ho una serpente nel mio stivale.
Australian woman finds eastern brown snake in ugg boot - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-37426648
It didn't accept "io ho un serpente nel mio stivale", and it should be correct!
Yes, the literal translation of I have a snake in my boot is Ho un serpente nel mio stivale. Of course it would be logical to say nello stivale and meaning the boot you're in (because you say ho, which is I have). And maybe this is DL point: because it is weird to say I have, when the snake is in someone else's boot, DL doesn't want us to use mio, because it is somehow unnecessary. Still, this cosy snake also could be in one of your boots you're actually not wearing. Therefore, in my opinion, the most accurate italian translation of I have a snake in my boot must be with the possessive pronoun and DL should fix it (for those who insist, c'è would be used instead, then why is the English counterpart not there is??).
I think the 'correct answer' says I have a snake in the boot not my boot
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just take a look at previous responses And it should help you understand why your response is wrong. Nel vs Nello in meaning is explained above. "nello mio stivale" is saying in English "in the my boot" (I think), from what I discerned from this lengthy thread. I could be wrong though. Goodluck with the snake in your boot!
Why isn't it "nello mio stivale"? or actually "nel mio stivale" -- where's the "my" in your Duolingo translation?
I repost an old comment of mine on that, mabe it helps:
You are right, the literal translation of I have a snake in my boot is Ho un serpente nel mio stivale. Of course it would be logical to say nello stivale and meaning the boot you're in (because you say ho, which is I have).
And maybe this is DL point: because it is weird to say I have, when the snake is in someone else's boot, DL doesn't want us to use mio, because it is somehow unnecessary.
Still, this cosy snake also could be in one of your boots you're actually not wearing.
Therefore, in my opinion, the most accurate italian translation of I have a snake in my boot must be with the possessive pronoun and DL should at least allow both.*
*some of you reported that this particular issue (one of the most controversial sentences in the whole italian course by far!) finally went fixed in 2020...
This has been asked and answered numerous times on this page. The reason being is that "nello" is singular and you are already starting with "Io" at the beginning of the sentence. Since you can't have two "Me's" there is no need for the extra "mio". You need it for "nel" because "nel" is plural and therefore suggesting that there might be other people. We add "mio" to specify that we are still talking about the same person.
Yes. And quite frankly I'm so tired to see people coming to this page to ask the same question over and over without bothering to read the thread.
I wrote 'serpente' and it said that the right answer is 'serpe'. Why is 'serpente' wrong?
Ho un serpente nello stivale; the translation should be: I have a snake in THE boot "not in MY boot" Thanks
in+lo stivale(+mio) = nel mio stivale or (without possessive) nello stivale
Where is MY boot? Why only boot? Strange. I put nello mio stivale and was marked wrong.. Please, who can explain, why, perché Good luck and have a nice Sunday
I put in a possessive because it's my boot, not the boot. Puzzled as to why I'm wrong. Any help please?
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if you read the explanation as already given in this forum, nel is used before mio and nello is used before stivale.
nel mio stivale/nello stivale are correct.
nel stivale and nello mio stivale are incorrect.
This reminds me of toys story when woody says theres a snake in my boot
This reminds me of toy story when Woody says theres a snake in my boot
"Ho un serpente nel mio stivale" was accepted for me as correct Feb 2020
Why is serpent masculine! I was so happy to translate this toy story phrase, and got it wrong in "un serpente".
so basically the presence of the mio after the nello evens out the "lo" from the "nello"?
Correct sentence is io ho un serpente nel mio / nello stivale.
Preposition + definite article (the):
in+il= nel
in+lo=nello
in+la=nella
in+i= nei
in+gli=negli
in+le=nelle
Preposition + undefinite article (a, an, some):
in + un, uno
in + una
in + dei, degli, delle
why did it suggest "fra" for in when it marked that wrong and said that "nel" was correct?
Boots,shoes,slippers - in Australia the snakes don't care, they are happy anywhere
Snake = serpente, serpe (synonym), whereby a serpe rather a smaller snake is like a grass snake or so
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I used google translate so it may not be completely correct but "Verso l'infinito e oltre!"
it's definitely correct, that's word for word what buzz says in the Italian movie
Yep. I decided to stop for a while after finishing clothing and I've spent a grw days now simply revising and trying to get my head around everything to date. I got this one wrong too. I'm still practising but will probably move on tomorrow. I'm in my mid 60's and finding learning something of a challenge.
And again I apologise, the word before nello is stivale not serpente, but it begins with an "s" so the rule applies.
I think it is because "nel" is "ne + il" = in the, so your sentence becomes "I have a snake in the my boot". I may have that wrong as I am still quite new to the language, it may be you are just as right as the actual answer, Italian can be just as flexible as English.
I am confussed la donna = womAn (singler) ,donne = womEn (plural) but in boot E is singler and i is plural which is plural in boys (ragazzi) why is this?
The rule is, the plural form of ALL nouns (feminine or masculine) ending with "E" ends with "I". Italian nouns and adjectives can be masculine and feminine, singular and plural. They change the ending vowel according to their gender (feminine or masculine) and number (singular or plural). An E is not exclusively feminine. We also have irregular nouns endings, you simply have to memorize them. https://grammaticaitaliana.net/il-genere-dei-nomi/
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For heavens sake people..if you do not have anything of substance to contribute or enhance learning please avoid the silly comments. I am quickly finding that visiting here is a waste of time..Toy story!! Seriously????
well, if the phrase DELIBERATELY quotes Toy Story, we are allowed to joke about it, don't you think?
"Nello" means "in" + "il"
so in your translation you are saying "there is a snake in the the boot"
Why the "my" possessive is not considered in this sentence translation? Nello mio stivale...for example
I repost an old comment of mine on that, mabe it helps:
You are right, the literal translation of I have a snake in my boot is Ho un serpente nel mio stivale. Of course it would be logical to say nello stivale and meaning the boot you're in (because you say ho, which is I have). And maybe this is DL point: because it is weird to say I have, when the snake is in someone else's boot, DL doesn't want us to use mio, because it is somehow unnecessary. Still, this cosy snake also could be in one of your boots you're actually not wearing. Therefore, in my opinion, the most accurate italian translation of I have a snake in my boot must be with the possessive pronoun and DL should fix it (for those who insist, c'è would be used instead, then why is the English counterpart not there is??).
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Ho un serpente nel mio stivale
has been rejected by the green mascot gremlin. heeeelppp!!
From what I've observed, un means a/an, una is the same but in a feminine sense and uno is the number one.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one confused by where the missing pronoun went.
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All the grammatical stuff here is very interesting, but how likely is anyone to have a snake in their boot. Very strange
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the possessive "my" in the English is not included in the Italian "solution". Discussed 6years ago ?? !! ??
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After 'nello' should go the word 'stivale'. If we use the word 'mio', before it there should be 'nel'. I think so.
should be "...nel mio stivale" otherwise it's "in the boot" not "in my boot." Bad Duo! Bad!!
I-Am-Phil, I think using nel or nello does not matter. Nello is just the singular version of nel. By using nello, since it is singular, you are implying that the original "Io" or I in English is still the same person. The reason you use mio with nel is because nel is plural. Nello is singular and therefore you don't need it as you cannot have two me's. Hope This Helps In Some Way!
The Italian answer offered by the app is wrong. The English says "in my boot". There is no possessive in the Italian given as the correct answer!
Please read through the comments on this page. I and others have answered this numerous times.
wrote ho un serpente nello "mio" stivale. Wouldn't "nello stivale" mean "in the boot" not "my boot" Where do we learn the correct usage of this in Duolinguo?
Please read the other comments on this page. I and others have answered this multiple times.
In essence, nello is the singular of nel, and implies there is only one person. As we are assuming that the idea that there is only one of you, one "I" in the entire universe, then mio proves erroneous as it is essentially saying there is a snake in my my boot. We already decreeded at the beginning of the sentence that we were talking about "I", since we are using a singular word, it is unnecessary and false to restate the word mio. If we used nel instead, then there would be a reason as nel is plural and if we had used a plural word we would need to state that we are still talking about me.
I have, why cant i translate it with io ho. It shows me an error and only states ho. Thats very confusing.
I agree with caramelak.... There is no possessive in the answer given by the app, ??
PLEASE, read the other comments on this page. This has been answered MANY times.
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"Mio" is my. Tricky part is the "the" has to be included, unlike English. So literally in English we are saying "in the my boot." You get used to it after a while.
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Thank you. I know 'mio' means 'my'. But in this exercise the correct answer given as 'nello stivale'. What refers that whose boots in this sentence? Yes as you say nel = in + the so may be 'in mio stivale' could be better. It's not clear for me...
It will never be "in mio stivale" because, like ZBUqeauC says, it lacks "the", Italian never says "in my boot", they'd say "in the boot" (nello stivale) or "in the my boot" (nel mio stivale).
"Ho un serpente nello stivale" is a direct quote from Toy Story's Italian dub, so it's preferred here. This said, "nel mio stivale" should also totally be accepted, but I get the feeling the Italian course has been abandoned, I've reported so many wrong sentences this past year and no feedback so far. By contrast with the Japanese course I get feedback in a month or so.
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I agree. I never get any feedback, or in the Portuguese course either. The recording function is very faulty, and sometimes when an answer is marked incorrect, it shows up later as a correct alternative.
can I know why It didn't accept, "Io ho un serpente nel mio stivale" as the correct answer?
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Might be since "stivale" starts with "st", they want nello mio stivale. But someone else got marked wrong. I take these results with a grain of salt.
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"Io ho un serpente nello stivale" is accepted.
"Io ho un serpente nel mio stivale" is also accepted
"Io ho un serpente nello mio stivale" is not accepted.
'Nel mio' or 'nello', but not 'nello mio'.
indeed, 'nello mio' is wrong. you use nel in front of a consonant and nello in front of a vowel or Z/S followed by a vowel
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That is right. You can't say "nello mio" because mio begins with a consonant. You would use "nella" or "nello" or "nell'" before words beginning with a vowel, an st, or a z.
when I hit enter, it boots out my answer. It's happened twice so far. None of my words remain on the screen
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That is weird. Maybe you better click on "check" instead for now. Sometimes when we have to speak a sentence, I click on the microphone, and it marks me wrong! Before I open my mouth!
If the ho indicates the boot is mine, why doesn't it indicate the shirt is mine, or the skirt etc etc? Or would it? What if there's a whole row of boots? Or is this question designed to show us things can be implied, and we're expected to get it wrong, and think about this? If so, things just got complicated.
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After working through the possession execises and how things relate to each other, being told "oh you can just take it for granted it's yours because of 'ho'" just doesn't stick out as beacon. Ho, voi etc are in all the sentences. Having to make assumptions... eer... nah!
Does this refer to Boot as a shoe or to the boot or trunk for a car found it confusing???
Just because the mio is unnecessary doesnt mean it is incorrect to include it ...
Is no one going to mention this is a quote from Toy Story??!! LOL
The Italian translation that is accepted as correct by duolingo doesn't say "my boot" but rather "the boot" ho un serpente nello stivale.
