Ciao, mi presento... (1 Viewer)

[Mark]

Questa la prendo solo in estate.

 

Buy on AliExpress.com

[gray]

So there's a group of old ladies who often walk past my house speaking Italian.

How would I say to them "I always hear you speaking Italian and I'm trying to learn it"?

 

[Martin]

People that age are very big on greetings, so you would start with a greeting.

Buona sera! Vi vedo sempre parlare italiano. Sto cercando di imparare.
literal: "You (plural) see always speak Italian. Am searching to learn."

 

[gray]

Thanks M, super helpful as always.

Why is it "sto cercando" instead of "sono cercando"? Does 'sto' denote present continuous? And is "vi vedo" rather than 'I hear you' just how an Italian would express it?

 

[Martin]

Thanks M, super helpful as always.

Why is it "sto cercando" instead of "sono cercando"? Does 'sto' denote present continuous?

Because the present continuous is formed with stare, not essere. In English they both mean "to be".

And is "vi vedo" rather than 'I hear you' just how an Italian would express it?

Yeah, there are many subtle differences in formulation between English and Italian. That's one of the challenges of the language. I find "vi vedo" more natural in this context, but you could also say "vi sento".

 

[Dostoevsky]

You can also say sto imparando l'italiano, no?

 

[Martin]

Yes.

 

[gray]

Danke

 

[gray]

@Martin I'm doing a listening quiz and got "e il suo cane", which I translated as "it is his dog", but it said I was wrong because the correct answer is it is her dog". How am I supposed to know the difference? There was no other context given.

 

[JuveJay]

This is Duolingo, isn't it?

 

[Ocelot]

@Martin I'm doing a listening quiz and got "e il suo cane", which I translated as "it is his dog", but it said I was wrong because the correct answer is it is her dog". How am I supposed to know the difference? There was no other context given.

As far as I know there isn't any way to know the gender of the owner with such an isolated statement.

 

[Martin]

@Martin I'm doing a listening quiz and got "e il suo cane", which I translated as "it is his dog", but it said I was wrong because the correct answer is "it is her dog". How am I supposed to know the difference? There was no other context given.

There is no distinction between the two. This is just the quiz being wrong.

 

[gray]

@Ocelot @Martin ahh ok, thanks. At least I know I'm on the right track

This is Duolingo, isn't it?

Yep. Decent tool to keep you motivated and reviewing, but definitely insufficient for standalone learning.

 

[JuveJay]

@Ocelot @Martin ahh ok, thanks. At least I know I'm on the right track


Yep. Decent tool to keep you motivated and reviewing, but definitely insufficient for standalone learning.

I'm using it on and off at the moment for Spanish, plus I've been doing the Italian one parallel to that even though I'm not really learning anything, just so I can see the flaws of the software and how to work around it for Spanish.