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- Topic: Italian >
- "È una donna interessante."
60 Comments
130
The correct translation is, apparently, 'She' rather than 'It is (an interesting woman). Why is that?
Lei was ommitted in this case. We can tell it the pronoun is 'lei' because the verb essere is conjugated to 'lei è' in this case.
I am also confused by this. It says to translate 'È una donna interessante' ... 'È' is 'it' - so wouldn't the answer be 'it is an interesting woman', not 'she is an interesting woman'?
è is also for lui/lei. Lei è una donna interessante. And it makes total sense for la donna not to use "it".
I put "this a is an inerresting woman", incorrect. Can anyone then tell me how to say " this is an interesting wowan" please, thank you
Hi Mazzorano, not sure if your question was answered already in another discussion, but interessante is an adjective that is both masculine and feminine. Unlike adjectives like bravo, interessante doesn't have -o or -a endings. Hope this helps!
In English you could say, for example, "It is an interesting woman who travels the world alone."
- 297
I would not use "it" here but there are situations where a person can be called "it" without being rude or ungrammatical. E.g. "Mom, there's someone at the door." "Who?" "Dunno, it's a woman - boy etc."
Just to clarify a bit: in this case "it" refers to the (previously, in the question) unknown person at the door, not the answer -- a woman - boy etc. so these are not examples where one would use it for a known gender.
This sentence would be correct in the right context. For example, if someone was talking about a painting, like the Mona Lisa, this would make perfect sense.
- 302
yes, you are right
"Lei" can be used as a formal "tu".
"Lei è una donna interessante" = "She is/you are an interesting woman"
It seems there is "interessante" and "interessato" where the former is used for interesting and the latter for interested.
- 1865
No. You have to translate the full meaning of the sentence, including tone/formality. If it is rude at all, translate it as rude too.
- donna = woman
- dama = lady
- signora = Mrs, lady
- signorina = miss
- sposa, moglie = (female) spouse, wife
- femmina = female
- 999
I gave 'it'. It is not rude. It can be used in many ways, including the one mentioned earlier about a painting, or in answer to questions such as "Who is it?"
- 111
Why did Duolingo correct my response "It is an interesting woman" as "It is 1 interesting woman"?
It sounds like Duolingo has started a unit in sexual politics, to add to the language studies...
I understand why it is E una donna interessante--She is an interesting woman. I feel more comfortable to write: Lei e una donna interessante.
Could it also be "You are an interesting woman" using the formal Lei as opposed to Tu when you would use see instead of sei instead of e'?
@annette burkett has an interesting question could è be You are Ann interesting woman assuming the formal you (Lei)
- 1846
Ciao Mike, ciao Annette, you can't use the polite formal form (You're) in this case. In formal talk you're speaking to the person face to face, so in italian you use: "LEI è una donna interessante." So in italian using formal form you mustn't omit "LEI". Hope it helps. Buon studio. :)
La sua gonna è abbastanza lunga da coprire il soggetto, ma, abbastanza breve da mantenere le cose interessanti.
I put "this a is an inerresting woman", incorrect. Can anyone then tell me how to say " this is an interesting wowan" please, thank you
"Questa è una donna interessante." that's the way you say "This is an interesting woman."
Why can't you use lady instead of woman. ..isn't that politer but the same meaning?
"A woman is interesting" is wrong. When will we figure out the difference of literal and not? I seem to be in a damned if you do and damned if you don't mode. Is there a pattern I am missing? Do people talk like this or would they have chosen "Lei e' (is) una donna interessante."
Yes, sometimes you could say "A woman is interesting." but that does not replace "She is an interesting woman." which is someone that has been previously mentioned. In Italian, the subject pronoun does not have to be included in the sentence.
