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In Italian tu and voi are often omitted as subjects. You are correct; the subject can be inferred directly by looking at the verb conjugation. Keeping that in mind I have concluded that this is a deliberate training technique of duoLingo; it is forcing us to conjugate and understand.
I like this teaching technique because during immersion I don't hesitate when tu or voi is missing. Granted, it has taken several months to get used to this, but I think it would have taken longer without the help of lessons where the subject pronoun is missing from the sentence, as happens here.
I used y'all and it was accepted. This made me happy that Duo accepts y'all
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I still don't understand why in another question asked on here, it was "Apri la bottiglia" and now it is "Aprite".
Tu apri, voi aprite. Singular and plural you. Duo doesn't bother to mention that you is plural in the translation.
No need to feel silly. We're all learning! Plus, duo doesn't make it clear.
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Aprite is in the voi form like all of you do it. Apri is only you.
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No, tu apri
http://www.italian-verbs.com/italian-verbs/conjugation.php?verbo=apri
here is a helpfull sheet that contains all the present tense conjugations and the infinitives for all of the verbs in the first verbs section for duolingo
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw00FD60mORuQ2gwenZ2eG9sd28/edit?usp=sharing
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Here is a question what if you have two verbs like "can you help open the bottle"? Which verb do you conjugate; do you do both of them or one of them and which one?
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You conjugate "can" So that would be: "Puoi (or potete- plural) aiutare aprire la bottiglia.?" (potere gets the whole verb). In case you say: "did you help opening the bottle" it would be different, then it would be: "hai aiutato aprire la bottiglia?"
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Just to clarify, why does potere get conjugated and not aprire? Also I noticed that with your example, every verb except for puoì reverted back to their root form; is there a reason for this? Thanks for the explanation
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Potere is a modal verb. It is used with other verbs. In any case, afaik, all verbs in Italian in the same clause (in the present tense) following the initial verb are all used in their infinitive form. A probably poor example in english would be "he helps paint the fence" - not "he helps paints the fence".
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What if you were handing it to an honored guest and used the Polite you (Lei). How would you say that...??
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that would be: "Lei apre la bottiglia" And the "imperativo" would be: "Apra la bottiglia (per favore)". - "Open the bottle please"
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Thanks. I can get the e ending for the Lei aprE .... but am confused by aprA" isn't that for the are ending verbs not ire ??? Also Google says it would be siad by.... "si apre" .... What/Why the si*. Thanks for any imput. I'm the black/white type... if I understand Why it helps to stick better. :-)
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Well than, I'll try to explain. Imperativo: -are verbs: parlare- (tu) parlA!, (lei) parli! - so the "i" and the "a" change places. -ire verbs: sentire- (tu) senti!, (lei) sentA! - the "tu" form is the same as in present, the "lei" form changes from "e" into "a". -ere verbs, same story as the -ire verb. So: battere- (tu) batti!, (lei) battA!. Hope this helps, ciao!
I do find them annoying, these little phrases that don't really make sense. I think I'm mishearing them, and so I start madly juggling alternatives in my head - for no great linguistic-training advantage that I can discern. Who has ever said "you all open the bottle"?
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These phrases that Duo "teach" you aren't phrases you will use in everyday life, or you'll very rarely use them. What duo is trying to convey is grammar which, imho, is a lot more important than just learning conversational phrases. With this process, you should be able to construct a good amount of phrases that actually make sense meaning that these throw-a-way phrases are teaching you how to use not only the term but the correct grammar.
Hope this explains things
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knowing spanish and learning italian, is difficult since you naturally identify whatever sounds familiar with the italian meaning, ad its not even close most of the time. Who ever said italian is like spanish is wrong. I could have sworn (before i checked) that apriti meant 'tighten', since in spanish the closest thing to apriti is aprieta. :/
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I'm looking for someone to improve my English and I will help him in italian.. I'm italian. those interested write me! Bye
I have just seen your comment and would like to converse with you if you are still interested.
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Fortunately the people I know can open a bottle on their own, no crowdfunding needed! But it might be a regional or more old fashioned use of "voi" instead of "Lei", often encountered in novels (Don Camillo, Leonardo Sciascia, Italo Calvino etc)?
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"She" And "Die" Were Also Options. Will She Die If You Don't Open The Bottle?
Why so many people to open one bottle? Well, at least these comments prove we understand some of the grammar.
Italian seems like a mixture of portuguese and english, some words are very similar to portuguese and some to english. I'm portuguese, learning italian through english. Pt - Abre a garrafa. En- Open the bottle. It- Aprite la bottiglia.
