Translate the Sentence to Italian #2

Welcome to the second installment of my English-to-Italian translation exercise series! Here’s how it works: I’ll present you with three similar sentences, but only one is the correct translation of the given English sentence. Your job is to pick the right one.

Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash

Keep in mind that the answer with the most votes isn’t necessarily correct. It just means that most people picked that (potentially wrong) answer.

Be sure to check the Answer Key and explanations at the bottom for the actual answers. For this installment, the Answer Key is available to all subscribers, including free ones.

Beginner

Intermediate

Advanced

Answer Key and Explanations

Beginner Answers

Exercise 1: Mangio la pizza ogni venerdì.

• Mangio la pizza tutto i venerdì is incorrect because tutto doesn’t agree with i venerdì, which is plural.

• Mangio la pizza tutte le venerdì is also incorrect because tutte is feminine plural, while i venerdì is masculine plural.

• It's worth noting that Mangio la pizza tutti i venerdì, instead of ogni venerdì, is also perfectly correct.

• Lastly, notice that in Italian, unlike in English, days of the week are not capitalized.

Exercise 2: Puoi aiutarmi con i compiti?

• Puoi aiutare con miei compiti is incorrect because in Italian, possessive adjectives (e.g., miei) almost always require a definite article (e.g., i), so it should be i miei compiti. Additionally, it’s more idiomatic to say aiutarmi and drop miei because the context already implies whose homework it is.

• Puoi aiutarmi con compiti? is incorrect because the noun compiti requires the definite article i.

Exercise 3: Non capisco questa parola.

• Non capisco parola is incorrect because in Italian, nouns almost always require a determiner (e.g., questa, una, or la).

• Non capisco questa la parola is also incorrect because you cannot use both questa (this) and la (the definite article) together before the same noun.

• Technically, Non capisco la parola would be grammatically correct, though it is more common to specify “this word” with questa parola (or “that word” with quella parola.)

Intermediate Answers

Exercise 4: Non ha risposto alla mia domanda.

• Non ho risposto alla mia domanda is incorrect because ho implies that the speaker is the subject of the sentence, while the intended meaning is that someone else didn’t answer.

• Non risponde alla mia domanda is incorrect because it uses the present tense, whereas the sentence requires the past tense (ha risposto).

• It’s worth noting that you could technically use rispose instead of ha risposto, but it would sound very strange unless you’re talking about events that happened a long time ago. Additionally, it is more common to hear southern Italians use the passato remoto (rispose) in everyday speech, while in most of Italy, the passato prossimo (ha risposto) is the standard choice, especially in spoken language.

Exercise 5: Ha detto che sarebbe venuta dopo.

• Ha detto che sarebbe venuto dopo is incorrect because we are referring to a woman, and venuto would imply that the subject is a man.

• Ha detto che sarei venuta dopo is incorrect because it implies that the speaker is the one coming later, not the woman being talked about.

Exercise 6: In realtà, sono single.

• Attualmente, sono single is incorrect because attualmente is a false friend. It means "currently," not "actually."

• In attualità, sono single is also incorrect because attualità means "current affairs," not "actually."

Advanced Answers

Exercise 7: No, non lo sono.

• No, non ne sono is incorrect because ne typically refers to "of it" or "about it" and does not fit in this context, where the intended meaning is "No, I am not."

• No, non ci sono means "No, I’m not there" and is incorrect because ci refers to a location or presence, not to the state of being referred to in the sentence.

• The lo in non lo sono allows us to refer to the previously mentioned idea or state (e.g., being something, like married or single) without repeating it (so No, non sono sposato is equivalent to No, non lo sono in this context.)

Exercise 8: Nella peggiore delle ipotesi.

• Nella scena peggiore is incorrect because this literally means "in the worst scene," which doesn’t convey the same meaning as "in the worst-case scenario."

• Nel peggiore casi is incorrect because the noun casi (cases) is plural and requires the preposition dei ("of the"), making it Nel peggiore dei casi (word-per-word, "in the worst of the cases"). This would be correct and is a very common alternative to Nella peggiore delle ipotesi.

• It’s worth noting that there are a few ways to express similar concepts (e.g., al massimo) but Italians don’t use the literal expression "in the worst-case scenario" as frequently as English speakers do.

Exercise 9: È un ragazzo ragionevole.

• È un ragazzo sensibile means "he’s a sensitive guy" because sensibile is a false friend in Italian; it refers to someone who is emotionally sensitive, not reasonable.

• È un ragazzo che ha ragione is incorrect because it simply means "he’s a guy who is right," which is not the same as being reasonable.

I hope you enjoyed these exercises and learned something new. How well did you do? Let me know in the comments below.