109 Comments
National shoe-checking day. Just in case. You never know what they get up to.
Yeah, sounds strange but, makes sense in some situations.
I lived in El Paso, Texas, and after getting bitten once, learned to check my shoes each morning for scorpions. They do pack a punch.
I api non sono nelle scarpe. Le formiche non sono nelle scarpe. Le scarpe non sono elettriche... È buono.
I think everyone is missing the point. The key to the meaing of the sentence is "oggi" - today. This is clearly someone who in the past had such low self-esteem that they felt they had no control over any area of their life. With the help of a huge amount of psychotherapy over many years, they can now say proudly: "Today I control my shoes!". It's a start - who knows how this person's life will improve from here on in? Today the shoes, tomorrow the shirt as well!
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Gol durn serpenti! Always hiding nelle mie scarpe! And never un coltello around when I need one! And don't get me started on gli insetti nei miei stivali!
Maybe someone lives in Australia and has to check their shoes for spiders or scorpions.
I was in Ancona two years ago and there were scorpions! Maybe this phrase could be useful there. haha.
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That surprises me! My family has been going on holidays nearby since the 60s (me since 20 yeas.. and I'm only just properly learing italian now.. time to be ashamed a bit lol) and I've never heard a word about scorpions!
What exactly is the meaning of this sentence? Does it imply that you take care of them and clean them, or check whether something is wrong with them and take them to the shoemaker - or is it just a random sentence?
Not meaning to be reproachful, I am just curious because it sounds odd to me.
This is one of the more sensible things I've seen. There are also sentences to be translated about electric shoes, living in an ice palace, not hitting horses, and also having a knife in your boot and a snake in your newspaper.
Duolingo is built on randomness! Either that, or Italy is some kind of 'Alice in Wonderland' place :D
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I think the meaning is close to "Today I lead the way". I don't speak the Italian but my mother language is Spanish (we share a lot of expressions and sayings). This phrase would be the opposite of the common phrase "Today I walk to where the shoe points" (doesn't make too much sense in English I know)
Interesting! I definitely check my shoes for scorpions and grass-burs, but this interpretation makes a lot of sense. Basically you're saying that some days, you go where your shoes happen to be pointing (so they are leading, you are following), but some days YOU control your shoes so that you're actually in charge of where you're going. That's pretty cool.
That last phrase reminds me of the American English phrase: "following my feet."
There is also similar expression in estonian: i'll go whereever my feet carry me (usually used in the situation of desperation)
I think this is a random sentence as many in this course.
You can control if they are clean, or maybe which ones are old and ready to be thrown away or given to charity.
Maybe you have some shoes for work, and if they don't follow some standards, you should order some new ones...
I don't know, I am just wondering as you. :)
(American English speaker) We have two dogs, and sometimes at night I need to check my shoes, if you know what I mean.
In the desert, you often have to check your shoes for scorpions before putting them on.
In Germany, kids used to leave their shoes out on Christmas Eve, just like today we leave our stockings hung on the mantle. The next day, there were often little toys and treats in their shoes. I know if I woke up that morning as a young German child I would certainly be excited to check my shoes! .. but then I think I would be saying this sentence in German .. 0_o
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In Estonia this habit is actually in use nowadays! :) Except our kids put slippers by the window and wait for elves to bring goodies. Obviously elves always come at nightime, when the children are asleep. But if they are lucky then they can see little elve's footseps on the snow behind the window. :)
disturbo ossessivo-compulsivo OR disturbo ossessivo compulsivo. I found it both ways: with and without a hyphen
"I check my shoes today" is marked as wrong. Is it that important to put the time at the front?
I believe the more common understanding of controllare is " to inspect". But inspect my shoes is marked wrong.
Today I control my shoes, tomorrow (I control) the world! [Insert evil laugh here]. ;)
One time I got stung by a bee which was in my shoe. Sure wish I had checked it before. :P
I think you should report it, because it clearly is not incorrect. Duolingo often accepts additional translations if somebody points them out via the Report button
Today I check my shoes. Yesterday my wife almost killed me for getting mud on the carpet.
I love that i can always find the right context for these sentences thru all of these sarcastic comments.
Why is "I check my shoes today" wrong?
I think it is correct because adverb of time (today) is always at the end of the sentence, not at the beginning
Exactly! I also put today at the end and it was marked wrong and it should be right. They won't accept it and won't correct their mistake
Could this also mean I control my shoes? Like if you had robot shoes or something... or more to the point would 'Oggi io controllo il mio cane' mean today you control your dog, or today you check your dog?
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- At war your boss checks your boots, 2. On christmas, 3. In Slovakia (and some other countries) on 6. december st. Nicolaus day
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Yup, they're still shoes. Good thing I checked. Didn't wanna be blindsided if my shoes had magically turned into houseplants and I tried to put them on.
So what's the difference between "Today I check my shoes" and "I check my shoes today" ? DL seem to think they are different - I happen to think the latter sounds better... but I am wrong, DL says so.
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I typed in 'today I control my shoes' and it was accepted! HAHAHAHA. WTF does that mean?
I don't see how the word looking like "control" has something to do with "to check"? anyone linguistic can tell me the relationship? :D maybe by knowing that i will remember this better!
I love all the comments below. But can anyone explain why Duolingo spelled "cheque" instead of "check" in their answer to my translation. The British "cheque" has a different meaning from that expected here.
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That's what you occasionally need to do when you're wearing electric shoes.
Probably need to check them to see if a knife or a snake were in them - like they were in boots - or if their electrical charge shorted!
This is the correct answer as adverb of time is always at the end of the sentence. That's what I learned in grammar when I was in school.
i wonder if the verb "control" just has a different nuance in italian. it might mean "to keep track of", or "to care for". a previous sentence used controllare for "il giornalo"....so maybe controllare, although translating to "to control", is better translated as "I am in possession of", or "i have with me"....
Xoxoxo mix it up, pour it up, take it down slow, this might sound ngga fck your sound, did from the ground ask around btch when I touch down Imma shake sht up
The exercise tests whether one should use a o or an a. Must this site be clutter with all this drivel?
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It's not clutterED with drivel. Fellow students are merely engaging in a little light banter to keep morale up while studying hard.
I agree with musmoulay: the sentence is nonsensical, and part of what we're trying to do in acquiring the language is learn something about the Italian idiom and mindset.
Just happy i'm not checking to see if the chef is still in the refrigerator.
