"He cooks an onion."

Translation: Lui cucina una cipolla.

[NORH788959]

Very confused .. Tried 'lui'.. Not right

[JillPeiffe]

Idem

[JBattle92]

How is "he" implied in this sentence?

[ZuMako8_Momo]

It is not. It could just as easily be "she" or even "you" (formal). They just picked one of the three pronouns randomly.

[ItalianaAmore]

Why does "cucina" work and not "Lui cucina"? I'm confused! Help! I'm having so much trouble getting past this lesson.

[JohxgU]

Me too...also why lui cucina and not cucino as masculine?

[deactivated user]

@ItalianaAmore Both "egli" and "lui" are correct, though the former is mainly used in written (specifically literary) language. If the latter is not accepted, report it.

@JohxgU Because "cucino" means "I cook" (first-person singular), whereas "cucina" is a third-person singular (he/she cooks).

[ElishaH72]

Thanks for the clarification! Super helpful.

[mangoHero1]

That is just too technical

[Tomas258654]

I have cousins named Cippola. I never knew what that meant until now. Now I can make fun of them. Thank you, Duolingo!

[PaulineLyn4]

I don't understand why 'Lei cucina una cipolla' isn't correct.

[deactivated user]

Because "he" is "lui", whereas "she" is "lei".

[Italiandna]

What's wrong with Lui cucina una cipolla?

[Septemberist_]

"cuocere" means the actual act of cooking something, whereas "cucinare" means "to prepare a meal." The correct answer to this is "cuocere." Right?

[deactivated user]

"cook" translates both "cuocere" and "cucinare", but in this case the right option is the second one. It means he is preparing an onion as a meal, but maybe he is still in the "chopping up" phase. You can't say for sure he's applying heat ("cook" with the meaning of "cuocere") to the onion, which would be clear if the cooking time was specified.

[MilesHurrell]

Perche no posso scrivere "il cucina una cipolla"?? Perche non funziona?? Il = he, non?

[ZuMako8_Momo]

«il» = "the" in Italian and not "he" (that is French).

P.S. Your question should be «Perché non posso...?? Perché non funziona?? Il = he, no?».

[MilesHurrell]

Why doesnt il cucina una cipolla work? Why is it wrong to include the article in this situation?

[Erated8]

Because "The Cooks An Onion" Doesn't Make Any Sense, In English Or Italian.

[RavenClawthorne2]

I mean unless you put a comma in the word "cooks", then I guess that means the cook's an onion

[ZuMako8_Momo]

It is correct (and it is what Duolingo wants) to include the article «una»; however, the «il» is wrong there.

[icamfig]

Perche egli ma non lui?

[solrac528021]

What it means by glie

[solrac528021]

Thanks

[AandD816]

I had to type the italian translation for "He cooks an onion." Why is it cucina una cipolla...isnt cucina fem.?

[RavenClawthorne2]

Cucina is third person in the sense where it means "he cooks" or "she cooks" while Cucino means "I cook" in first person

[MartinRhed]

How can "Cucina una cipollo" be "another correct solution" when in doesn't tell the gender of the cook??

[deactivated user]

In English you have the gender of the cook, indeed: "He". The ending in -a of the verb "cucina" stands for the third-person singular of the present tense of "cucinare" (to cook).
FYI, is "cipolla", not "cipollo" ;)

[Erated8]

It doesn't tell that, But it could easily be implied by context, For example "Cosa fa Marco?" "Cucina cipolle.", While it doesn't specify the gender for "Cucina", It's clearly referring to Marco, As it wouldn't make sense if it were referring to anybody else.

[IreneSalo1]

I said Lui cucina..... and it was wrong. Often an optional translation is given of "Lui" cucina so why wasn't it given now??