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- "Loro mangiano la propria tor…
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Nothing. Ownership of an item is implied in English when you say it is "their cake." This response should be correct
their can refer to their own (la propria) or somebody else in the third person (la loro).
I really hate when my phone doesn't pick up on me typing a letter so I get marked wrong for writing "The" instead of "They"
"Loro mangiano la loro torta" could mean "[These people] eat [those people's] cake." The use of "propria" lets you know that the cake they're eating is their own.
RobDB's answer is correct! More examples are shown at this link (scroll down some to get to the section on "proprio") http://italian.about.com/od/grammar/a/italian-possessive-adjectives.htm It also shows you all the forms (masculine/feminine, singular/plural).
If Duolingo insist on "their own" when teaching Italian speakers English, they will be teaching them bad English.
In English saying the same thing twice in different ways within the same sentence is known as a tautology, and is considered to be bad style.
English use of the possessive "their" implies that it is their own. We would not use their if it belonged to someone else. (Probably just "They eat the cake".) Presumably Italian needs the "propria" to make that distinction, however, we don't.
To say that they eat their own cake is to emphasize the ownership. It would be used in the context of perhaps arguing about whose cake is being eaten by "them". It's used quite a bit in English.
The initial statement in such an exchange might be: "They're eating their cake." Followed by, for instance: "No, it's mine." Followed by: "It's their own cake." (With tonal emphasis on the word "own.") So, "la loro torta" followed by subsequent argument "la propria torta." None of this is important to argue about, except for anyone also learning English.
Can someone help me with all the possessive things?? I know there's mia, mio, la sua, le sue, il suo, il tuoi, la tue, la tua, il vostro, nostro, etc, but i don't know whcih one's for which! there's so many and i'm confused. help?? i'll give you a lingot
When the cake they eat is either their own cake (they own it, or they made it) of is the correct cake for them (chocolate, sugar free, et al) proprio makes this clear
If they eat someone else's cake ( that someone else made or that they shouldn't have eaten, eg) proprio would be wrong
So, in all the other forms like you (tua) i (mia) we (nostra) it just has an 'a' at the end, but here for the 'their own' it has 'ia' propria, is that just how it is
why does it have to be they eat their "own" cake, I got marked wrong for writing they eat their cake. Doesn't "their cake" already imply that it is their own?
787
Read thje answer given above. The second 'their' could refer to some other people and is therefore ambiguous
It's not how I use English. If you thought it was important to specify that the cake was their own, grammatically, you would need to enclose "their own'" in commas. "They eat, their own, cake." Because you could take out "Their own" and the sentence would still make sense.
how is it they eat thier own cake if the word la which means and is in the sentence
- 527
It is obviously a lesson for us to understand how Italians use 'proprio' no matter how WE translate it. I answered ' They eat their cake ' and was marked as wrong. Reading all the comments below helped me realise that, no matter how we translate it in english, we have to play the Duo game to show that we understand, it would be the same in a face-to-face lesson with a teacher.
"They eat their cake" and "They eat their own cake" are the same sentence, one is just more concise
In english you would not say they eat their own cake just they eat their cake
What is the rule with propria and proprio? they mean their, own but is there any other rules for it? I cannot find anything very helpful online.
I repeated the sentence exactly as it was said per the directions. This lesson has many errors,. I am following the directions to repeat the sentences in this lesson as directed and being marked incorrect. very frustrating.
- 787
It would be so much easier if we were all communists or nuns, then no one would possess anything!
This is rubbish, I got 2 letters the wrong way around and it makes it wrong when my friend makes the same mistake on a different question and got it right
'Own' here is an unnecessary tautology. Only were it to be anybody else's cake, would the distinction be necessary.
i don't understand why it can't be "they eat theirs cake"? what is the difference between their and theirs?
When you use 'theirs' you must leave out the subject or move it to the front of the sentence. . You would say "they eat theirs" or "they eat their cake". Another example would be if somebody asked the question "Who's dog is that?" You would reply either "it is their dog" or "it is theirs". An alternative reply could be "the dog is theirs" which avoids the subject following "theirs" by moving it to the front of the sentence.
Great - I put thge correct answer but it markrd me wrong, thinking I'd put 'there'. But I didn't. Outrageous!
