"La donna è sopra il cavallo."
Translation:The woman is on top of the horse.
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Would "La donna e sul cavallo" also be correct? Is there a difference in meaning between sopra and sul/sulla?
I am curious about this as well. I thought "sopra" meant "over" and "in cima a" meant "on top of".
Maybe saying "sopra" means "on top" and saying "sul" means "on" or "on the"? I dunno to me saying sopra in this instance sounds better than saying sul.
In English 'on' is the right word, and definitely not 'above', unless she is actually floating in space above the horse.
so, would "la donna sta sopra il cavallo" and "la donna sta sul cavallo" also be identical translations? any reason to use sta versus è or sopra versus sul?
571
"Sopra" and "sul", in this context have the same meaning... usually you can use "sopra" or "su" as you like more... in Italian, many times we use "su" instead of "sopra" because it's shorter. I'm downstairs, "vado di sopra" (I'm going upstairs), "vado su" (I'm going upstairs), same meaning. "Dove sei?" (Where are you?), "sono di sopra/sono su" (I'm upstairs). "Dove hai messo il quadro?" (Where did you put the painting?). "Il quadro è sopra la sedia" (the painting is over the chair). In this case we're saying that the painting doesn't touch the chair. "Il quadro è sulla sedia" (the painting is on the chair). It means that the painting touches the chair. Hope it's helpful.
Just as I thought -- "sopra" above, but not touching. I don't understand then why DL is suggesting "sopra" for this sentence. Is she hovering above the horse? Seems that's what they are suggesting. Oh, well.
- 494
Italians don't use «stare» and «essere» like the Portuguese and Spanish do. «stare» = «quedarse»/"to stay" and, even in cases where you would use «estar» in Portuguese and Spanish (e.g. "to be" in a place, or, in this case, on an animal), Italians use «essere»
This is false and arguable because all this aspects:
Essere sometimes is translated as to have or haber: Luigi è sempre stato un bambino intelligente. Luigi has always been an intelligent child. Luigi ha siempre sido un niño inteligente.
Or stare is translated as to feel or estar: Come stai dopo il tuo incidente? How do you feel after your accident? ¿Cómo estás después de tu accidente?
Or stare can be translated as to be: Domani stiamo a casa. Tomorrow we are at home. Mañana estamos en casa.
Other example like the previous one but with gerund: Il generale stava scrivendo il bollettino di guerra. The general was writing the war bulletin. El general estaba escribiendo el boletín de guerra.
Or stare as to get: Lucia si sta vestendo. Lucia is getting dressed. Lucía se está vistiendo.
Or stare as to fit: Quante persone ci stanno in un autobus? How many people fit in a bus? ¿Cuántas personas pueden estar (I caben) en un autobús?
Or stare as to agree: Non mi sembra giusto, non ci sto! It doesn't seem fear to me, I don't agree. No me parece justo, no lo acepto.
In short, this demonstrates that English and Italian are very different, and essere is more like ser than to be; and stare is more like estar the to stay. As Spanish is a romance language is logical to be more similar to Italian than English could be, English may be similar to German or Dutch.
"The woman is on top of the horse" sounds strange. In the right context, it could work as noted by rogercchristie but it would practically never be used to say that "the woman is on the horse" or "the woman is riding the horse," etc. "The woman is atop the horse" would also sound better.
I realize that we're learning that sopra means above, over, or on top of, so rather than correcting the translation for this sentence, a new example should be created.
Doesn't "sopra" mean above as well? The woman is above the horse should work right?
- 494
It sounds a bit weird in English, though. Almost like she is floating above the horse. "Over" would perhaps be better.
I just answered a sentence with Sopra and meant above. Two questions later and it means in top. I thought above sounded wired but Duo has used werider phasesin the past. The inconsistencies just makes me made sometimes.
- 1769
The thing that bothers me is how to distinguish is somethig staying ON TOP of something or floating, flying etc. ABOVE something. For example "l'uccello è sopra il tetto", "the bird is on the roof" (standing) vs "the bird is above the roof" (flying). Anyone?
This is a stupid translation. One would never say in English that anyone was "on top of the horse". "On the horse" yes but never "on top of the horse".
'On the horse' would just mean 'on horseback', the default position. 'On top of the horse' would most likely be that the horse was recumbent, with the woman perched atop him, for whatever reason.
Catherine the Great? (But the reputed manner of her demise is a venerable urban legend.)
Why not just say the woman is riding the horse? By the way, what is the word for riding/to ride?
- 494
Because perhaps she is perched precariously on an immobile horse. I think one can say «andare a cavallo» but there is also «montare» = "to mount" and «cavalcare» = "to ride."
The word horse wasn't given with the words we should select from and when i answered it the question, it marked as wrong.
The woman is "on top of the horse" means she has climbed on it (with difficulty) and finally reached the head !
- 92
In English, the correct translation should be The lady is on the horse. ON TOP OF would not be used and sounds awkward.
I agree with these comments. "On top of" suggests that she's either straddling a prone horse or hovering over it.
