"Sei tu il conduttore?"
Translation:Are you the presenter?
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I think this is the first time I've seen Sei tu, rather than Tu sei, like the French do for questions. Is this normal in spoken Italian?
In English and French, whether or not it's a sign of emphasis, the reversal means that you are asking a question. You can even get away with not doing an upward inflection at the end of your question!
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Actually, in English, if you put the auxiliary first but pronounce without upward inflection, it's not necessarily a question, but rather can be used to show emphasis: > "Am I hungry! I hope dinner's ready soon." > "Is he a driver! Look at how he takes those corners." On the other hand, English can have the auxiliary after the pronoun but still be a question, especially to doubt something the other speaker has said (expresses incredulity), as long as upward intonation is used: > "She's coming? That's not what I heard."
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I'm not sure that's it. I think a rhetorical question is when the speaker (and often even the listener) already knows the answer, but he only asks it to make a (rhetorical) point. E.g. a demagogue who asks a crowd of disgruntled men "Are we men or mice?" Neither of the examples I put above fit that description. The second one ("She's coming?") can be a genuine question--even if the speaker thinks that one possible answer is more likely than another (perhaps the other speaker will say something or have some evidence which shows the first speaker that his original belief is mistaken).
Funny...I am Italian but for duolingo I am not able to pronounce correctly this sentence! XD
What type of conductor exactly? In my pocket dictionary, it lists "direttore" (d'orchestra) and "bigliettaio" (d'autobus), and seems to think "conduttore" refers to a conductor in terms of physical science.
Your dictionary has the correct translations. Here in Italy we use "conduttore" mostly with the scientific meaning ("il rame è un conduttore" = "the copper is a conductor"). It could be also "colui che conduce (qualcosa)" = "he who conducts (something)" but it's used very little and only in particular contexts. The best translation for "driver" is "autista" or "conducente" (for trains, buses, ...)
The English gives "presenter" and I have no idea what that would mean given the word's definition as described by several of you.
Well, in English a presenter could be someone conducting an experiment, conducting a test, conducting a seminar, etc. I'm sure there is a better word for each of these, but this is only my second sentence in this section, so I havent seen anything except this and architetto. :)
I'm used to "presenter" as the dj/host of a radio/tv show; that fits with "anchor" for a news program. And so I assumed a "conductor" was a sort of master of ceremonies who kept things moving in the right direction.
When a presenter is a kind of showman, why is the word learned here? Not the word you need in every day's life, at least: not in my life
For an American, a presenter would be someone presenting a show or demontrating something. But this would nit be used a lot
I am American and once met an Englishman who said he was a presenter. I didn't know what that meant and he explained it's like a news anchor or host of a TV show.
so, if i get it right, 'conduttore' is not the very best expression to learn something about professions?
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I am a conductor. I work as a conductor. I am made out of copper and i allow electrons to flow through me lol.
I cannot blow the whistle, and I cannot ring the bell, but If this damn thing jumps the track, Just see who catches hell.
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Flashback! I learned that, or a version of it, in the 60's in Vietnam. It has probably been around a lot longer than that.
Yes, because there is no confusion about the personal ending, as there would be with "sono". However, it might be more obvious that you are asking a question if you put "tu" in there.
Why is it sometimes "il" is translated as "the", while other times it is translated as "a". I thought il/la/lo were "the' while un/una were "a".
it's idiomatic, as in "mio padre fa il pescatore" -- he doesn't do the fisherman, he IS a fisherman.
Yes thank you, I was busy at the moment and couldn't remember the term "idiom." But yes, it is an idiom. You aren't a fisherman, you "do" the fisherman, in the sense you do the job of a fisherman.
It's explained if you press the lightbulb before you enter a lesson. Main points are always there.
It's difficult if we can't hear the inflection in the voice to give the clue that this is a question and not a statement.
It was 'sei' for are you a farmer and it's 'sei tu' for are you a conductor. When do I need the tu and when can it be dropped?
In this case is not a question, it uses "tu" to emphise the person. If you wouldn't want the emphasis you could drop the "tu".
Why can't "see il conduttore" be correct? Do you have to use the "tu" in a question?
Both is correct, like in english you could ask " are you the driver" or "you are the driver?" Thought the first one is slightly more clear.
When I guessed wrongly for conduttore, the correct answer was given as 'anchor'. I cannot imagine how to interpret this!
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anchor: The main host of a television or radio program, particularly one relating to the broadcast of news.
guys, what does the presenter mean here? as a presenter for a specific presentation at work for example?
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Presenter:
- Someone who presents a broadcast programme; a compere or master of ceremonies.
- Someone who presents a thing or person to someone else.
In addition to the other definitions given, a presenter is also the person who delivers a paper at a scholarly conference.
I asked my Italian 101 teacher if we can invert the verb and subject pronoun like we do in French and she said no, but this is contradictory. Can anyone elaborate?
This word order has nothing to do with it being a question as is the case in French or German: the reply could be, "sì, sono io il conduttore".
Italian word order doesn't change to mark a question, but it's pretty flexible in itself, and words are commonly reordered to shift the emphasis on different parts of the sentence. Knowing when and how to do that however requires a deep understanding of the language, so while you should understand this word order, avoid using it until you feel confident enough.
When i answer with "anchor" or "anchorwomen" for "conduttore" or "conduttrice" DL marks it wrong, but then it asks to translate "anchorwomen ." If DL can use anchor, why can't I.
Why is "Are you the driver?" Not acceptable? Conduttore also means driver does it not?
Conduttore seems to be a few things. Hostess and presenter but not conductor or manager although these seems to be managerial activities. It is also seems as though one meaning only is accepted at one point but another later. I was just told hostess, but when I used that again, I was corrected and told it was presenter. It is not very clear.
Conduttore is a man, (show) hostess would be conduttrice. Host should have been fine.
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I put 'Are you the conductor?' which was marked correct and assumed it was a conductor on a bus or train!! However the English translation here above is 'presenter'. I think I will continue to translate this as 'conductor' when it pops up again simply because it is easier to remember.
Why is the word "conductor" incorrect? An Italian dictionary says that translation is correct, and DL has the word in the suggested list.
What is wrong with saying anchorman especially when it is used as an earlier answer!
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Because condutrice is feminine. Of course, at least in the USA, we have been doing away with gender-specific words. So, anchorman and anchorwoman are now just anchor, though I prefer 'talking heads'.
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A presenter is a news anchor.
You can scroll up to see more answers on what a presenter is.
I am English but I don't know what DL means by a "presenter". Can anyone help?
What is a presenter? We don't use that word in American English. It would be a conductor, a manager, or (on TV) a host. Presenter is only used in British English.
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It's not only used in British English. It's also used in Australia and some other countries as well. The important thing is that you now know what a presenter is. :D
Since I've never heard the word "presenter" used in the Western Hemisphere, I assumed it was British. But, I still wonder if a native Italian speaker would understand "conduttore/conduttrice" to be the same as what the Brits, Aussies, etc. would call a "presenter.