"I ragazzi bevono l'acqua."
Translation:The boys drink water.
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We put (GLI)before the plural which begins with vowel or s+consonant ,gn,ps ,x and y,on the hand, we put (I) before the plural which begins with consonant
Gli is used in front of s+consonant, gn, ps or z. L is used in front of a word starting with a vowel. Hope it helped :-)
You're omitting some key information there, and your answer is very misleading. Gli is a plural and l' is a singular. This link has a pretty comprehensive explanation: http://italian.about.com/od/grammar/a/italian-definite-article-forms.htm
Ok ragazzo is boy - singular? Ragazzi is boys - plural? Ragazza is girl - singular? Ragazze is girls - plural? I DONT KNOW.
Why say l'acqua when it should just be acqua? Is this a cultural thing? There should be a, "further studies" option in the app that goes to something like wiktionary
I think it is a language thing. It is the same in French. They might say that English has lost the word "the' when it should be there.
" l' " is like "the" in english. It.s not just simply "water", it is "THE water". In other words - "that specific water, and not other one". Same with acqua and l'acqua
In cases like this, Italian uses the definite article differently than English does. In English, we omit "the" for the general case and include it to specify one instance. In Italian, it's the other way around. They use "the" for the general case and omit it to specify one instance.
i find it hard to distinguish il and I. how are they different from gli???
Singular Masculine: lo is for masculine singular nouns where the noun starts with "s+consonant" or a "z" il is for all other masculine singular nouns starting with a consonant. l' is used for masculine singular nouns starting with a vowel
Singular Feminine: la is for feminine singular nouns beginning with any consonant l' is for feminine singular nouns beginning with a vowel
Plural Masculine: gli is for masculine plural nouns where the noun starts with "s+consonant" or a "z". It is also used before masculine nouns starting with a vowel. i is for all other masculine plural nouns starting with a consonant
Plural Feminine: le is for any feminine plural noun
Reference: http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare110a.htm
It doesn't quite mean the same thing.
In English, when we say "You drink the water" we are talking about a specific case. It's particular water you are drinking. It's the water that someone just gave you. It's the water you've been carrying around with you. When we say "You drink water" we're making a more general statement about your habits.
In Italian it's the other way around. For a specific case it's "Bevi acqua" and for general habits it's "Bevi l'acqua".
Im confused, it said "l'acqua" so i answered "the water" because "l'" is supposed to be "the" if im correct, but it marked me wrong for saying "the." Can someone please explain how it was wrong?
Because translation is about usage, not word-for-word substitution. Italian and English use the definite article differently.
In some exercises l' is left out in the translation if the sentence states water instead of the water and in some exercises you have to add l'. I would say that you need to add it when you need to translate the water and leave it out when translating water?.
The way it was explained to me, Italian uses the definite article the opposite way English does in sentences like this.
In English, when we're talking about a specific instance, we use "the"--
- I drink the water = I drink specific water in a specific situation.
We don't use "the" when we're talking about general tendencies and habits--
- I drink water = I am in the habit of drinking water
In Italian, so I'm told, they do the opposite. They use "the" for general tendencies and habits and leave out "the" when talking about a specific instance--
- I drink the water = Bevo acqua
- I drink water = Bevo l'acqua
Different grammar rules.
In this case, Italian uses "the" differently than English does.
General case:
The boys drink water.
I ragazzi bevono l'acqua.
Specific instance:
The boys drink the water.
I ragazzi bevono acqua.
Is the "i" in "i ragazzi" only for masculine plural form? Is there a feminine version of "i" for "ragazze?"
- il ragazzo (the boy) / i ragazzi (the boys)
- la ragazza (the girl) / le ragazze (the girls)
ragazzi masculine plural boys (also for boys and girls)
ragazze feminine plural just girls
pay attention Gli is used before masculine nouns beginning with a vowel like :Gli uomini,gli italiani but I is used before masculine nouns beginning with consonants: I ragazzi , i giapponesi
Is the 'I' in this sentance in i or and L? Help appreciated. I get confused with all the 'ils' and 'als' and 'i's
Just so that you know, 'ragazzi' can also mean 'guys' (in plural noun uses) instead of 'boys', 'children' and 'kids'.
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How am I going to know if Ragazzi is plural or singular . should I add S at then end or ...... what ?
I am a beginner ! thanks
There are a small handful of exceptions, but Italian is fairly regular.
For most nouns, if it ends in -o then it's masculine and singular. To make it plural, change the -o to -i.
il ragazzo = the boy
i ragazzi = the boys
If it ends in -a then it's feminine and singular. To make it plural, change the -a to -e.
la ragazza = the girl
le ragazze = the girls
Why doesn't it accept "I ragazzi bevono acqua"? Does leaving out the "il" which becomes (l') before "acqua" fundamentally change the plurality of water? I assumed "acqua" could be used as a countless noun for water, the same way English does with almost all liquids.
Italian handles the definite article a little differently than English does. Omitting the definite article means it's a specific case and using the definite article means it's a general statement.
Bevo acqua = I drink the water (specific)
Bevo l'acqua = I drink water (general)
Tranlsating from one language to another is not just a matter of blindly swapping out words one-to-one. Having different grammars and different ways of saying things is part of what makes different languages different.
put please anothe "the" because you wrote l'acqua but no "the, i used" the" for the word "boys". Thank you
It should say the boys drink the water (l'acqua)!! Otherwise it should just be (acqua). So inconsistent!
I was only given one "the" which I used at the beginning of the sentence. But was left without a "the" for l'acqua. Anyone had that problem?