"The wife of my uncle is my aunt."
Translation:La moglie di mio zio è mia zia.
40 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Is it incorrect to have the "la" with the mia zia...as in "e' la mia zia"? I thought it wasn't necessary, but not incorrect.
As far as i can tell living in italy it is correct with la, and incorrect without
313
It is incorrect with "la" because it is a single, unmodified family member. See: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/15517439/Possessive-adjectives-articles-and-family-members
I thought the "la" or "il" is left off only for immediate family.. padre, madre, fratello, sorella.
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Because family relations are not given an article in the singular form. They do have a definite articel in the plural form. So you have "mia zia", "mio zio", "mia madre"..., but "i miei zii", "i miei fratelli", "le mie sorelle" and so forth.
Well you're in luck, here you wouldn't need the di + article combination because zio and zia are singular family members. But here is a list. They'll probably just require a little memorization:
singular:
- di + il = del il piatto del ragazzo/the boy's plate
- di + lo = dello il gusto dello zucchero/the flavor of sugar
- di + la = della la gonna della ragazza/the girl's skirt
plural:
- di + i = dei la casa dei ragazzi/the boys' house
- di + gli = degli il ristorante degli uomini/the men's restaurant
- di + le = delle le scarpe delle donne/the women's shoes
Thank you for this list. I was also having problems understanding this. I think I got it now.
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THANK YOU! This has heretofore caused me the most trouble. Looking at your list, it seems so obvious!
I am a little confused, in which cases I can't use di + article? Just when referring to family members? There are some other instances I've had problems with in this section like "Mia mamma cucina per mio padre" Is it incorrect to say "LA mia mama cucina per IL mio padre."
Avoid using articles in front of 'madre' and 'padre', but affectionate terms (like mamma) can take the article, depends on the speaker :)
Thank you. I was heartbroken over the use of 'di' in this sentence, but now I feel so much better prepared for di after reading your clear (reminder for me) on how 'di' works. It makes it worth having to go back again and restart the section ;-)
I am not!seeing how this list explains why the phrase uses "di" instead "de". Help, please!!!
- 274
The preposition used is "di", which becomes "de" only when combined with a definite article. "My uncle", as a singular form family member, does not take an article, so it remains "di".
Could duolingo Please pick a lane! Who constitutes an immediate family member? If I include the article with aunts and uncles one time, it's wrong; exclude it the next, and it's wrong. This is tiresome and confusing.
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Someone somewhere came up with this "immediate family member" thing, and unfortunately it's not correct. Singular, unmodified family members (immediate or not) never take articles in the possessive.
Hello IsolaCiao,
Thank you that is much more helpful and avoids the confusions of subjectivism as to who is an immediate family member and who isn't.
PS by ' unmodified family members' I suppose you mean 'unspecified'? So if I specify which aunt it would take a 'la'?
e.g, - Lucia, la moglie di mio zio, è la mia zia?
- La moglie di mio zio è la mia zia Lucia?
Thank you for your time
- 313
I'm glad if it helped. What I mean by "unmodified family members" is that there is no descriptive adjective, prefix, or suffix.
Mia sorella (unmodified)
La mia cara sorella (modified by the adjective "cara")
La mia sorellina (sorella is modified with the suffix "-ina")
In your second example, you're modifying "la mia zia Lucia" with her name, so I think that works.
Thankyou .. I obviously read the one about only immediate family.. mother dad daughter,son. Brothern sister Some one had said aunts, uncles and grandparents needed the article. Thankyou So much for the clarification :)
Actually the wife of the uncle is the wife of the uncle, she is not my aunt. My aunt is a sister of my das or my mom, not the wife of my uncle. I always thought...
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I have a similar question as tmac - I thought the article with singular family pronouns was unnecessary, but not incorrect. Is it actually incorrect?
- 313
In this case it is incorrect.
See: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/15517439/Possessive-adjectives-articles-and-family-members
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Either your uncle or your aunt would be a sibling to one of your parents, but you would still call your uncle's wife your aunt.
Again i am practicing the tips given with la mia etc and the answer marks it wrong
- 313
It would be easier to help in what went wrong if you posted your answer.
The Possessions skill tips say:
In Italian an article is almost always mandatory before a possessive. The exceptions are:
It's not used before close family members, in the singular and not modified, e.g. "mio padre" (my father), unless the possessive is "loro" (in which case the article is needed).
It's optional when the possessive adjective is alone following a form of "essere," e.g. "è mio" (it's mine).
It's not used in a small number of set phrases, e.g. "casa mia" (my home).
If you check the discussion above, there are other comments as well about when and when not to use the article with a possessive.
When I call My aunt : Mia zia OR just zia Or something else??? Thanks in advanced : )
Seriously is there some definitive rule for what constitutes a close relative. Apparently grandparents don't count but aunts and uncles do? grrrrrr.
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Similar discussion above that should address your issue: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/294910?comment_id=5165574