"Do you eat candy or cookies?"
Translation:Mangi caramelle oppure biscotti?
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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.
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.