"Where do you put the salt?"
Translation:Dove mettete il sale?
38 Comments
Can someone explain to me why I can't say 'dove tu metti il sale' but only 'dove metti...'?Not sure why the 'tu' is wrong here.thanks
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Commonly Italians say a sentence without personal pronouns for example : "Mangio il panino" "Guardiamo la telivisione" For italians the question such like that doesn't need "tu" it just makes the sentence more complicate. But you can use personal pronouns to clearer the sentence , for example : "Dov'è ?" Means where is he/she/it ? For clearer you can say "Dov'è lui ?" Where is he ? So , the personal pronouns used only in some cases . Thank You
It's not wrong, it's just awkward-sounding. You wouldn't normally include the word "tu" when asking this. It's technically correct, you can report it and say that your answer should be accepted.
Because the conjugated verb already gives the information who are you asking, adding "tu" is basically repeating the same information twice which slightly changes sentence's meaning.
Why is 'mette' not acceptable? Would that not be the question if using the formal Lei? I couldn't see any hint that it should be informal. Am i missing something on this one?
I thought you could put 'dove si mette il sale' which I believe is a polite way to say where do you put the salt
- 19
I was incorrect on a previous occasion for writing 'dove' for where is; the correct answer was dov'e (with an accent). Here it's just written dove. I can't see why there's a difference?
Because it doesn't say "where IS the salt" but "where do you put it" Dov'è is a contraction of "where is"
dov'è = dove + è (contracted "where is") dove = dove (not contracted where)
- 5
Could we say :"Dove tieni il sale?" What's the difference between tenere and mettere?
I reported it. In Italian there may be a difference, but in English (at least where I am) "where do you keep the salt?" and "where do you put the salt?" mean the same thing.
- 339
they might mean the same thing in general, but i think the words are different enough to merit distinction. 'keep' and 'put' might be synonyms, but synonyms aren't always totally interchangeable. keep, hide, place, and hold are words that i would consider synonyms for 'put' in this case, but i wouldn't say they're interchangeable. : )
The words might not be, but the phrases/questions are. For example, if you ask someone when they come home from work "where do you put the keys?" they might answer "on the table". But "where do you keep the keys?" might get "in the tray near the door".
- 339
it's not as if i didn't understand you--- clearly, YES- in your example 'keep' and 'put' are interchangeable here--- but, since this is a language learning site i assume that making sure a person has a firm grasp firstly on a verb's core definition takes precedence over knowing a verb's synonym-- again- bc synonyms are not always interchangeable. and, please know that DL's lack of consistency drives me nuts, but--- sometimes i have to defend their dogged devotion to the way they handle certain things. you've 'prolly seen the sentence, "dove tenete il pane?" on this site. 'tenere' - to take. sure, you could use 'put' in place of 'keep', but sometimes when DL doesn't accept the synonym then we are forced to remember that, for instance, 'keep' goes with 'tenere' and 'put' goes with 'mettere'. but, seriously, as i already stated but feel i must state again- DL's little quirks constantly piss me off- hahaha- like, 3am me yelling at the top of my lungs... obscene words... shameful words... hahaha.
maybe this is just something we don't agree on. : )
- 339
wait- u said that where ur from that they mean the same thing so why would you get a different answer? : )
I believe mine gave me the English, using "put" (which in my mind = "keep"). So I translated it using tieni.
I wrote that exact same sentence and Duo marked it wrong. I suppose the difference between those two verbs is the same as between put (mettere) and hold or keep (tenere). It's just a literal translation I think.
You put il before s followed by a vowel - lo before s followed by a consonant, gn. ps, pn, z and x.
I wrote "dove tu mettete il sale?" Why is that incorrect? Is the "tu" not right here?
Mettete is plural you so it would have to be voi mettete - you plural seems to be used quite a lot for example in restaurants, shops and you would use plural if talking to a group eg at someone's house. for one person a friend you would use metti - you don't need the tu as the verb ending tells you who you mean (likewise you don't need voi as the ete ending tells you who).
What is the difference between mettete and metti? Both were counted correct for me.
So confusing... I typed the Spanish "la sal," because I figured that's what "salt" might also have been in Italian :P I can't believe the articles aren't even the same!
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italian moderators - - - where the F y'all at? we got questions- some are 3 years old. get on it! : )
What is wrong with Dove si mette il sale? Where does one (or do you non- specific) put the salt?
