42 Comments
I am Italian , I don't know exactly but I THINK is that 'Di tutto' means exactly everything , instead 'tutto ' can be translated as " All ". Tutto il giorno = all day Io mangio di tutto = i eat everything . P.s : it isn't a big error if you say tutto instead of " Di tutto " ! :)
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For what it's worth (if anything) Google Translate https://translate.google.com left the di off - (lei) poteva fare tutto
Tutto is everything and di tutto is anything (in Duo's sense of everything possible). Be careful translating 'anything' to Italian because it has other senses too.
I don't like Duo's "could" because it is ambiguous and translates just as well to the conditional potrebbe. "She was [or used to be] able to do anything" is unambiguous, and accepted.
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Wow ... in English there is a huge difference between anything and everything in this context.
Does this mean "She had many talents", "Her actions could not be predicted", or either?
Good question sbt, I'd also be interested in the answer.Can any Italians/fluent speakers help us?
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Non-native-speaker, but your question may have answered a question (I had. I will have to apologize in advance to anyone who is doing this module for the first time, because my point involves conditional tense, a module which appears later in the sequence. My comments, however, will be clear in the context).
I plugged the English "She could make everything" into Google Translate www.translate.google.com and got the imperfect:
lei poteva fare tutto
The imperfect is a past tense, here meaning "she was able to do/make anything/everything" - "could" is the past tense of "can". This wording comes very close to the idea of "she had many talents" (Past tense, so it's "had" rather than "has".)
When I entered the English "She could do anything" into www.reverso.net I got the conditional lei potrebbe fare tutto. "Potrebbe" also means "could" but is NOT the past tense of "can" - it is a present tense which presents the possibility that she may or may not = she might/could - "do anything".
In this regard, Google translated "She might do anything" as the conditional lei potrebbe fare tutto.
So, in answer to your question, I think that the essential thought of "She has many talents" is parallel-translated by the imperfect, past-tense "could" while "Her actions could not be predicted" is parallel-translated by the conditional "could/might".
Since the words are so different, your sentences present the essence or meaning of the sentence, but are not accurate translations.
Comments on my thinking here are very welcome.
Again, sorry to those who haven't studied conditional yet, but it is so related to the question posed, I felt I had to mention it.
Ok, any particular reason? Just to help me remember for next time? And ta for replying, anyway.
nope it's just that it seems the normal to keep the handle verb together with its mate
Ah yes. I tend to rely on French too much, as they are both romance languages, and sadly it can be a trap, as with Spanish, for ex. I'm sure... Oh well.
"she could do everything" was my translation, too, and today it was accepted by duolingo (02,12,2014)
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Perhaps it's just not an answer in the database.
When I entered "She could do all of it" in an online translator, I got Duo's answer
When I entered you translation, I got "Lei era capace di fare tutto."
I don't know whether the distinction is valid, but it may be that potere is closer in meaning to "can", and, since there is no English verb "to can" applicably here, "to be able to" is a way of explaining what "can" means, rather than a direct translation. That's just a thought, so it should not be relied on to support any answers. That's a long-winded way of saying that you probably will be closer in meaning if you use "can" rather than "be able to" - but I'm completely ready to be disputed on this and told I'm 100% wrong.
Can anybody tell me how to say 'she could have done anything?', per favore?x
That sentence would follow the rules of Conditional Perfect tense. She could have done anything = Lei avrebbe potuto fare niente. :)
For my excercise, i am to type the words from the audio. Since "lei" and "le" cannot be distinguished verbally, couldn't this sound like, "Le poteva fare di tutto" and still make sense?
"she could have done it all" wasn't accepted. Is there something grammatically incorrect in this?
I think you're both right. "She could have done it all" should have been accepted; but a more correct way of saying "She could have done it all" would be "Lei avrebbe potuto fare di tutto." IMHO
Under the new form of the verb being introduced there is a pull down tab saying "conjugate" am I missing something or does this conjugate section then go on to show the present tense not the imperfect? I am assuming I am missing something here.
So. If I could paint means that If I was (or were)able to paint. I have always thought that it means : If I would be able to paint.
In English, I would say that it could mean both,but the Italian is much clearer in that you can see the imperfect and conditional tense.
I suppose that 'fare tutto' means 'to make everything' while 'fare di tutto' - 'to make anything' in English
Lilian I think this one highlights the problem of a computer answering. Poteva is clearly and simply imperfetto, a past and habitual tense. Could in English might be a past tense of can, ora present conditional. Have done opens even more possibilities including a pluperfect. There are so many permutations it is probably best to focus on the Italian and put it down to "the computer says no"
