"Da quanto vivono in Italia?"

Translation:How long have they been living in Italy?

May 20, 2013

23 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/BlancheDB

Does the presence of "da quanto" make "vivono" past tense? That's very confusing to me, since vivono is a present tense conjugation, but the translation says it's "lived". It doesn't make sense to translate with present tense, so I'm wondering why vivere isn't conjugated as past tense. If anyone can explain, that would be helpful. Grazie.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/roman2095

No it is still present tense. If an activity started in the past but continues into the present in a context like this the Italians use the present tense where we would use the past continuous in English. So the use of the present tense here is correct.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/BlancheDB

Thanks for this clear explanation. "activity started in the past but continues into the present . . . Italians use the present tense" feels like information I might actually be able to retain and apply. That's huge for me, since my memory isn't what it used to be. Grazie!


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/MABBY

What's up with this? "Da quanto" means "How long"?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/f.formica

Quanto can mean "how much", "how long" and so on; "da" can mean since (da febbraio = since February). So "da quanto" is "since how much time ago", "for how long".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/cervec

I wrote "for how long" instead of "how long". Why is that marked wrong?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Dirk.

I have the same question and I think 'For how long...' is correct.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Carmen_CostaRica

I agree too. I wrote "For how long". The right answer is: How long have they been living in Italy? which is correct, but the sentence to be translated is written in simple present and the translation is in present perfect continuous. It is confusing.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/roman2095

Please see my comment to BlancheDB above.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/danabanov

Should be "da quando" NOT "da quanto"...?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/f.formica

The meanings are different: "da quando" is "since when" (e.g. since January), "da quanto" is "how long" (e.g. six months).


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/danabanov

Then "tempo" is meant, so shouldn't it be: "da quanto tempo" not just "da quanto..."?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/f.formica

It could have been, but it's not required to add "tempo".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/AdalbertoSarto

Lo capisco adesso. Grazie mille!


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Flygirl8

Sorry this is off topic but can someone tell me why iPhone doesnt have these comments but Android smartphones do?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/joesf49

i pad doesn't have them either . After a year and a half of duolingo i forgot my iPad and had to do it on a computer. No more iPad. This is much more useful.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/lexablackbird

Seriously, the comments are essential!


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lng52-._

Why not: "How long did they live in Italy?"


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/roman2095

No, the use of the present tense in the Italian indicates that they are still living there, so "did they live" does not work as it implies that they no longer live there (or if they do live there now, that they stopped living there and then went back some time later).


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/fredrik.sk

Why not "for how long DO THEY LIVE in Italy"?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/J.Robbins

They are still living in Italy, which explains the present tense, and in Italian you use present tense to express that. . If they no longer lived there it would be "Hanno vissuto in Italia per _ anni.".."They lived in Italy for _ years." However, I learned "da quando", not "da quanto"


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/ward.cn

Same as "how long have they lived in Italy".


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/christine507834

In English, how long have they been living in Italy is the same as how long have they lived in Italy, all variations of the present tense

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