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- "Lui sa dov'è il mio orologio…
88 Comments
Does he know where my watch's? -> and this is? It's being given to me as a correct answer... (this is an honest question... not being a native speaker I was tripped by the grammar on this one, but I've never seen a sentence constructed like this one before in english)
This is typical structure used in German, so called W-sentences...and put verb on the end (or at the end, I'm lost currently) of the sentance.
With when to use 'on the end' or 'at the end', generally 'at' is used when the thing is contained within whatever it's at the end of. So the sentences you're talking about, the verb would be at the end of the sentence, because it is contained within the sentence.
• Lui sa dov'è il mio orologio? • [ Does he know where my watch is? ]
It is better that you type out the verbs instead of contracting them, especially when you are not familiar with how English contractions work.
For business writing, it is discouraged to use contractions.
565
Not a native either, but I know that when you have a question within the question (a.k.a. an indirect question) the word order in the second question is as in an affirmative sentence. The affirmative sentence would be "My watch is...", so the indirect question is formed by only putting a question word at the beginning: "Does he know where my watch is?"
In English in reported questions the word order is direct. For instance, "have you seen where that girl went (after the party, after she got off the train etc)?" Hope it helped :)
- 909
This is a question divided into 2 parts: does he know (part 1) where my watch is (part 2). "He knows where my watch is" is rather an expression of surprise, not really a question (you would add "?!?!" at the end) :-)
Upvote for the 'add ?!?!'. That should make this incredibly clear to anyone I suppose. Wish my English teacher in high school was this clear on the subject of questions ;)
The grammatically correct answer for this Italian sentence translated into English is "Does he know where my watch/my clock is?". :)
Most native english speakers, including myself, speak english poorly, at least with respect to the correct use of grammar. The answer
"....where my watch is?"is indeed the way it would be stated by many u.s. english speakers, as opposed to what would be more correctly stated but awkward sounding to most grammatically challenged americans than the more correct .."where is my watch?"
one shouldnt end a sentence with linking verb.."is." It would be more appropriate to say "does he know the location of my watch?" But saying that would SOUND as weird as "....where is my watch?"....both of which are more correct gramatically than the typically grammaticly lazy "does he know where my watch is?"
14.02.2014
Why not ""Does he know where is my watch?"
Solicitado ao Duolingo, nesta data, que passe a aceitar quando menos como solução alternativa.
- 909
That would not be correct. This is an indirect question (ie a question introduced by something else. In this case, another question) and therefore the verb goes at the end (see http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/flatmates/episode46/languagepoint.shtml).
15.05.2014
Thank you.
I think that both have the same meaning! Or not?
I respect your opinion, it is clear.
But is it my sentence less polite, less formal, more confrontational? Why? Would you tell me?
- 909
None of the above :-) it's just that the English grammar requires this kind of construction with indirect questions introduced by "do" :-)
I'm getting a bit confused about the synonyms...so e.g. is there a difference between conoscere and sapere or may I use both words for everything? It would be nice if this was written into the explanation...
The following is only from my understanding of spanish: sapere means 'to know a fact'. Conoscere is 'to know a person'. They are not interchangeable.
You are right. sapere is used when one has knowledge of facts of skills, while conoscere is used when one has knowledge of people, places, or things.
But when you hover over "sa", it says (you) know, not (he/she/it) knows...can you use sa for lui?
- 909
the conjugation of "sapere" is: (io) so, (tu) sai, (lui/lei) sa, (noi) sappiamo, (voi) sapete, (essi/loro/esse) sanno. As you can see, "sa" is 3rd person singular. "You know" translates as "(tu) sai" :-)
Hey Muttley....actually (tu) sai is you (informal) know. (lei) sa is she knows as well as you (formal) know. (Lui) sa is he knows.
- 909
You're right. But in this case we have the pronoun "lui" therefore it is the 3rd person singular :-)
Can any one give me the grammar rules of this ?? ... and how "Lui sa" is "Does he" ??
"Lui sa" means "he knows". The "does" is implied in the question. Without the question mark, the question becomes the statement: he knows where my watch is.
I think.
You are right. In Italian, you do not change the sentence to make it a question. You just say the sentence with a question mark at the end.
"Lui sa." = He knows. "Lui sa?" = Does he know?
It's way easier than you think, don't confuse yourself :) Another example is:
"Tu mangi il cibo." =You eat the food. Ma, "Tu mangi il cibo?" is "Do you eat the food?"
Sometimes in Italy we use that change of voice to make clear we have a question, but a lot of times, it is hard for foreigners because the change is suddle or barely there. It takes close attention to context, and you will be fine :) xx
I get the she said "dov'è" now that I missed it but you'll still think you would accept "dove è" ya know?
If this were completely literal would the "il" make it "he knows where the watch of mine is"?
- 909
Not really. This is a possessive adjective, not a p. pronoun. In Italian you put the article in front of the p. adjective, so translating this sentence with "of mine" would not be correct.
I had the same question a few weeks ago.
"He knows where my watch is?" Why is this not an acceptable translation?
You can try using ctrl-f to search to make sure you're not duplicating a post to keep the sentence threads orderly.
When you use "clock's" is to say that the clock is him, and when you use "clocks" is to say that has more than one clock (plural).
If you say 'clock's', the clock is the owner of something. Like 'the clock's hands show the time'.
I'm not sure what arobleto10's question is exactly in this context... Can you elaborate?
ah yes, my mistake. "clocks" means it owns something. i think arobleto10 just simply wants everybody to check the grammar of this sentence, or if the translation is right
- 455
Hi. Just a note: 'clock's' can also be a contraction. For example, 'the clock's right' or 'the clock's fast'. :-)
I think my answer is cirrect , because there are 2sentens .the firs one is questionally and the second is not a question
- 909
You are correct when saying that there are 2 sentences, but they are both questions: 1) do you know? 2) Where is my watch?
Is there actually anything wrong with, "He knows where my watch is?" That's a legitimate English question!
I see so many people putting "Does he know where is my watch?" And "He knows where my watch is?" "He knows where my watch is?" Is really just a sentence but we tend to put a question mark at the end because when we say it, it sounds like a question. We fix this little conflict in our head by making it a question in writing too. But, its really not a question. And the first sentence is just awkwardly worded.
- 523
How do we distinguish questions from usual sentences in Italian? Is it only through question mark or tone? I ask this because this sentence can also be translated to 'He knows where my watch is', which is not a question.
- 909
dove stai = 'where are you'. I think you mean dove sta.
Well, it is not wrong but stare is a tricky verb as it is mainly used by Southern dialects and from there 'abused' in Italian .
My advice: avoid it unless you're 100% sure it's needed (ex. stare per, stare -ndo, stare bene/male)
I meant "dove sta" but thanks to being distracted I wrote it wrong. Thanks for the tip, here's your lingot.
We all should know where the watch is: L'orologio è nel portafoglio.
Of course, another Duo sentence says that l'orologio è nel vino, so I guess there are a couple of likely possibilities.
Luis sa dove'e il mio orologio? Does Luis know where my watch is? My answer is exactly the same as duo but it keeps telling me it is incorrect!
Why is it that every single oral question that has the word "dov'e" in it is jacked up?
what about: Il mio orologio, lui sa dov'è = statement what about: Sa lui dov'é il mio orologio? = question
- 909
No, it's proper English and it requires the verb of the subordinate clause to be at the end of it.
- 112
Initially I put the verb at yhe end and thought it grammatically incorrect, so I changed it to be in the middle. Of course it was marked wrong. After rereading and saying it out loud, the verb at the end sounded more natural....says the native speaker.
Aside from intonation indicating a question, is it identical to "He knows where my watch is"?
- 909
In italian, yes. Without a question word (chi, che, quando, dove, come...), questions in Italian have the same form as statements.
- 909
'He knows where is my watch' is grammatically incorrect. Why would you write this in Italian?
This is getting really difficult now. I got it correct with help but if that was said to me, my brain wouldn't be able to decipher it :(
When we wish to feel another language, do so. This is the manner. Our differences only add beauty to the translation.
