- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "La cena è in tavola."
91 Comments
Why is table sometimes masculine, tavolo, and sometimes feminine, tavola? My Berlitz dictionary shows both forms, and I have been marked wrong on a few occasions in Duolingo. I would appreciate hearing from someone who really knows. Thanks.
"La cena è in tavola" is an idiom. Another correct translation for "Dinner is on the table" would be "La cena è sul tavolo".
Out of idioms, "tavolo" is more common. We use always tavola in the following cases, for example
"I cavalieri della tavola rotonda"
"la tavola da surf"
"andiamo a tavola"
"cosa c'è in tavola?"
If you stick to "tavolo", it should be ok, but pay attention because the prepositions could differ.
So "I cavalieri della tavola rotonda", "la tavola da surf", "andiamo a tavola" and "cosa c'è in tavola?" are all idioms? What do they mean?
Knight of the Round Table The surfboard We go to the table What is there in the table?
In that order
Wouldn't "andiamo a tavola" translate as "let's go eat" and "cosa c'è in tavola?" as "what's for [breakfast/lunch/dinner]?" ?
639
So I tried "Dinner is served" out of curiosity. My proposed English is also a bit idiomatic, as in it's an overly formal way of saying that dinner is on the table. I'll report it (26 June 2016) as a suggestion just to get someone's attention, but I'm definitely open to the Italian having a different connotation.
I also considered "Dinner is ready," but to me that has a connotation that all the food is prepared and cooked, but may still be on the stove/in the oven and not, yet, on the table. (On my overly optimistic mom's side of the family "dinner is ready" meant we still had another half an hour before we were actually ready to eat it.)
In addition to marziotta's explanation I'll add that my Italian friend explained to me that 'tavola' essentially refers to a table that is participating in the event of dining, rather than to a simple piece of furniture. This description helped me a lot with this type of phrase.
- 142
As I read somewhere tavolo is the table it self and tavola is the table with food on it...didnt see that in any other languages
As it said in the DL tips, tavola is used when talking about a kitchen or dining table, but when it's other tables, then it is tavolo.
I didn't read all 70+ responses, so this may have been answered. Tavola = a table prepared for eating, tavolo is for all others.
I think it is explained in the tips of this chapter, has something to do with the use of the table (for example, a table for eating is tavola but a table as just a piece of furniture is tavolo) but check it out for yourself
An Italian cooking show hostess always says at show's end: "Tutti a tavola a mangiare!"
I said "dinner's on the table." Since this was meant sort of idiomatically anyway, this should be accepted.
Same! My mom would have never bothered shouting "Dinner is on the table!" unless she was really mad. It's definitely more colloquial, too, to use the contracted form. Duo seems to hate them in most examples.
Duo accepts the contraction of "is" after pronouns, but not after nouns. So it accepts "she's" and "it's" but not "dinner's." I think it also accepts "'s" with interrogatives: "who's," "what's" etc.
Hmmm...good point on this one. I've never really seen any instance where Duolingo did not recognize the contraction form of the correct as also a correct answer. I wonder if it is a glitch?
:dinner is on the table" sounds like the butler speaking, but we don't have one, so we say "dinnner's on the table" or "dinner's ready."
DL always seems to do that on fast setting when the preceding word ends with a vowel. In fact i think it might be dropping the vowel, it sounds like "la cen'è in tavola". Is this normal in spoken Italian or a persistent mistake by DL?
The new Italian voice shouldn't be presenting any issue like that. But either way, any language will slightly elide adjacent vowels, as long as the meaning is understood.
Should "Dinner is served" not be accepted as a correct answer? That is what people would actually say in English...
I think maybe it is because if you focus on the connotation of the two phrases, "Dinner is on the table" is more common, something you'd hear every day in a normal household. Or even like "Mamma grida 'La cena é in tavola!'" Conversely, "Dinner is served" has connotations of a butler whipping off the lid of a plate that is placed in front of you right at the moment of digging in with a fork. :-) Most people would not use that phrase in every day life, unless possibly for a dinner party with friends where they wanted to make a joke.
Note: This was not meant to be a condemnation of your comment, but rather an explanation of how I understand the two phrases to be different. Thanks for asking the question, as it was an interesting one! (I'm actually kind of disappointed that someone voted your comment "down", as even though the meaning is different, you were not being snarky or rude, and it was a valid question, so why would someone vote it down? :-( I'm voting you back up, and giving you a lingot for your trouble.)
I'd still say "Dinner is on the table", rather than "Dinner is served". Also, the sentence could be indicating "Dinner is on the table, not in the fridge" rather than it actually being served, in context.
- 639
I also tried "dinner is served" out of curiosity. Someone, who I think is an Italian contributor, said the Italian "la cena è in tavola" is idiomatic, making me think it should be at least considered. As linbur0100 says, though, it's the connotation of the Italian that's important. I'll report it (26 June 2016) and see what happens, but I'm open to it being wrong.
I feel that in the Listen and type assignment with this sentence "è" can easily be overheard. In my opinion it's not hearable at all. I know you should probably extract the occurence of è from the context, but the sentence still sounds acceptable if you omit è
I know this post is quite old, but I want to second this sentiment. I am consistently frustrated by this particular speaker (the female) because she barely articulates critical pieces of some sentences. I have learned to 1) be wary when I hear her voice and make sure I slow down the audio for a double check before I submit my answer; and 2) rely on my knowledge of Italian sentence structures and come to the proper answer contextually. The latter point I should be doing anyway - thinking with my brain instead of mindlessly typing what I think I hear. But given the chance to whine a little, I have been annoyed many a time when my "perfect score" streak is ruined because I didn't hear her say one little "il" or "è."
Tavolo is used for the object itself when referring to the furniture but also for a restaurant reservation.
Tavola is used referring to a board (such as tavola de surf) but also for anything referring to the actual eating of a meal and related phrases such as setting or clearing the table.
In this case, "The dinner is IN the table" is rejected. In another question where we had to translate "Quante sedia mettiamo in tavola", "How many chairs do we have to put ON the table" was marked wrong.
There seems to be a lack of consistency imo. Please clarify.
When translating to english, write something that makes sense. Dinner is never in the table.
As for the second case, there are a number of nouns in italian where 'in' translates to 'at the' rather than english 'in', other nouns use 'al' or 'alla' as seems more natural to english speakers. The nouns like this also include 'campagna', 'montagna' and 'ristorante'. Sono in montagna, Mangia in ristorante. There is no solution other than to memorise them, or just wait until it becomes natural for you. Its just part of the language.
If it makes you feel any better, remember that the same kind of inconsistencies exist in english as well, think of 'I am at the beach' and 'I am in the country'.
Yes, with subsequent lessons I figured as much. Thank you for the reply. And I definitely agree that English is no straight-forward language either! Like you rightly mentioned, with more translations it is becoming a lot more natural to guess what word is appropriate.
That's right. Italian omits articles in some places where English uses them, and vice versa.
What's better to use - "in tavola" or "a tavola"? BTW, please, I'd greatly appreciate it if somebody could tell me how to write in bold/underlined/link to external sources in duolingo comments. Thanks!
Direct translations from one language to another often don't make sense, and prepositions in particular do not translate consistently. Consider the sentence "Beer is on tap." It makes sense to you because you are used to it. But why "on"? Arguably, it makes more sense in Italian: "La birra è alla spina."
Also, see marziotta's reply at the top of this page.
I think, since in the instances where "tavola" is used instead of "tavolo", it is indicating the table as a place prepared for dining, it follows the same kind of rules as for "in bagno" . They do not use the article in that construction either. Very confusing I agree, but from what I've been able to infer, for places in the home that have a specific name assigned to them (so, "bagno" as opposed to "la stanza per "bathing" or "la tavola" instead of "il tavolo per cena"), the article is omitted.
Please note: I am NOT a native speaker, so this should not be taken as gospel. This is just what I've inferred based on usage and my experience learning languages. I noticed you hadn't received a response, and wanted to put my two cents in. But if there is a native speaker who would be willing to weigh in, it would be much appreciated on my part.
I so often say "meal" instead of "dinner" or "supper", and get it wrong, because I often refer to dinner simply as the meal. I understand how they are two separate meanings though.
I have the same problem with
figlio = son
When asked to translate figlio I have a reflex to say 'boy' (incorrect), because where I'm from it is common for someone to say, for instance when we are talking about my son, 'how's your boy?' ... I guess son would be understood / implied, but I still have to struggle not to lose my heart all the time :-D
Yes, it's wrong. When we are talking about a meal we usually don't use "the" before the name of the meal:
- Come down for breakfast.
- Lunch is ready.
- Are you hungry for dinner.
- Breakfast is served from seven to ten.
- Lunch is included in the price of the ticket.
- Dinner is a time for being with the family.
However, when referring to the meal as an event, we do use "the":
- I will be at the reception, but I'm afraid I will have to miss the dinner.
On the other hand, "on table," "on floor" and "on plate" are all unnatural without "the." So the natural way to say it is, "Dinner is on the table."
Why did they use "in tavolo"? Doesn't "in" mean in? The dinner is in the table?? I'm confused
I've read all of the Q and A's, still dont understand why one would use "IN tavola" to mean on. Anybody?
Yes, "Dinner is on the table" and "Dinner is served" are move natural translations than "The dinner is . . ." See my reply to .Mostafa. on this page.
- 1886
Although I can figure out the context, it still sounds like the voice says cina, not cena.
Why would an incorrect response to the question be "dinner is at the table"? This is what I responded with and it marked me wrong.
- 474
It is definitely not common usage. I'm not sure if it is even technically correct, sorry.
Let's eat at the table. Let's sit at the table. Dinner is ON the table.
I thought it was "The dinner is in the plate" since Duolingo translates tavola to "plate" as well
According to the dictionary in is translated in English as in or at. Therefore, I believe the translation should be: Dinner is at the table, or dinner is in table. Clarification please
The word "in" used here is translated to "on"? That is very confusing, as up until now, I have been shown that "in" in Italian, is used the same as "in" for english. Even the hint window shows the options as different then what the right answer is. I am confused.
It keep daying that i got the question worng but i actually got it write because they didnt add the as a choice ti add in the sentence
La cena è in tavola. La - the. Cena - dinner. È - is. In - on. Tavola - table. The dinner is on table. But CORRECT TRANSLATION is "Dinner is on the table". So, "dinner" withour article, but "table" - wit it. Please please do not confuse.
- 817
LINBURO100. Wow! Haven't heard the word "snarky" for decades!! Had even forgotten that it ever existed. Where do you come from? Perhaps it's used in your neck of the woods but not mine.
I really don't understand why "Dinner is at the table." isn't a correct translation for this. It should be. Reported 8 Jan 2018
"Dinner is at the table" is not natural in English. We say that the meal/food is on the table and the people eating are at the table.
By the way, it was not I who downvoted your comment. It seems that other users don't like your translation either, though.
Ok, I wrote correctly but they took me the heart and said it's not correct.. But I wrote exactly how they showed it should be written
They told me I wrote incorrectly but when they showed how it should be written its the same. And I think this is not the first time
Why is it sometimes tavola and sometimes tavolo?I don t understand.And sometimes is it in tavola and sometimes sul tavolo....
