"He works as a mailman."

Translation: Lavora come postino.

[mlight]

I used "lavora come un postino" and was marked incorrect. it is confusing to know when or not to add the article!

[Pier_Golfoz]

You change the meaning if you add "un" in the italian sentence.

• "Lavora come postino" = "He works as a mailman" (he is a mailman)

• "Lavora come un postino" = "He works like a mailman" (he is not a mailman)
  ᅳ "His job resembles that of a mailman" or
  ᅳ "He works a lot (little) like a mailman" or
  ᅳ "His working hours are like those of a mailman"

This rule applies to all professions

[Dhobbs]

Awesome, excellent answer. Makes total sense

[jennifer299745]

Thank you . Not sure this came up in the tips, maybe it did! Anyway excellent explanation.

[StevenIppolito]

Another explanation: in Italian "come" is not followed by "un" in this context, because "come" has the meaning of: "in the manner of." All that is needed is the noun -- in this case, "postino." Buona sera!

[Rondinella01]

Is the article really needed in Italian? In this context, it wouldn't be used in other Romance languages. "Lavora come un postino" looks like it should be translated: He works like a mailman. Thoughts?

[f.formica]

Yes, it's as you say: in Italian it's either "lavora come postino" (formal), "fa il postino" (informal), or "è un postino".

[norchids]

Can you say "lui fa un postino"? An earlier question said that "my mother is a secretary" was "mia madre fa una segretaria." So does the same pattern work for "he works as a mailman?"

[f.formica]

No, "mia madre fa una segretaria" is wrong too (and dangerously close to a slang way to say she has sex with a secretary).

[norchids]

Oh my goodness! I can see that a literal translation would probably be something like "my mother does/makes a secretary." I can see how that might be suggestive of having sex with a secretary! So how would I say "my mother is a secretary" properly?

[f.formica]

If you want to use "fare", which is the most common way to express it, you must use a definite article, as you're indicating the general category of what she does for a living, so "mia madre fa la segretaria"; of course the generic "mia madre è una segretaria", which focuses on who she is rather than what she does, works as well. The one presented in this exercise is a more formal way to say it, "mia madre lavora come segretaria", and it focuses on her current occupation, much like "fare il/lo/la".

P.S. "Fare il/lo/la" can sometimes be used for other than occupations: for instance "fare il portoghese" literally means "playing the Portuguese", or trying to pass as one, and after a certain incident it means trying to avoid paying.

[meandmyshadow0]

I thought that " Lavora" was feminine

[Pier_Golfoz]

"Lavora" is a conjugation of the verb "Lavorare"
. . . . . simple present
io lavoro . . . . . . . . I work
tu lavori . . . . . . . . .you work (you sing.)
lui/lei lavora . . . .he/she works
noi lavoriamo . . . we work
voi lavorate . . . . . you work (you pl.)
loro lavorano . . . .they work

[JohnWheatl6]

So if i saw that sentence, how do i know its "he"?

[YuriMykolayevych]

The o ending of postino. If it were "she" it would be postina.

[Timothy_Stahl]

After 3 sentences using fa, and fa in the hints, why all of the sudden is "Lui fa un postino" wrong?

[Pier_Golfoz]

• L̶u̶i̶ ̶f̶a̶ ̶̶̶u̶̶̶n̶̶̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶t̶i̶n̶o ← NOT wrong, but only if he is an actor.
  You can say "Lui fa un postino" in the sense: "he is playing the role of a mailman"
  ATTENTION "Lui si fa un postino" is the italian slang for "he has sex with a mailman"
• Lui fa il postino ← RIGHT
• Lui è un postino ← RIGHT
• Lui lavora come postino ← RIGHT
• L̶u̶i̶ ̶l̶a̶v̶o̶r̶a̶ ̶c̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶u̶n̶ ̶p̶o̶s̶t̶i̶n̶o ← NOT wrong, but look at the first comment above

[CeCeSalvati]

Grazie, Pierugolfoz, this was very concise.

[jatedesco]

The word "a" is used -- not "the" -- so shouldn't it be "fa in postino"??

[Germanlehrerlsu]

jatedesco: No, with professions, using "a" or "as a" then the article is usually omitted. That said, unless it's a typo, "fa in postino" makes no sense. Maybe you meant "fa IL postino", but that's not correct since as you say, "a" is used, not "the".

[malcolmissimo]

But fa il is a correct idiom, and Duo just accepted it. There are three ways to identify a person's job in Italian: è [un] postino; lavora come postino; fa il postino. Think "I am ..."; "I work as ..."; "My job/role is ...". Essere il postino, rather than fare, refers to the postman in a given context, e.g. your street.

[churumbolla]

What difference does it make whether I add the subject or not. Why do I get my answer wrong, just 'cause I included the subject???