"Do you eat candy or cookies?"
Translation:Mangi caramelle oppure biscotti?
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oppure e O ! what is the difference between them? Are they the same in all cases?
They're interchangeable. Oppure might be considered more formal or can be used to emphasize alternative, but "or" translates into both.
Why is the word "candy" here translated as "caramelle", but not "caramella"?
Exactly. But in the original english sentence we see "candy" and in the Italian "caramelle". I used caramella and it was a mistake.
In American english at least, we use 'candy' to refer to multiple candies, like in "do you eat candy?" It would not mean "do you eat one candy?" We rarely say "candies," or at least not in my region.
plural form of "candy" can be :
- candy "I want more candy" ( several of the same kind)
- candies (when speaking about variety of different ones)
Since in this sentence there is no "a" before candy (indicating singular form) I would also use "le caramelle" .
I hope someone will verify my explanation.
p.s. if anybody wondered " il caramello = the caramel" :)
i don't agree with you. you can ask someone "do you eat candy or cookies" in the meaning of one candy or several cookies. why does it have to be both at plural? if the right answer is "caramelle", it should have been "candies". i'm starting to get annoyed by this program. it's not the first time when they interpret as they want.
We would have to say "a candy" to mean just one. Candy can be plural as well as singular and is way more often plural. Bet you can't eat just one!
You want to put the answer that fits best. You can report it, as both should be accepted, but in reality people would understand you better if you just had "a" in front of candy for singular. Both British and Americans will understand that.
Would you say "Do you like cat or dogs?" I know I would say "Do you like cats or dogs?" "Would you like cake or ice cream?" I have a tendency to put both plural or both singular, don't you? I noticed I did not put 'a' in front of cake nor ice cream.
Candy is used in general here, therefore the singular should also be accepted.
yes, is more often, but that shouldn't mean that using "just one" is wrong. just because i can't eat just one!
I can understand why so many are confused by their translation. The problem is that they (duolingo) are inconsistent. Up until now duolingo has translated "caramella" as "candy" and "caramelle" as "candies".
They are inconsistent, because people report some of the lessons, but not all of them, and different people report for different sides of the issue. They should research it themselves and take a stand.
ok, ok, you're right. i'm just happy i can learn foreign languages. anything else, doesn't matter. have a nice day!
I feel like the sentence is very clearly indicating the plural. If we asked, "do you want candy? " it would imply plural. I would say do you want a piece of candy to indicate only one piece.
I only looked at this thread bc of oppure vs. o, they gave it to me even tho i used o.
Looking at this whole conversation there is no question the debate is valid. However if we switch Candy to Sweet it becomes easier to rationalise. "Do you eat sweet" would be a different meaning to "do you eat sweets" the former meaning dessert and the latter a plural of the singular sweet. You might say "do you eat a sweet" which would be caramella but not plural of course, so its fair to assume the lack of "a" implies the plural. But if anyone is this far in their English or Italian please do not worry your understanding is fantastic which is more important than perfect.
If you change "candy" to "sweet," it becomes easier to rationalize, but only for "sweet." Since candy is clearly an exception to normal plural rules, the logic doesn't necessarily apply once you change the rule (though the source of confusion is understandable). At least in the United States, I don't think anyone would think "candy" was singular in this sentence. EDIT: Candy isn't often treated as plural either. I is often used as a "non-count" noun, like water. You don't say "I drink waters." However, it seems Italian does not treat "candy" the same way.
I uses singular caramella because the Italian had 'candy', not 'candies' i.e. in English...'sweet', not 'sweets'. I have real problems with the American English bias - there are many countries that stick to the original English e.g. Australia, India etc. etc. and people like me who ARE English!
Have you counted population yet? More people say candy for plural of the same kind and candies which specify different kinds.
I wrote 'mangi le caramelle oppure i biscotti', amd it corrected me to 'dei biscotti'. Where did that come from?
I'm not 100% sure, but I believe that when you use oppure, you don't need to put the article in the second item. I wrote le caranelle oppure biscotti and it was marked as correct. Also it is easier :P
Because in this instance, it's talking about plural candy. 'Caramella' is singular.
I would have used the plural, too, were it not for the fact that the program at times prefers exact translation instead of idiomatic translation
Please I write caramella al singolare candy; while caramelle al plurale candies.
Please use caramella.. it is very confusing... at this stage of learning word for word translation is much more helpful... or allow several right answers...