"Io oggi ho tentato."

Translation: I have tried today.

[Germandy]

Does the word order change the emphasis in this sentence? I often notice that I understand Italian sentences, but would intuitively put the words in a different order. For example, for this sentence I would rather say "Io ho tentato oggi". I know that it is not wrong, but it seems in Italian that's not the preferred word order. I'm grateful for any hints regarding that topic. :)

[mukkapazza]

You're quite right :) It would sound good with a ci in there as well (which you may not have learned yet) or di (infinitive).... There are a lot of different ways to phrase a thought and two main reasons you'll see different word orders: to start you off with something relatively familiar and also to show you how to place emphasis on different ideas.

[Germandy]

Thanks! :) I think I have trouble recognizing where the emphasis goes in that structure that I am not so familiar with... what is emphasized in "Io oggi ho tentato" opposed to my two obvious choices "Oggi ho tentato io" and "io ho tentato oggi"?

[DeanG6]

I agree the word order seems strange, with 'oggi' where it is. I noticed they did the same thing with 'dove' in another sentence. Sorry I cannot answer your question on emphasis.

[funny-tigre]

I also would like to know what is being emphasized. Does anyone have an idea?

[bealdenilson]

I understand that the last word is being emphasized.
"Io ho tentato oggi" emphasizes "oggi", that is, the time or period when the person did the action.
"Oggi ho tentato io" emphasizes "io", that is, the person who did the action.
"Io oggi ho tentato" emphasizes "tentato", that is, the verb / the action that the person performed today.
Hope this helps.

[DanielK779208]

Molte grazie!

[BertvanWijk1]

Italians seem also to choose between possible word synonyms, word orders, qui/qua, li/la simply for this reason: to make the sentence sound well and easy to pronounce. So, I don't worry! Trying to recognize what sounds well.

[mariaelena256]

is there a difference between tentare and provare??

[Pier_Golfoz]

Sometimes they are synonymous, but I always recommend using "provare" which is certainly the most used.
• "provare" means trying to do something relying on reasoning
• "tentare" means trying to do something trusting in luck

The only sentence that comes to my mind where you have to use "tentare" is:
• "tentare la fortuna" (try your luck)
When you buy a lottery ticket you could say: "tento la fortuna" (not "provo la fortuna")

[meSopy]

Thank you. Have a lingot

[verna120098]

Allora! Therefore "provo didicere italiano" means I'm using my intellect to speak italian. In actuality it would be "trovo di dicere italiano"; and I am trusting to luck. Ah an old friend would say best of British luck.

[Dorundliz]

I didn't get this either :-( Found this in a search :-D ....hope it's right :-/

"Provare a + infinitivo = to try to (as in to attempt something - I can try to ask but I am not sure she will listen).

Tentare di + infinitivo = to try to (same meaing as provare a + infinitivo)"

Source: http://forum.impariamo.com/viewtopic.php?t=617

[mariaelena256]

thanks for the link, dorundliz

[el-montunero]

Wouldn't correct english translation be "i tried today" instead of "i have tried today" (even though "i have tried" is a literal translation)? I know that Italians use present perfect pretty much like past simple but if we're translating these sentences to english, it should be right.. and this is not the only example where present perfect is used wrong (in english, not italian). Right?

[uroshu]

If the time period is still unfinished (and the word "today" indicates an unfinished time period), you should definitely use "Present Perfect Tense". So, " I have tried it today" is the only grammatically correct English. On the other hand, with finished time periods, we use 'Past Simple Tense", so with the word 'yesterday' , 'two days ago', or 'last week', we would say for example 'I tried it yesterday, but it didn't work." Plus, you have noticed that I inserted the word 'it' after the verb, since the verb 'try' is usually transitive, which means that it should be followed by an object (= we should say what we have tried).

[zimtladen]

As a native English speaker, I cannot agree. There is nothing at all wrong with "I tried today" and I am sure i have heard this said and said it myself many times in my life.

For example, someone might ask "Did you call the bank as you said you would?" and I might well answer "I tried today, but for some reason I couldn't get through". A perfectly ordinary commonplace sentence. "I have tried today" would sound distinctly odd here, certainly not the kind of thing a native speaker would say, not in my neck of the Anglosphere anyway.

[MeroeOMER]

As someone doing a lot of trying with this course (smiles!), common usage here in Australia is both "I have tried today" and "I tried today"... and I have really tried today!

[zimtladen]

Actually I have been trying to think of situations where "I have tried today" would be the natural thing to say, and "I tried today" would sound wrong. But I have not yet come up with one.

[NadinaMaria22]

As I was attempting to figure out WHY the "Io" is required in this sentence: "Io oggi ho tentato." --I decided to just write it down as Duo says, hoping I can commit the word order to memory. And then, I said to my self:
"Alora, ho tentato oggi". oops.... "Well, I tried today." :-)

[Catia9]

I reckon, "I tried today" should also be accepted, but I haven't tried DL with it yet. Maybe next time I get this question!

[Caterinabella]

An Italian would still understand me if I said "Io ho tentato oggi", wouldn't he or she?

[s84606]

Not only it is understandable, but in many contexts it is the most natural order:

• "[Io] Oggi ho tentato [di..]" (no particular emphasis) is the natural word order when introducing the subject.

• "Ho tentato oggi" can be used when the subject has already been established and you want stress "oggi" (e.g. A: "Tu quando hai tentato?" B: "Ho tentato oggi").

• "Oggi ho tentato io", again, can be used when the subject has been established and you want to stress "io" (e.g. A: "Ieri tentato di capire la relatività" B: "Oggi ho tentato io").

[JanTal1]

My answer was, "I have tried it today." It was marked wrong.

[aussiepax]

Then it would be " L'ho tentato oggi" or "L'ho oggi tentato" where Lo is the direct object, I think

[Matthew668253]

Dear Diary:
Today I tried. Who dares, wins, right?

Keep trying, people! You'll get there

[maloewe]

tentare would need an information what has been tried, right?

[Alvaro811549]

"I today have tried" May sound unusual but it has the same meaning and is acceptable.

[MiepKaempf]

how does an Italian say: I tried it today.

[Osnakezz]

L'ho tentato oggi, most likely.

[Margaret839508]

So I translated it as "Today I tried it" which is a little weird in English but not grammatically incorrect, and perfectly comprehensible. DL said it's wrong, and I can't decide if it just doesn't like the slightly unusual phrasing in English or whether there's something else subtle going on.

[TheGrahamCable]

You added the word 'it' to your answer, which isn't in the Italian sentence.

[JoshuaKnic]

Quello è tutto che noi possiamo fare

[ArsChet]

This sentence was in a sound form and it was impossible to do correctly! The word "tentato" was pronounced as entrato or something but there was no "t"!

[igXEZH]

poorly pronounced