"Come scriviamo il suo cognome?"

Translation: How do we write her surname?

[nuovaforesta]

I also find it difficult to understand how, without context, you are supposed to know that it is HER name and not HIS.

[GerryThompson]

Me too. I saw nothing that indicated the name belonged to a man or a woman...

[LEONARDOArtist]

My exact question

[DeMMc18]

I wrote - how do we write your last name - And it was accepted 12/21

[Mik178562]

Me too. Thats not to make a fail.

[igfs]

I think the equivalent in English is 'How do we spell her surname?' how do we write the surname (in UK english) is like you need instructions. How do we write her name? Okay first pick up the pen, etc etc

[mukkapazza]

Good point, 'spell' is now in the system ;)

[TopClampet]

Not when I answered it wasn't. I had been given the English version in the previous exercise and it was translated as "spell". In the Italian-English version, it's write! Frustrating

[igfs]

Great, thanks

[Schatzie14]

We use more "family name" than "surname" in American english

[JonMiller00]

I would say most people use "last name"

[David235258]

Not in England. Surname is the normal way of referring to the family name.

[RShirey]

Ok first pick up the pen

[gpriddy]

Can "suo" refer to "your" if I'm thinking of "Lei" meaning you polite?

[CMcAllister]

Yes! But DuoLingo does not allow "Lei" as a translation for you (formal) or "Loro" as you all (formal). (And the "L" must be a capital!)
I think it's important to know, but I see why DuoLingo would leave it out because they want better distinction between conjugations.

[mukkapazza]

There is a skill dedicated specifically to learning the formal Lei later on. There you'll see examples in which it is capitalized because this is largely a text based program and we don't want to drive anybody crazy! Outside of that skill, if you see Lei capitalized (such as at the beginning of a sentence) feel free to also translate it as you :)

[tango-alpha]

The correct translation is given as "her" surname. Why is "his" surname not right?

[mangoHero1]

Worked for me. :/

[Indy4Italia]

I got that wrong today as well, using "his", which I chose because I saw the "Il suo" and figured it was a male whose surname we were writing. This is confusing....

[Tracie279235]

Yeah, it marked me correct for "how do we write his last name?"

[GladysSoli2]

How do i know suo is her and not him

[flipper19]

Yes il suo doesnt mean "his"not her?

[LifyaKH]

It can mean either 'his' or 'her'. The 'il suo' is only masculine because the word 'cognome' is masculine - 'il suo' doesn't relate to the gender of the person it is describing.

[ber833]

So how am i supose to know if it is her o his in this sentence...? It only accept her as and answer

[patcanuck]

I can't work out how 'his' is accepted by some and not for others.

[mps1mps]

So, duolingo offers no explanation why they mark "his" as wrong when no context is offered to decide between his or her.

[toddyw]

How do we know its "his" and not "hers"??

[Interrobang3]

You don't! Word ambiguity, dawg. That's why Duolingo accepts both options.

[Indy4Italia]

It actually didn't for me today. It marked my "his" as incorrect...

[Andrea_Petzi]

mine too . . . wonder why

[AlessandroParli]

i wrote "how do we write his surname" and still got it wrong
isn't suo/sua/suoi general for him/her? context obviously decided in real life by who you are referring to but usually duo accepts both?

[Luvit6]

How is one to know it is "her" surname and not "his"?

[pennantao]

Why is suo, his and not her? Is it because of the 'il'?

[mariapaz777]

Suo=its, his, hers, your???

[let51408]

Why her and not his. Suo is his, i think

[RogerEIEGIGTodd]

The gender of 'Suo/Sua' depends on the gender of the object (thing being spoken about) not the gender of the subject (person to whom the thing belongs). 'Suo/Sua' can mean his/hers/its

[BillReith]

I disagree. If my last name is Smith, you would say How do we write my name. Surname is an uncommon word in the US unless you happen to be a lawyer.

[BiddyT]

Surname is a very common word in Australasia

[RogerEIEGIGTodd]

Surname and last name are synonomous

[NatGavin]

Yeah I was marked wrong for using "her" too.

[Real_Salaura]

Why is it her if it's IL suo?

[RogerEIEGIGTodd]

It is because 'cognome' is masculine. His/her/its name/surname would always be 'il suo cognome' The object here is name/surname, therefore the gender is for the object (masc.) not the subject (her -fem.) of the sentence.

[Real_Salaura]

This language is so confusing

[BarryKissane]

Wouldn't it need to be sua not suo to be 'hers'??

[talliagluc]

Whether it's suo or sua depends on cognome, which is a masculine noun, so il suo would apply to both his and her surname ( cognome)!

[Madeleine843850]

it can also ne translated : your cognome or his cognome

[SandrineZe2]

i don't understand anything suo for her

[SabineMatz]

Why is How do we write your surname wrong. Suo could be the polite form, couldn't it?

[FRANDGuy]

I am a french speaker learning Italian and English. I learned at school: cognome = nom = family name and nome = prénom = firstname.

[Debiera123]

My question is, is this a normal way to ask this question? How often do people ask "how do WE write your surname" in Italian? Would it not be "how do YOU write" or how do I write"???

[LorenzoLM]

When asking for a group which includes you, that is we (1° person plural)

[kinga9000]

Some sentences are very very irritating.....

[BobBarraza]

I just want to know when I am speaking this language in September that I don't sound like an idiot.
I want people to understand that I do mean his or her.

[ShirleyCopper]

What is wrong with "spell"

[PB_Bandit]

Cognome and Cognomi sound exactly the same!

[Peter73115]

None

[DenisKavan]

Once again difficulty to distinguish between suo and tuo. Voice drops at beginning of both words

[BedirhanYilmazz]

If the Italian speakers are not able to articulate o vs a it makes transcribing the lesson almost impossible.

[Jill841374]

Why is it her surname not his surname?

[Vanessa792352]

When is it il suo not just suo

[marilynkogon]

why is it only her surname?? Why can't it be HIS surname?

[birkos]

When you hear suo rather than seeing it in writing , it is reasonable to translate it as your not she or he If you ask for someone's surname you obviously are ill acquainted and hence formal iOS needed

[MehediHasa549369]

But i don't understand, isn't il suo means his and la sua means her

[talliagluc]

I translated "Come scriviamo il suo cognome" as How do you write his surname! It was marked incorrect, and said the correct answer should be her surname! I thought suo could be either his or hers!

[talliagluc]

Il suo cognome; il suo could be either his or hers, so why was my answer of his not accepted!

[cahummel]

I wrote "her" - it wasn't accepted....

[Josie658160]

I believe my answr was correct.

[nwnash]

I'm very confused about the word come. Does it mean both like and how?

[KazeX]

To me it is his(il suo)surname!

[ClareDeniz]

The voice recognition/pronunciation is faulty again. I am marked wrong before I even speak no matter how many times I speak the sentence before pressing the record button it immediately says it is wrong.It says wrong on all of the pronunciation and it should not be doing that.

[talliagluc]

My answer should have been accepted( I typed his name); il suo could be either his or her!

[AndrewChenYYC]

I put "his surname" and marked wrong...why it has to be "her"?

[talliagluc]

Being marked wrong for translating the Italian il suo, into his, instead of her is completely wrong! Il suo can be either his or her!

[AldoChavez641889]

how do I know is his or her?My answer is proper

[Yoonesta]

Come fai a capire la differenze tra il suo e la sua in questo caso?