"Lei lascia il ragazzo."
Translation:She leaves the boy.
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That was adorable and it made me laugh because I think a little Italian mouse said this in Tom and Jerry, lingot for you!! :D
I would think "she leaves the boy behind" would be valid, or perhaps "she leaves behind the boy?"
Yes, it seems to me that the word "behind" clarifies a simple literal meaning in English (just leaving him behind, not leaving him forever). However, given that Duolingo offers "boyfriend" as an alternative to "boy behind", perhaps this simple meaning is not what the Italian implies?
In Italian it could mean either. "Lasciare" is the verb used for breaking up with someone. It has the same ambiguity as "leave" in English, though if I saw the sentence "Lei lascia il ragazzo" without any other context, I would probably assume it was a girl breaking up with her boyfriend. I'm not 100% sold on translating it as "leave behind," though. That might work for "lasciare" if you were talking about forgetting your keys at home, but for talking about leaving a person behind and moving on, I would use "lasciare indietro," especially if talking figuratively. Maybe a native speaker can shed more light on this.
You could try 'She leaves the boy behind', maybe? 'She leaves behind the boy' sounds a bit like she's at a party and desperately trying not to be spotted by an embarrassing ex or something and she uses the cover of some poor guy's back to depart.
When you say 'She leaves the boy behind' it has the more traditional meaning of leaving without said boy, either physically or on the road we call live.
According to Duo, one definition for "lascia" is "leave behind" Check the original word definition.
Call me crazy, but isn't the literal translation "She leaves the boy behind"? Also, up to this point, we've never had any indication that "ragazzo" also means "boyfriend"...
Ragazzo typically does mean boyfriend. Without other indications this is the likeliest interpretation. However, if it was "Lei lascia il suo ragazzo." it would be without a shadow of doubt about a boyfriend. Il ragazzo could be the boy mentioned previously, or the lad, or the guy. There is some age limit to being a ragazzo but it's pretty vague.
It can be, but I believe "fidanzato" implies a little more commitment.
The literally translation is "She (lei) Leaves (lascia) The (il) Boy (ragazzo). The word "Behind" would be another word in the sentence vhanging it into the one you were saying. But "She leaves the boy" is the literal translation
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how will i know if the verb "lasciare" is being used as "to leave" or "to let"? it has the same context as the verb "laisser" in french which have the same meaning.
Haha was going to see if I had misunderstood something but I see that people have been ranting about this for a while. I take comfort in knowing that many people tried to leave the boy behind
This could also mean "She lets the boy go" although it is not permitted as a translation?
I would personally think "letting go" means something else than "leaving behind". Letting go is more physical (letting go of something you're holding in your hand). But I'm not sure!
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May I direct you to a little Disney song, you may have heard it a few thousand time by now, it's called "let it go" and it speaks of not only a physical release but a metaphorical release. Totally valid. You can "let go" of a past relationship or "let go" of emotions, not just things you can physically hold.
Yes, but "let go" tends to imply allowing something or someone to leave (that would leave on its own as long as you don't stop it from leaving, physically or metaphorically).
"Leave" implies the subject is the one actively doing the leaving, perhaps even without the consent of the other person or thing.
Like that old Engelbert Humperdink song, "Please release me, let me go, for I don't love you anymore..."
According to Duolingo, this sentence didn't mean "leaving behind" anyway.
It is probably quite sad that I had to mentally sing Andrea Bocelli's Romanza in my head so I didn't scroll over the word "lascia." But I am now quite sad; it's a sad song. "Lentamente mi lascia" = "slowly she leaves me" according to the translation I was watching, so that's how I knew. Still so, so, so sad.
Anything to help you remember, you know? That's actually a pretty smart thing you did, you relied on your mental reserve before peeking which helps you retain information better. In fact, while the song's sad, it'll pop up to remind you what "lascia" and what not means.
I had to sing Toto Cotugno's L'Italiano just to remember what "lascia" means.
LASCIATEMI CANTARE!~ PERCHE' NE SONO FIERO! SONO ITALIANO...
Italiano vero!
I started listening to Andrea Bocelli before I ever started on Duolingo (which was like four days ago); I just didn't expect to learn much about what he was actually saying enough for it to stick XD But music is such a wonderful way to learn, no?
Lascia is not "leave behind" it's just leave or let like in "Leave me alone" or "Let me go"
I'm trying to understand what kind of context this belongs in. Would it be like, "she leaves the boy with his grandparents while she goes shopping" or like "she leaves her boyfriend because she couldn't stand him even one day longer"?
Italian speakers, can you help? Thanks!
I am not native in Italian but lived in Italy and my understanding that ragazzo is typically a boyfriend without other context. Of course under some circumstances it could be just a boy. If you overhear a street conversation chances are they are talking about her boyfriend being dumped.
But with context, it could easily be like "She leaves the boy with his grandparents while she goes shopping."??
And inadvertently inspired an album of Taylor Swift songs, released circa 2015
Could this also mean "she neglects the boy" or "she leaves the boy alone" (in both senses- as in "she's not bothering him" and "she leaves him by himself without anyone else there"?
I wouldn't say so. Neglect "Lei trascura il ragazzo" "Lei ignora il ragazzo"
Alone "Lei lascia il ragazzo da solo" But maybe in this case "Lei lascia il ragazzo" could work in some contexts, I cannot think of any now anyway.
I still feel 'let go' as if a parent is holding a child's hand, is also possible meaning. When I was little our nanny would always tell us to leave things alone, saying "lascia!"
Since there is no context for this short sentence perhaps adding "heartbroken" would have helped, if that was the sense meant to be conveyed.
Why isn't there gender agreement between the verb "leaves" and the object of sentence "boy." In other words why is lascio il ragazzo wrong?
Verbs are conjugated to indicate the subject of the verb (I, you, he/she/it, we, you, they) not the object. In this case, "Lei" is the subject of the verb (third person singular) and the matching form of the verb is lascia.
"Lascio" would mean "I leave."
Verbs do not have gender agreement. Adjectives and third-person singular pronouns agree in gender (and number) with the nouns that they modify or stand for.
https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-verbs-lasciare-conjugations-4097386
