"What do you do before breakfast?"
Translation:Cosa fai prima di colazione?
37 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
When meaning "before something" (with that something following) it usually needs "di": "Arriverò prima di te" (I'll arrive before you), but "Arriverò prima" (I'll arrive before then) and "Arriverai prima tu" (you'll arrive first).
Think of prima as "ahead" or "in front" then the "di" makes sense in English. I arrive ahead of you.
1513
My thoughts as well, since another sentence used is "il sabato viene prima della domenica."
Because that would refer to only one specific breakfast, not on the usual everyday one - which is the point of this question
Surely "Cosa fa prima di colazione" in the sense of third person formal address is also correct?
Maybe it's because we haven't passed through that lesson yet. Maybe if you'd write "Cosa fa Lei" it would be right?
So do we not need a definite article combined with "di" in statements like this or is that only for specific statements?
Not sure, but I think I read in another comment it would have to be "Tu cosa fai ..."
That I suspect would be for two reasons. One, is that it would specify a particular breakfast and two because di la is always put as 'della' (which apparently has already been tried and is incorrect).
- 905
I agree that having "...prima della colazione" is the correct way to write "di la", and that it would specify a particular breakfast rather than a general statement inquiring what one does prior to eating in the morning.
Why use prima twice? Yes, prima colazione can be 'breakfast' but so far duolingo has just used 'colazione' for it. But I suspect it's because before is prima che or prima di and della doesn't match either of those.
I understand we are to learn how to use prima etc (adverbs) in this lesson but isn't it correct to use entro here? 'Cosa fai entro colazione'
Sì, ma sarebbe corretto in dialetto toscano :) In italiano si dice "tu cosa fai" o "cosa fai tu".
