"He tells her it is impossible."
Translation:Lui le dice che è impossibile.
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Why doesn't "Lui la dice che e impossible" work?
I suppose I don't understand the difference between le and la.
la means her, whereas le means to her. When you tell her, it translates in Italian as tells to her, so you have to use le, not la.
I'm assuming that "che" is mandatory in Italian unlike in English. It is the same thing in French, you can't leave out "que" or the sentence sounds awkward.
Duo believes that as well. They just took my heart and that was the only word that I had missing .. which is a tragedy in the clitics section :-)
It must be because I left it out. They teach you to try and translate directly without adding words, but this must be an instance where it is implied in English but required in Italian..
I put "Le dice che sia impossibile" - is the use of the subjunctive here wrong?
Yeah, they are tough, especially Ci, which seems random at times. Some have posted charts on when to use them.. Keep working at it, eventually they make sense!
Yeah, I reverse-referenced the pronouns from the information on this page, mostly, to make that chart. It seemed to help to see it from a pronoun by pronoun basis.
Kmandadad's assessment of the Wonderful World of Clitics is spot on, and the prediction of of eventual relief is ever so welcome!♡
I guess you change slightly the meaning: To inform vs To say/tell. I don't know in Italian but in Spanish it wouldn't be accurate and I think it wouldn't either in Italian. More opinions?
I agree with chemacasado. Thinking of it in English, "to tell" someone something implies only the action of communicating something to someone. While the word "inform" implies a more official or formal notification process. Think of it at the DMV line--the clerk could "tell" you it will be impossible for you to pass the test that day because they are closing in 10 minutes and she doesn't think you have time. Conversely, the DMV itself (in its official capacity) can "inform" you that no one else is allowed to start the test that day because there is not sufficient time remaining. See? They sort of, but not exactly, mean the same thing, but their connotations are different.
I wrote "Lui le dice che IL è impossibile" and it did not allow it... anyone knows why?
That would be like saying "he says that the is impossible". IL is just an article. You can translate it a variety of ways (esso, ciò)... or avoid translating it entirely :)
Of course! I was confused. I thought il means it, when there is no it in Italian!!! Thanks a lot for that.