"Vedo tanta gente alla stazione."

Translation: I see so many people at the station.

[bilboburgler]

when should you use tanta and when molta?

[Jeffrey855877]

I think of it as a hierarchy:

molto: many

tanto: so many

troppo: too many

Even when "tanto" seems to just mean "many", it still has a connotation of being more substantial than just many. There are probably many circumstances in which either could be used. I also think of "tanto" as a "dramatic" many. It really gives a nice edge to the concept of "a lot" - the difference between, "there are a lot of people here" and "Gosh, there are a lot of people here".

[Gail314]

Your hierarchy is great!

[ZuMako8_Momo]

«tanto» = "so many," while «molto» = just "many"

[giorgiasofia]

Both are correct.
They are the same in italian

[gordon_gregory]

Why "so many" and not just "many"?

[JoeM.]

There's a very subjective difference between the phrases 'many' and 'so many' in Italian. That said, molto is generally translated as 'many' and tanto is generally translated as 'so many.' Hope this helps!

[robert0n]

Anyone else think "I see lots of people at the station" should be ok. If not, can anyone explain why?

[ZuMako8_Momo]

The difference is very subtle... «molta gente» means "lots of people" while «tanta gente» means "so many people," where the latter one sounds more like an emphasis perhaps of exasperation.

[jaye16]

It should be accepted report it. See here:

https://www.duolingo.com/comment/4821654

[gizzard123]

Should be accepted. I wrote "I see a lot of people at the station" and it was accepted. "lots of people" should be fine.

[amanda717]

It's acceptable, but not actually grammatically correct.

[JacobKaandorp]

I am curious why here 'tanta gente' is used and not 'tante persone'. What is the difference?

[ZuMako8_Momo]

No difference in meaning; the only difference is in the words and the number («gente» = singular, while «persone» = plural).

[JoshuaKnic]

Shouldnt the ending be 'in stazione', rather than 'alla stazione'?

[lrosley]

When should you use "gente" and when "popolo?"

[LorenzoLM]

I feel that popolo is more like "the people of France" while Gente just people in general.

popolo

[Jeffrey855877]

When "stazione" is used, do Italians understand it to mean anything in particular? In American English, we'd usually specify "bus/train/subway station"

[lrosley]

Si, come la statione americana a Chattanooga!
"There's gonna be
A certain party at the station.
Satin and lace,
I used to call "funny face".
She's gonna cry
Until I tell her that I'll never roam.
So Chattanooga choo choo
Won't you choo-choo me home?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XQybKMXL-k

[Jeffrey855877]

I lived in THE Atchison for 6 years:
Judy Garland singing: "On the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvXvBPw6Uqc

I've ridden on that train. Well, from Topeka to Santa Fe. It comes through Kansas City now.

[lrosley]

Ah, molto bene! Ma, mi piace anche la versione da Johnny Mercer e le Pied Pipers. É più veloce ("uptempo".)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmBKHSZ1pcU

[Jeffrey855877]

Sempre dicono I italiani, "La stazione ferroviaria" o "la stazione degli autobus"?

[Correct my grammar, please, if necessary.]

[ZuMako8_Momo]

In Italian, it is not "bus station" but, like in English, "bus stop": «la fermata dell'autobus». Although I cannot speak for native Italian speakers, I would say that they do not always specify as a native Romance language (Portuguese) speaker. In fact, I think that if you just say «stazione», it is understood that that means train station, especially since «fermata» is for buses and, I think, «la metro[politana]» is subway.

[Jeffrey855877]

I think we need a native Italian, not just a speaker, to answer this question. A context query returned the following for "bus station":

stazione degli autobus

fermata dell'autobus

autostazione

stazione di autobus

stazione dei pullman

stazione dei bus

fermata del bus

fermata degli autobus

stazioni dei bus

[Jeffrey855877]

Also, a "bus stop" in the US is any place where passengers can wait to be picked up by a bus. Many are marked as such by a sign, but not all. A "bus station" is usually a dedicated building with facilities and employees for handling baggage, purchasing tickets, displaying timetables, with a waiting area for passengers.

[ZuMako8_Momo]

:O Wow, it might be regional then. Idk. Where are the native Italian speakers?

[AJPin]

Microphone has been off much longer than an hour already

[LorenzoLM]

You can turn it back on. Check you permissions

I find that happens after you say you can't speak now several times in a row

[GattoAllegro]

I think "gente" here is WRONG. It should be "persone" as we are talking about a quantified number of people. Gente is used when talking about a people as a whole or single entity, i.e. "the people have spoken." When specifying how many, 1, 2, ten, few, lots, etc, you should use persone. I could be wrong, but here's my evidence:
https://sayitaliano.tumblr.com/post/174665024011/gente-vs-persone-italiano

[ZuMako8_Momo]

In that resource, it says that the two are synoyms for an indeterminate amount of people, and the word «tanta» is indeterminate

[DavidArmil]

Why isn't it all'stazione instead of alla?

[ZuMako8_Momo]

You only use «all'» when the following word starts with a vowel

[Camodiel]

a lot of people in this forum are saying "tanto" means "so many" but when i hover over the word, it just have me "many" so i got it wrong. this is the first time i've seen word, too.

[ZuMako8_Momo]

Yes, «tanto» = "so many;" if you want plain "many," that would be «molto»