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- "Il bambino non vedeva l'ora …
"Il bambino non vedeva l'ora di andare a casa."
Translation:The baby could not wait to go home.
45 Comments
It's an expression that means I can't wait to or I look forward to: http://www.wordreference.com/iten/vedere
ah, yes. I have noticed the same - and I spend a fair bit of time in Italy. To tell the truth it gets to me a bit (but maybe I'm getting old and grumpy) - I feel like slapping some of them with a wet fish and telling them to use a more precise nuanced word than bellissima which really expresses genuine feeling. Worst instance was once when a horse (clearly too delicate for the loaded cart it had been pulling all day in the heat of a local festa) collapsed in the shafts of the cart it was still attached to. I thought it was dead. Then the poor beast managed to struggle back up but still looked as if it was dying. From several of the crowd came cries of "bellissima" at its spirit. I rather thought someone should have been prosecuted. Sorry, mini rant over - feel like one of those schoolteachers which told us infants not to over-use the word "nice" :(
1296
I find it very confusing as I am often corrected differently to the translation on the discussion page. My corrected version was 'The baby could not see the time to go home' whereas here it says 'The baby could not wait to go home'. Totally different meanings. Any thoughts on this gratefully received.
1674
It's italian idiomatic expression. Literal "do not see the time" = Meaning "can't wait to". You just have to learn them.
non vedere l'ora di ... - to look forward to
non vediamo l'ora di vederti - we look forward to seeing you
non vediamo l'ora di incontrarti - we looking forward to meeting you
This expression is so ubiquitous in Italy that I think it is a very good way to learn it, just toss it in to the mix, that way we remember it. I fir one would never remember a whole list of common sayings. Drip them in, especially if a direct translation makes no sense. Every Italian I have met uses this phrase
1962
You pardon if I say a thing: somebody finds strange that in the translate Duolingo suggests "cannot wait" at the present instead of the past "couldn't wait/could not wait"? (My English is bad because I am Italian motherlanguage. Sorry)
Exactly. And this phrase is used so often it needs learning. If we had a whole separate section on idiomatic expressions, I for one would remember none of them. Same with vocab lists, in one ear out the other. This way wakes the brain up a bit and if it annoys us, we are more likely to commit to memory, a bit like really annoying TV ads!
I feel your pain, but I suppose we have to be exposed to new idiomatic expressions at some point. As Ricky points out, there is no teaching mode here. We just have to struggle with unknown or new words phrases. From reading the other comments, this is a good one to know.
I used to think I knew quite a lot of this stuff. I've since learned that I know less each day. Soon I will know nothing.