"Non ho alcuna risposta."
Translation:I do not have any answers.
37 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
For some reason, in negative sentences only the singulars alcun/alcuno/alcuna are used (or nessuno/nessuna), and nouns are to the singular too. Conversely, in positive sentences only the plurals alcuni/alcune are used, and del/della/dello for uncountable singulars. ...I copied this from another blog. I can't remember whose it was but I found it most helpful. Also, in answer to someone else, no, one should not use double negatives in English but they are correct in Italian - non.....mai, non....niente, etc
this may be the site referred to above by darkpeak: https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/qualche-alcuni-o-dei/
Already answered that earlier in the comments. The standard Italian phrase would translate literally to English as "I don't have any answer" but the more common English phrase would be "I don't have any answers" so the more common English phrase is used to translate it, even though the Italian is in the singular.
Yes! We have no bananas, we have no bananas today! la la la ...
Popular in the earliest days of broadcast radio. Dad would sing it some.
Why does 'alcuno' translate as some/a few, but 'alcuna' here translates as 'any'?
I was wondering that, too. I found that in positive phrases, "alcuno" means "some, a few" and mostly has a plural form (alcuni, alcune). In negative phrases though, "alcuno" means "any" and has a singular form (alcuno, alcuna).
I think that I have no answer is the actual meaning of this statement, but how would I know, since I am still a beginner!
Do what we all did (and often still do) hover over each word to get the meaning then put them in the right order. It almost always works. Eventually, you'll need to "peek" less and less.
I think in this case the use of 'alcuna' makes it refer to 'some answers' or an amount rather than none! Beginner here too!
They do say that "I have no answer" would be correct. Therefore "I have no response" should also be correct--as far as I can see--but I guess there MIGHT be a subtle difference--?
I replied "I don't have an answer" which would be the same as "I have no answer" but it was rejected.
If I ask you a question (where is the store), your response might be an answer (the store is on the next street) or might be a comment or reply (I don't know, please don't bother me), so there is a subtle difference.
I agree: a response is not always an answer (in the sense of a solution to a problem)
Could somebody explain the difference between 'alcuna' and 'qualsiasi' please?
From what I’ve gathered reading these discussions, “alcuno/a” (singular) means “some or a few,” but “qualsiasi” (singular) means “whatever or whichever” (with an inference of choice, as in “whichever you prefer”). So these seem very different in the singular.
Maybe what you meant to ask was what the difference is between “alcuni/e” (plural) and “qualsiasi” (plural), which both mean “any.”
I could also assume you meant to ask the difference between “alcuna” and “qualche,” because that’s what I was wondering. And after doing some light internet surfing, I came across this: https://blogs.transparent.com/italian/qualche-alcuni-o-dei/
I hope this helps!
So would Nessun be interchangeable with Alcuna here if the subject was masculne? Is Alcuna used as the subject-risposta- is feminine, otherwise is it best to use Nessun or Alcuno for a masculine negative? Sorry if this seems a silly question! Any help (qualche aiutare?) would be appreciated, especially from a native speaker... Thanks in advance!!
my answer was "I do not have answer." But duolingo wants "an" before the answer. Is my answer wrong?
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Well, yes. You need the "an" before answer, or "any" before answers. However, there are contexts where in the plural only, "I do not have answers" would be justified.
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I find it strange that alcun with suffix can mean a few, any or certain depending on the sentence
"Answer" or "Respond" are univocal (We say "Risposta") in Italian especially in daily spoken language.
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In English they are not. Although "response" is an answer, an "answer" is not necessarily a response. It could be a "facit" or "solution". Here, in the given sentence, it means that the person does not have any solutions.
