- Forum >
- Topic: Italian >
- "A loro non piacciono i caval…
52 Comments
I answered correctly, but I don't really understand why the A is necessary, or how it functions. Thanks!
its because of how piacere is. it doesn't mean 'to like' its is 'to be pleasing to'. So you need the 'A' before to have it be correct. "To them the horses are not pleasing" ... but in english it doesn't make much sense so we just think 'they don't like the horses'. its not a literal translation unfortunately which makes these statements with piacere confusing to english speakers
Then why it's not like "A loro i cavalli non piacciono" or "I cavalli non piacciono a loro"?
Italian has great flexibility in terms of the placement of the subject and verb. I am not as sure about the Italian, but in Spanish you COULD make that syntactic change, but this way is used all the time. There is something about this word. Actually, in Shakespeare you will find examples of like used as here. But among romance languages Spanish and Italian use like this way, with the thing liked as the subject, while French and Portuguese are like Modern English. But for whatever reason, the similar syntax is the common one for both.
i don't really know how to explain this but for me as a spanish speaker becomes super easy i guess you just have to get used to these linguistic differences by reading some texts either italian or spanish.
170
I am studying Spanish and this scructure is very similar on it. It would be "a ellos no les gustan los caballos". It means that the horses are not pleasing to them.
I also speak Spanish, but I have always objected to the idea that these verbs mean anything different from like. Translating them as anything but like suggests that there would be some other way to say like or that it was something inherently different from to like. Defining it as "is pleasing to" works as a memory gimmick to remember that the Italian (or Spanish) uses the thing liked as the subject of the sentence. There actually was that construction in English during Shakespeare's time. Portuguese uses the same verb as Spanish - gustar, but their syntax is like ours in English.
I think "Non piacciono loro i cavalli" is also correct, but Duolingo seems to disagree.
I think it's structured as the horses are not pleasing to them. therefore "A loro" - "To them" .....
Ciao Viaggiatore: I don't think so. You have to have the "a"("to them"). Your sentence would mean: "They the horses are not pleasing". which does not make sense because it doesn't say to whom they are not pleasing.
"loro" can mean "to them" (indirect object) as well as "they" (subject) http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare166a.htm Maiden & Robustelli say it's a formal usage, but I like formal.
Thank you for clarification . I wonder why do we use A loro at the first part of the sentences ?
- 1556
Infatti non è sbagliato , ma desueto. Con il verbo piacere si usa :
mi piacciono / piacciono a me
ti piacciono /piacciono a te
gli/le piacciono / piacciono a lui/lei
ci piacciono /piacciono a noi
a loro piacciono
Loro comunque va bene, in generale, per esprimere il complemento di termine:
consegno loro un libro....
riferisco loro il risultato....
The verb agrees in person with what is not liked. It tells you nothing about who is not liking (to whom it is not pleasing).
i think it should be just "loro non piacciono i cavalli" i did not understand the A
I thought with verb piacere, the subjects are reversed. So the horses do not like them, instead of they do not like the horses. When to the suggests switch and when do they stay?
that is the explanatian, I read this litterally as "to them, (the) horses are not pleasing" (horses are the subject, not they)
which with reversed subjects becomes the more natural english "They don't like (the) horses".
at least, that is how I understand the explanation
Why is "They do not like the horses" wrong? Is "i" not a definite article in this case?
This one is curious. In english i don't quite understand it, but being a native spanish speaker, this one is like home haha. Is like saying "A ellos no..", when in english we don't really use the "A" for what i understand.
I am not sure why the A is necessary. Could we get some explanation? Thank you.
Can someone please explain to me why this answer is incorrect: "The horses do not please to them"?
"Non amano i cavalli" seems like an easier translation. It is the google translation. Can I say this if I do not like something? No wait, if I switch the text from they to me then the verb switches to piacere..........hmmm.
Usually Amare has a stronger meaning than Piacere. For example: A loro non piacciono i cavalli= they don't like horses; Loro non amano i cavalli=they don't love horses/they don't like horses very much; A me non piacciono i cavalli= I don't like horses; Non amo i cavalli=I don't love horses/I don't like horses very much
''To them, they don't like horses.'' could it be possible to the sentence?
finally i got the answer " A loro non piacciono i cavalli " means "the horses like by them" as like if you talk about i like game so mi piace il gioco. it mean the game like by me . gore some verb in Italian uses passive tenses . so remember that verbs . Grazie
"loro" can mean "to them" (indirect object) as well as "they" (subject) http://italian.about.com/library/fare/blfare166a.htm Maiden & Robustelli say it's a formal usage, but I like formal.
I think it would be easier to understand and make this sentence with reflexive verb: "Loro non si piacciono i cavalli"
wouldn't "to them it disgusts the horses" an acceptable literal translation?
