"Is the tomato a vegetable?"
Translation:Il pomodoro è una verdura?
19 Comments
I too tried to use inversion and said "E il pomodoro una verdura?" Is that grammatically plausible, or no?
I tried the same answer, and I realise I got it wrong. But I think Duolingo should give more guidance, as understanding this part of the grammar seems crucial.
ok an italian friend of mine just said: 'both could be correct, but the italian grammatical structure is generally subject-verb-object rather than verb-subject-object.'
It's an emphasis issue. It shouldn't be marked incorrect though. I had the same problem.
It is, like in lots of Latin languages, a matter of a question is a phrase with intonation, not structured differently
Since Spanish is my mother tongue, "il pomodoro è una verdura?" sounds completely correct, like in Spanish. The phrase "È il pomodoro una verdura?" would not sound as natural as the first option I wrote.
"the tomato is a vegetable." or "the tomato is a vegetable?" It is all about inflection to make a statement sound like a question, but the words are the same.
I thought it was grammatically correct in Italian to place the subject at the end when asking a question. È una verdura il pomodoro? but that is not accepted as a correct answer.
The subject (and many sentence elements) can actually move around quite a bit, but in general the sentence structure is the same as a normal statement; according to that principle "è una verdura il pomodoro?" would be "is it a vegetable, the tomato?".
Well if it works like that, then my answer "E il pomodoro una verdura?" should be correct. Any help?
I don't actually know the difference between a vegetale and a verdura in english, so I don't know why I got "Il pomodoro è un vegetale?" wrong.
what is the difference between "vegetale" and "verdura"? Could be both the same?
No, not exactly; "vegetale" refers to any of the vegetable life-forms, so it could refer to any plant, including algae and trees, as well as their fruits and roots. Verdura instead literally means "the greens" and usually refers to the edible leaves (such as lettuce or spinach) and flowers (like artichoke or broccoli), especially when used as garnish or salad; it can sometimes refer to roots (carrots, potatoes) and fruits of the field (tomatoes, eggplants) as well, although they're technically "ortaggi".
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So, I'm guessing "frutta" primarily refers to apples, bananas, grapes, and so forth, or would one have a similar argument in Italian about whether a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable?
Technically tomatoes could be called "frutti" (in a biological sense), but yes, they wouldn't be included in the mass plural "frutta".
