- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "I come from the zoo."
"I come from the zoo."
Translation:Vengo dallo zoo.
47 Comments
390
in Italian language, some prepositions are condensed with a definite article, forming a single word (Italian Articulated Prepositions)
dal = da+il = from the
dallo = da+lo = from the
dall' = da+l' =from the
dalla = da+la = from the
dai = da+i = from the
dagli = da+gli = from the
dalle = da+le = from the
del = di+il = of the / / / dello = di+lo = of the / / / . . . .
al = a+il = to the / / / allo = a+lo = to the / / / . . . .
nel = in+il = in the / / / . . . .
sul = su+il = on the / / / . . . .
- 268
Thanks because in Spanish and French "de" is both of and from. I'll try to remember the difference in Italian.
- 12
Ma perche ''arrivo dallo zoo" non va bene? E' un sinonimo di "venire", se non si dice, dove arrivare. "Vengo dallo zoo a me" - va bene. Pero' non capisco perche' si usa "venire" in questa situazione.
Non penso che "arrivare" e "venire" sono sinonimi. C'è differnza tra questi verbi.
This doesn't go here, but when is it appropriate to use spiacente vs mi dispiace?
For the exact same reason it's lo zoo and not il zoo.
http://www.oneworlditaliano.com/english/italian-grammar/italian-definite-articles.htm
For the first time, I've understood an Italian sentence!
but why dallo and not dal
Rules for the definite article:
https://i.imgur.com/aJ7Qlgb.jpg
Rules for the indefinite article:
Masculine
https://i.imgur.com/ioiRcSS.png
Feminine
https://i.imgur.com/7WZMfoO.png
"Da" is "from", which is what we need here.
"Di" is "of", which indicates possession or partial quantities.
I come from the zoo = da
I saw some of the penguins = di
okay. If you separate di=of and da=fr it makes sense. But why did the table in the tips have di=of/from and da=since/from/by?
Because the meanings and usages of prepositions do not map cleanly between languages. In English, we can sometimes use "from" to indicate a possessive sort of origin (the messages from yesterday), but in Italian, "da" here is a more literal point of origin and motion away from.
No.
"To come from" says your point of origin: "venire da".
"To come to" says your destination: "venire a".
"To come" vs "to go" depends on whose point of view you're referring to.
"From" is "da".
"From the" depends on which form of "the" you need to use.
- https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/335615?comment_id=8611252
- https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/335615?comment_id=33868011
Rules for the definite article:
https://i.imgur.com/aJ7Qlgb.jpg
Rules for the indefinite article:
Masculine
https://i.imgur.com/ioiRcSS.png
Feminine
https://i.imgur.com/7WZMfoO.png
i'm sorry, i seem to be late to the party but does this example mean 'i'm coming from the zoo where i went to see the giraffes and steal tigers and i am now going back home from the zoo as i cannot stay here permanently' or do they simple mean to insult us? :S
"I'm coming from the zoo" would be for contexts like "I should be at your place in half an hour. I'm coming from the zoo [because I just spent the day having fun there | as a geographical reference point because I'm in that general area] and you know what traffic over here is like at this time of day."
"I come from the zoo" would be for contexts like "Good afternoon, sir. I come from the zoo [I work there and I'm here on official zoo business] and I'm here to inform you that one of the chimpanzees escaped and was last seen in this neighborhood. If you have any information that can help us retrieve her, we'd appreciate it if you could help us out."
We also share "vengo" and "viene". Is it possible we share "to come" in all verb forms for Spanish and Italian?
No, because the conjugation patterns aren't identical all the way through. Certainly they're similar because they both come from Latin, particularly in how they're both slightly irregular due to stem mutation, but this difference is part of what makes them different languages now. Even where they look the same or similar on paper, they are pronounced differently in reality. Remember--Writing is merely how we record language, it is not language itself.
| Italian | Spanish |
|---|---|
| VENIRE | VENIR |
| vengo | vengo |
| vieni | vienes |
| viene | viene |
| veniamo | venimos |
| venite | venís |
| vengono | vienen |
In the options for "I come" is (among other options) "vengo" and "venga", while venga is not ok apparently. What is the difference? Does is matter here to be man or woman?
Verb conjugation has nothing to do with grammatical gender. That's only nouns and adjectives.
Verbs are all about 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, singular and plural.
Conjugation pattern for regular Italian verbs:
https://i.imgur.com/8atYu1Y.png
"Venire" is not regular, though, so it looks more like this:
| English | Italian |
|---|---|
| TO COME | VENIRE |
| I come | (io) vengo |
| you come | (tu) vieni |
| he/she/it comes | (lui/lei) viene |
| we come | (noi) veniamo |
| y'all come | (voi) venite |
| they come | (loro) vengono |
https://www.italian-verbs.com/italian-verbs/conjugation.php?parola=venire
"Venga" is the subjunctive.
Sense something wrong with the English? Why would someone say they come from a zoo? Doesn't that suggest that you have origins from a zoo?
- 358
In a previous question, I used 'a' for 'to' and the correct answer used 'da'. But now 'da' is being used for 'from'. In a sentence like the one above, how would you know if it meant 'to' or 'from'?
We would have to know the exact sentence you're referring to. Generally, "a" is "to" (motion toward) and "da" is "from" (motion away).
https://www.englishforums.com/English/DifferenceBetweenArrive/lczrq/post.htm
You generally come from a place and arrive at a place.
