"Lui sa dov'è il mio orologio?"
Translation:Does he know where my watch is?
106 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
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.
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It is hard to imagine anything sillier than having a debate about which of "Does he know where my watch is" or "Does he know where is my watch" is correct. Why can't they both be correct? The answer is that they are both correct notwithstanding that DL has failed to recognize the latter one which correctly assumes the form of a predicate objective clause, and for which there are plenty of precedents in English.
However, I am not going to do what naomijanderson did here, that is, she made a claim that a translation is wrong without saying why it is wrong, without offering a shred of evidence, logic, or supporting argumentation. The truth is that "Does he know where is my watch" is perfectly grammatical. How do I know that I am right? While it is hard to prove the nonexistence of anything, I will give ten lingots to anyone who can correctly cite any English grammar book of widely recognized publication quality that clearly states a rule against such a predicate objective clause in the form of a question.
My confidence in not losing these lingots lies in experience. I am a native English speaker/writer who would have preferred the form "Does he know where is my watch?", a translation that danireboucas on this forum has suggested. The predicate objective clause is in the same form as a question whose answer asserts a reality. The phrase “where my watch is” presents an abstraction of position that requires knowledge, whereas an abstraction calls for pre-examination by the mind to determine whether it matches a reality. It demands two mental steps; the predicate objective form only one; hence; the latter is simpler and bears no ambiguity. DL would better accept it as well.
Do you consider the BBC 'widely recognized'?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/gujarati/course/towards-advanced/unit-17/session-1
Now, I call your bluff and ask you to present evidence, from a 'widely recognized' entity, that what you claim is correct.
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Yes it is - and is grammatically preferable to ending a sentence with 'is'. Hard to believe this is still knocking around 8 years later.
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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 :)
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?"
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 ;)
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.
Gielliefish is correct on the biggest differences. I'll add a few that I've found:
conoscere:
It's a deeper level of "knowing something" than sapere.
It includes experiences and subjects (ie when you're well versed/have in depth knowledge in something).
For people it's always conoscere - even if you just met them.
sapere:
More superficial & less experiential than conoscere. Factual knowledge (ex. trivia). Being informed of something (e.g. It's raining outside or I don't know what I'm eating for dinner)
This is an article from ThoughtCo.com with all the subtleties of sapere vs conoscere. This is what helps me keep them straight. https://www.thoughtco.com/italian-verbs-sapere-conoscere-2011690
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.
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?
None of the above :-) it's just that the English grammar requires this kind of construction with indirect questions introduced by "do" :-)
But when you hover over "sa", it says (you) know, not (he/she/it) knows...can you use sa for lui?
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.
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"?
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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
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
Is there actually anything wrong with, "He knows where my watch is?" That's a legitimate English question!
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.
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
No, it's proper English and it requires the verb of the subordinate clause to be at the end of it.
Aside from intonation indicating a question, is it identical to "He knows where my watch is"?
In italian, yes. Without a question word (chi, che, quando, dove, come...), questions in Italian have the same form as statements.
'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.
A beautiful way to not only speak and/or write, but the best is the nuance of any language, the music that it makes, the sense of each special construction is perfect.
For those stubborn streaks, a language IS NOT COMPARABLE. It has its origin and feelings and NEED NOT AGREE WITH ANY OTHER LANGUAGE in construction and/or syntax. One is learning Italian, not English, or ? or ? Have yet to hear "it is wrong in Chinese" ......
Wonderful, the ability to learn. Whatever the mother tongue, it has rules and rhythm. Unless the learner is flexible, the ability to learn is not possible. In this Italian structure, it is simply that the interrogative appears at the end. Without feeling and hearing the relationships in any language, the learner is handicapped. I love the new sense of structure, it helps so much with the lovely music of any speech. Thank you.
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=1119632 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=45143587 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=45182841 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=38644519 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=3602724 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=3011025 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=36069687 https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/600354?comment_id=3138211
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True and important, RobertaLeeGerber, a lingot to you. But why? I submit that the path to knowledge is marked by examination and reflection on the evidence and reasoning behind arguments and counter-arguments of others even when thinking at first you do not agree. Galileo provided a pioneering example of that procedure in his dialogues and his lesson could arguably be better learned by the current generation, especially when the topic is language interpretation, which lies at the core of understanding others.
Whole-heartedly, I concur. I thank you for your kindness and for the sense of realizing that one must learn through difference, avoid judgment as it eliminates knowledge. All must share in humanity to know responsibility and connectedness.
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To whom are you responding and where or what is the rest of your sentence? Also, what language is "politicli"?
For me, this question was already filled out? I'm doing this on mobile by the way...
A very talented trio, The Three Stooges, in the era of B&W cinema in the States, would have loved this discussion. A real comedy. thank you ...