"They are butterflies."
Translation:Sono farfalle.
18 Comments
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So... "Loro sono le farfalle" is wrong? I thought there could be an article there.
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Loro is more for people, you could use essi for butterflies, but it isn't necessary. Keep in mind the subject pronoun never has to be expressed unless that is the emphasis of the sentence, for example Io non sono un uomo, lui รจ un uomo. The sentence wouldn't be grammatically incorrect without the subject pronouns, but your audience might not understand you without lui.
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But what about the article "le" ?
And besides that, the hint "farfalla" is wrong for "butterflies" ? It is shown "farfalla (plural)".
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The use of definite articles (le, la, gli...) and partitives (dei, delle...) is complex, and there's a discussion going on here: http://duolingo.com/#/comment/295808 feel free to follow it. But here are a few examples that may clear up the situation:
I eat bread
Io mangio pane: this is a literal translation. It isn't grammatically incorrect in Italian, it is just that plenty of times the sentence does sound better with a definite article or a partitive. Simple way to start learning the vocabulary, right?
Io mangio il pane: don't confuse this with always meaning the bread. Using the definite article in Italian can make a sentence a generalization (I am a bread-eater) in addition to the function of the definite article you already know (I eat the bread we spoke of).
Io mangio del pane: partitives are like 'some'. They make the sentence flow, and they make sure you understand that an indefinite quantity is being discussed. Again, the partitive isn't absolutely necessary. The use of the definite article and the partitive goes beyond grammar--to speak another language, you have to think differently as well, and when you speak a romance language, you start giving importance to things you wouldn't have in English ;)
Sono farfalle should also be a correct answer. Sono is used as singular as well as plural. So why is my answer Sono farfalle incorrect?
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You're right. Either you made some other typo without realizing it, or you encountered a glitch. Unless you selected only "sono farfalle" without also selecting "loro sono farfalle"?
Oh, the correct is "Sono farfalle", because the sentence is: "They are", not "there are". Sorry for confusion!
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When I peeked at the word "butterfly", it suggested "farfalla" instead of the actual answer. I am absolutely sick of this.
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So farfalle is plural and farfalla is singular I'm assuming. What is the rule for plurals according to the endings? I put farfalli which is incorrect. This is my guess for endings: change e to an i for plurals and change a to an e. Is this correct?
I am so grateful for duolingo! I know it doesn't give textbook explanations which can be frustrating, but there are so many other resources we can use for textbook explanations. There are not, however, a lot of places you can practice hearing and seeing in other languages for free.
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You have the right idea, but you're not quite getting the articles right. This link should help: https://ciaoitaliablog.wordpress.com/classes/italian-definite-article/
An even better page on that blog is this one, with lot of sing-along songs in easily understood Italian. I learned German and Danish through singing. This is great: https://ciaoitaliablog.wordpress.com/italian-songs/
they are, in fact, butterflies, folks. There will be no more discussion about it.
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Farfalle is also the shape of pasta in Italy that looks like a butterfly / hair ribbon. Italian is so funny at times :)
