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- Topic: Italian >
- "Niente ferma la donna."
96 Comments
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Where are still any bookstores in existence? Oh how times have changed. Even cds are almost gone. A long time ago people used to read newspapers or magazines on (oh, say) breaktime or lunch, but now one has "apps" like DUOLINGO! I think i would still want the touch and smell of a real book if I were a 'reader' and not just (say) a kindle. Ho hum... however. (We are IN the "future"!)
You should also try the public library. Do you have access to one? Still plenty of books to be found there!
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Try the book depository, plenty of books to order from if your city has run out of bookshops.
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Thanks to the ever sinking level of education and literacy (except in Russia) jml, we will have to explain what a bookstore is/was. A shop where they sell/sold things with sheets of paper with black characters on it, without batteries, no USB ports, not connected to Facebook.
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Nothing stops a woman when she has set her eyes in a man. But there is also a saying: If a woman does not get the man she desires, then God may help the man she gets.
it's a word in bulgarian too but since it means farmer, I realised it wouldn't make sense xD
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So did I unfortunately, both share the same Latin root but both deviated from the original Latin meaning.
the Latin root is "firmāre" = make firm, strengthen, harden, fortify.
in fact, we must remember:
fermare = to stop. So basically, it means: to make it immobile, firm ("firm" in English has the same root).
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I think it may be because "niente" is the subject. If it were the object I think the "non" would be necessary: "La donna non ferma niente" = "The woman stops nothing". This is just guesswork though -- let's hope a native speaker stops by to clear it up.
If you had: "Niente non ferma la donna", wouldn't that be "Nothing does not stop the woman". Maybe I'm being too literal since sometimes they do use the double negative in Italian...
No, you're right, that would be "nothing doesn't stop the woman" which effectively means "everything stops the woman" which effectively means she needs to get her ❤❤❤❤ together,
If I understand the Tutorino webiste correctly, Italian allows double negatives (Non voglio niente - I don't want anything ) but you can omit the non when the negative is before the verb.
I think, you are right. We have double negative in Russian language too and it means double negative as well.
No, you cant think of it like thay because they do use a lot of double negatives which in english would mean positive
I was just wondering if, given a certain context, this could mean "the woman stops nothing", or would that require a different word order
To think I never thought to be involved in the Duolingo community. Ciao tutte persone che parle italiano
Well, here in Russia we say a Russian woman will stop a jumping (galloping, in fact) horse and enter a burning house (an old Russian saying) So, perhaps, bulls are not an exception and the woman is Russian)
It is actually a quote from the poem by Nikolay Nekrasov, which became very-very-very popular in Russia )))
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AtriyaKoll: in the province Groningen (Holland) they say A skirt pulls stronger than a thousand horses.
It seems that "Nothing stops a woman" should be acceptable. "Nothing stops the woman" may refer to all women as well as that particular woman.
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Beware! An Amazon is on the way and nothing stops her! Oh yeah... she may not be alone... there could be a bunch of them! ;)
Yes, you don't need it because that would make the verb reflexive:
- La donna si ferma -> The woman stops
- La donna ferma l'auto -> The woman stops the car
No, " fermare" always needs a direct object, unless it is used reflexively (I don' t know if there's reason for it). I also think that it's a peculiarity of english that "to stop" becomes reflexive when the direct object is omitted, but I am no linguist :)
Besides "la donna ferma" would be interpreted as "the still woman", i.e. "ferma" would be interpreted as an adjective instead of a as verb.
Great explanation s84606.!
Hey camclark17, in case you want to say "the woman stops" you can use "la donna si ferma" (reflexive verb just like he mentioned).
Just for curiosity, in case you want to say "to stop/quit doing something" the verb you are looking for is "smettere di fare qualcosa", using "fermare" would be wrong in this case.
the voice says 'firma' not 'ferma'... please take care of the pronunciation
In Italian you don't need to invert the subject and the verb in interrogative clauses. So it is "Lei parla italiano? No, io non LO parlo PER niente". "Per niente" is idiomatic. "Lo" refers to "italiano" in the other phrase.
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LisaReunion: in Italy La Mama is the binding force and unofficial boss in the family. So in fact matriarchy rules.
Still can't get used to the translation of donna as woman. Lady seems more suitable for everyday usage - to me!
I see no comment that is similar to what I think, so I must be wrong. Or you are not brave to tell...
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I realize this is supposed to be inspirational, but all I can think of is a woman rolling down a hill, picking up more and more speed, squashing people and smashing buildings and generally destroying everything in her way. Panicked people running away and screaming "NOTHING CAN STOP THE WOMAN" at the top of their lungs.
