- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "Io non ho pepe."
68 Comments
634
Types of pepper:
-
Bell pepper (the vegetable) = Peperone.
-
Black pepper (the spice) = Pepe nero.
-
Hot pepper (the spice and the hot vegetable. aka chili) = Peperoncino.
-
Myrtle pepper (Allspice, Pimenta, Jamaica pimenta) = Pimento \ Pepe della Giamaica.
378
You could also say "I have no pepper," which is less common than "I don't have pepper" -- but it's also fine.
"I have not pepper" is antiquated and maybe outright incorrect in modern English.
302
Surely I could say "I don't have pepper. Not many English would say "I do not etc etc.."
Does pepe mean pepper as a spice or as the vegetable? I wrote down; I haven't pepper, but that was wrong according to duo lingo.
FrancescoZZ is right: Pepe is not pronounced correctly. In the sentence it is pronounced pèpè, while by hovering over it is pronounced pépè, while it should be pronounced pépé
In modern English, we say "I do not have something". We do not say "I have not something." The only time we say "have not" is when "have" is helping to conjugate a verb, as in "I have not seen that", or in the stock phrase "The Haves and the Have-Nots" where "have not" is functioning as a noun referring to people who do not live a life of privilege.
"To have" is only conjugated into the progressive when it means "to experience", never when it means "to possess".
I have pepper = I possess pepper. You can find it in my pantry.
I have chest pains = I experience chest pains. You can say this, but it sounds like a thing that happens regularly.
* I am having pepper. This is not something native speakers would say. It sounds like something Dobby the House Elf might say.
I am having chest pains = I am currently experiencing chest pains. Please call an ambulance, I might be having a heart attack.
"To have" can also conjugate into the progressive when it means "to eat", although there's a limited context for that. Imagine you're in a restaurant looking over the menu but you can't decide what to order. You ask your friend, "What are you having?" and your friend answers "I'm having the house special." Or you can ask what the plans are for Sunday night, and the answer can be "We're having pizza." In these cases, it's the use of the present progressive to indicate the future tense.
Those don't mean the same thing.
I don't have pepper. Here, "pepper" is being used as a mass noun and most likely refers to the spice.
I don't have the peppers. Here, "the peppers" is referring to specific items and most likely refers to the thing (botanically a fruit, culinarily a vegetable) that you cut up and put in salads and on pizza, and can be very spicy or not spicy at all.