"She does not fit in that car."
Translation:Lei non ci sta in quella macchina.
37 Comments
I wrote this without using "ci", and Duolingo accepted it. However, I want to know if this really is a legit sentence, or should I use "ci".
"ci" is the pronoun used to represent he/she/it. It is also used in a context where you're trying to talk about a place. For example "ci va" would mean he/she/it goes there. In this sentence, "lei" adds an emphasis to the she and "ci sta" means stay there. Where you might ask? In that car (in qualla macchina).
I think so! I am a retired doctor and once I had a patient who needed to have the suspension of the car stiffened on one side because he was so obese. Sadly dead now :(
Sorry everyone but this comment gave me a big morning laugh. Didn't expect that.
I think a better English translation would be, 'that car doesn't suit her'. If she was physically too big to get into a car then the sentence would include something like troppo grande.
I was wondering this too - in the other questions, it's "ti sta", "mi sta" etc. Why "ci sta" here"?
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There is a particular class of verbs in Italian called 'pronomial verbs', which are essentially verbs with pronouns attached. Their meaning changes, becoming somewhat different from the meaning of the individual parts that make up the verbs.
One of these verbs is the verb 'starci', a merge of 'stare' and 'ci' (it, there, here), which is being used in the sentence. It has two meanings, as far as I know, either 'to fit' or 'to agree with'.
So, 'ci sta', either means, 'he/she/it fits (in there)', or 'he/she agrees with me'.
I might not be entirely correct, so anyone who's better than me in Italian, please feel free to correct me.
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Thanks for this, just what I was looking for ... I can't remember ever coming across the verb 'starci' previously.
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You're welcome. It's a weird one. Italians love attaching pronouns to their verbs.
You should be thankful you're not learning my mother tongue though, we have verbs that have two pronouns and even nouns can have pronouns.
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thanks - I did not know of this verb before - your explanation is very helpful!!!!
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Why not lei non sta nella quella macchina?
What is the difference between in quella macchina and nella quelle macchina?
You're asking what the difference between "in " and "nella" is? "Nella" is a contraction of "in la". So nella quella macchina would be saying "in the that car" which is obviously not correct.
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Thanks. Nella was for me just one variant of in. There are too many different variants of "in" in italian. I hate prepositions even if they are easier than doing all by different endings like in Polish.
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This translation seems wrong. Why "ci" for the third person, singular? I'm going to check with my Italian friends.
It took me a while to figure out what a clitic pronoun is: it is a pronoun placed immediately before a conjugated verb (but not a reflexive pronoun).
Thanks. I've struggled to know how to use the clitic 'ci'. That explanation is very useful.
From the DL notes to Clitics 1 (argh!!), is "ci" here replacing the prepositional phrase "in there"? She does not fit in there, with stare meaning "to fit"?
Pretty much, yes. I don't perfectly understand it myself, but ci seems to replace a place.
What's the difference between quell' and quegli,I typed quell' here just because a vowel behind,but quegli anni/uomini seem to be OK as well....Confused
Quegli is used when the following noun starts with a vowel and is masculine, whereas quell' is used when the following noun starts with a vowel and is feminine.
You are wrong. Quegli is used for noun which start with a vowel and is plural and quell' is used for those in singular
Like this: quell'uomo quegli uomini
I cannot move past this stage and finish this question even though i get it correct
I don't understand why the translation of "fit" is "sta." Isn't sta a conjugation of the verb stare, to be (in a place)? Is this an idiom then?
