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- "Do not ask what they think, …
"Do not ask what they think, ask what they do!"
Translation:Non chiedete cosa pensano, chiedete cosa fanno!
27 Comments
Why does the first "ask" have to be plural and the second singular? Can't they both be either?
Yes, it can be both plural or singular: however, be careful that the negated imperative second person singular uses the infinitive, so the two options are:
- Non chiedete cosa pensano, chiedete cosa fanno!
- Non chiedere cosa pensano, chiedi cosa fanno!
This is a ridiculous question to ask a beginning learner, particularly in this format. That concept has not been introduced, there would be no possible way to know that answer - and indeed I only learned of this rule from your comment.
Thanks for your explanation.
I'm not sure I understand why we need non chiedere and not non chiedi here. Is that a rule?
Yes, the tu conjugation in negative imperative always uses the infinitive: see http://italian.about.com/library/weekly/aa011900b.htm
I wrote (chiedi/chiedi) and the system displayed to me the first you wrote above and this one as possible:
Non chiedete cosa pensano, chiedi cosa fanno!
Do I have three options then?
Honestly this third option is pretty awkward, as the first part of the sentence addresses multiple people and the second part addresses a single person. I think it's fine from a purely grammatical viewpoint though.
Va bene, capisco "il perché" di questo.
Poi la terza possibilità potrebbe essere (chiedere/chiedete).
Grazie!
Can't it be both "chiedi", as if you were telling this sentence to a single person?
How did this find its way into revision of 'objects'? They haven't even introduced that verb before, never mind the extremely obscure construction! I have no comprehension of why 'non domandi' was rejected.
WHERE does it say this is 2nd person plural? I wrote non chiedi and was told it had to be voi not tu
Thank you for your response. So... "Per favore chiedi....." is imperative, but not in the negative? For the negative I should only use the infinitive? "non chiedere....."
Yes; you can read other posts above, or https://www.thoughtco.com/the-imperative-mood-in-italian-4072739. The imperative mood is a bit of a patchwork, and the negative one for "tu" forms with the infinitive.
Yes, it is; these sentences come up in other units as well, when relevant.
How on earth are we supposed to know that the negated imperative second person singular uses the infinitive? It's NOT a good way of teaching as it's only due to f.formica's comment (thank you) that we know this. I am a teacher - don't approve!
I wrote "Non chiedete cosa loro pensano, chiedete cosa fanno." Why is "loro" wrong?
The hover over hints told me it should be the imperative, "chiedere", followed by "chiedete" the second time around; is this correct?
