108 Comments
Since caramelle is plural, it makes more sense to use the plural subject pronoun "they"... I think.
Technically, it could be a correct translation, but in context, it's less likely; a pronoun would have cleared up the ambiguity nicely.
611
It would say " I am not candies", not "I am not candy". Caramelle is plural so that is why "sono" should be recognised as 'they' rather than 'I'. (As moncoeur3 stated above.)
... said the orc to his ogre, pointing at the goblins... "They" doesn't refer to objects.
This is what you tell gli ragazzi when they find grandma's old medicine cabinet. Thanks again, Green Owl!
Confused one time I enter "they are not sweets" and its wrong then I enter " there are no sweets" and its wrong
- 1947
Apparently the team fixed the issue in the 4 years since the previous comment was left.
I put sweets, as they were acepting the english, as we do not say candy. And i was marked as wrong.
Just for completeness, in Australia we normally use the word " lolly/lollies" rather than sweets (=desert) or candy (=advective candy cane, eye candy)
There needs to be consideration of UK v US English - a sweet in UK is a candy in the US
Instead of 'they are not candies', can't it be 'these are not candies'? Wouldn't that make more sense? As candies are objects? And, If I DO want to say 'these are not candies' in Italian, would I still say 'non sono caramelle', or is there another pronoun for 'these'?
- 1947
"They" is the plural of "he/she/it" in English, so "They are not candies" is perfectly fine.
Furthermore, "this/these" and "that/those" (in many, many languages) encode additional information: whether the topic of conversation is close to or distant from the speaker.
- 1947
No.
la caramella is the word for candy in general, or at least a type of candy.
il caramello is caramel, the flavor/substance.
I translated "they are not THE candies" rather than "they are not candies" and got it wrong.
If you'd say "those are not candies" would the sentence be any different?
- 1947
Yes. "Those" or "these" involve "quelli" or "queste", which can not be omitted from the subject.
- 1947
Anything that follows the verb "to be" will always agree with the subject. If it's "Sono [singular thing]" then it can only be "I am", and if it's "Sono [plural things]" then it can only be "they are".
By the number of the object and by the context: "caramelle" is plural, so it hardly would refer to "I".
- 1947
la caramella is the word for candy in general, or at least a type of candy.
il caramello is caramel, the flavor/substance.
- 1947
It's called "false friends". Two words in two different languages look and sound very similar to each other, but have different meanings in each language. You can't assume it must mean the same thing in both languages just because they're so similar.
I am in England and therefore using the English for what Americans call candy(ies), which is sweet(s).The translation should reflect the market it is being used in or else accept the variations that are used to acknowledge that the same thing is being referred to.Therefore my translation should have been accepted as correct.
- 1947
Posting in here does little good. Instead, when it marks you wrong, flag it and select the "My answer should have been accepted" option.
The correct traslate to caramelle is candies? ... i write it isn't candies and lost a heart, the "correct" sentes was it isn't candy, i'm confused
If you said that and it was wrong it's because the instructions say to repeat the sentence, not to translate it
- 1947
"They" is a general-purpose 3rd person plural pronoun. There is no reason to think we're talking about people. They could be marbles or blobs of wax. "Don't eat them, they're not candy."
I tried "I am not candies" and that was marked wrong but I think it could be correct.
In Scotland we use sweety and the plural sweeties but Duo doesn't accept these terms despite reporting many times.
Translation error again in the program plural in anver an sigular in translation
- 1947
That's an entirely different thing. "They are not candies" (which is what this lesson says) means that a group of objects are not candies, but rather something else. Saying "There are no candies" means that candies are not present within a defined location.
Because "They are not candies" means that "they" are something else "There are no candies" just states that well, there are no candies, and could mean that there were some candies, but they are gone. Or, that they were never there.
I answered candies and lost a heart for making it plural. I thought caramelle was plural. Confusing.
- 1947
"Caramelle" is plural. The official correct answer is "They are not candies." Either you made a typo or you encountered a glitch.
I wrote 'They are not candies.' But I am curious if I can also use 'Those are not candies.' a much more appropriate translation since the third person 'they' is used to pertain for people and 'those' for things. What do you think?
- 1947
"They" can refer to both people and things. "These" are for people or things that are specifically over here. "Those" are for people or things that are specifically over there.
This girl is tying her shoe.
These girls (They) are working on a project.
That boy is playing the violin.
Those boys (They) are writing essays.
This chair is really soft.
These chairs (They/These) are for sale.
Those chairs (They/Those) are getting reupholstered.
- 110
Caramela doesn't mean caramel MichaelDeR14, as has been several times in this thread already it is the Italian word for candy/sweet/lolly. Caramel is a specific type of candy/sweet/lolly in English. Just because words in other languages look like English words doesn't always mean that they mean the same thing.
