"Sin da ragazzo non mangio caramelle."

Translation: Since childhood I do not eat candies.

[mukkapazza]

Sin da + present indicative = habit formed continues today. The same can happen in English: Since I was mugged I do not walk alone at night.

[jeslam1]

Oh, I see! Grazie! :D

[Teresinha]

Lei è chiara, non è pazza!! Grazie!

[TheGandalf]

I think they need to explain the grammar of this sentence as a new concept.

[cystemic]

They didnt explain that at all, how are you supposed to know that it means childhood :S

[marianosman]

Are we supposed to infer it means boyhood? 'Since I was a boy...' conveys essentially, 'Since boyhood/childhood...' I think?

[olefattguy]

Whoa, where did "ragazzo" turn into childhood? Totally unprepared for this not-so-subtle change in meaning!?

[marianosman]

I don't think it did. Ragazzo has always meant either boy or child.

My guess is, if the sentence is saying, "since I was a child/boy..." it's referring to the timeframe during which you were a child or a boy, (i.e. your childhood) and "since your childhood" is implied (but not the literal translation).

Native speakers, feel free to correct me?

[jeslam1]

This just sounds a bit off to me. It should be something like " Since childhood, I have not eaten candy."

[Sacredmaiden]

So, how would you say "Since the boy does not want candy, I get to eat it all" (for example).

[deactivated user]

didn't want to accept 'i don't eat candy since i was a boy'

[JenniferAron]

Would it be "sin da ragazza" if the speaker were female?

[hybridpro]

Other possible ways to say this - "Sin/Fin da bambino/bambina non mangio caramelle"

[alfredthegreat]

da giovanile.......