Hi! I had a couple of questions:
Thanks for flagging this, good point. Thus, I have thus changed it into “die Sache”. However, @MatildeBC was saying that “cosa corte” is not really Italian, so I don’t know about that one…
Best wishes,
Mario
Well, I found that somewhere in the net. As far as I understand
Gerichtssache would be causa in fact and Rechtssache caso?
My german is definitely better than my italian 
All the best
Stefan
In Italian 7 Level 8 ("What did you say?) (web version), there seems to be an inconsistency between what appears on the screen and what’s in the Italian audio for (what’s written as) “notò che il negozio di elettronica era chiuso a mezzogiorno” (see screenshot below). The audio says “chiudeva” instead of “era chiuso” that appears on the screen. This seems to occur on all the different screens where this sentence is spoken. I’m guessing “chiudeva” is more correct (“chiudeva” is the imperfetto and could be translated as “was closed” or “used to be closed”). Is “era chiuso” also correct as a “past version” of the passive voice (“il negozio è chiuso” – the store is closed ==> "il negozio era chiuso – the store was closed)?
6 posts were merged into an existing topic: [Course Forum] Italian courses contributed to and by Sandslane
Ciao Matilde,
There is an error in the official Italian 4 level 8 course- ‘It’s all in the past’
The course is teaching that,
‘He bought that car 25 years ago’ as ‘Si comperò quella macchina vent’anni fa.’
This is using future tense, not past tense.
I started from Italian 1 and just finished Italian 3, and I am really having an issue with the lack of feminine predicate adjectives. I’m pretty sure I, as a woman, would say sono spaventata, not sono spaventato. Is that correct? But the feminine alternatives are not accepted, so…
Ok, so fine, I was just sucking it up and dealing with that until there was a video of a woman saying “sono elettrizzato”. Seriously?? Is that correct? Can someone help me out here?
Thank you!
Ciao @cristinaandreone,
Actually the form comperò (sometimes spelled as comprò) is the passato remoto, a past tense that, although rarely, we use to express a past that is far back from the moment of speaking. I can totally see how you could confuse it with the future form comprerò though! 
I can tell you that if you were to use the other past (passato prossimo) and say si è comprato quella macchina vent’anni fa, it’d be also totally correct and natural, and everyone would understand you. 
Hope this helped you, thanks for your input!
All the best,
Matilde
Ciao @memrisesteph,
Thanks for this post. First of all, the video you’re reporting is definitely an error, would you mind telling me exactly which course and level you found it in so I can fix it? Thanks!
Now, I totally get your point, and you’re definitely right in saying that -o is generally the masculine ending and if you were to say I’m scared as a woman should use sono spaventata. We try to stick to the general guideline of showing the masculine form cause it’s the default gender in most languages, Italian included (e.g. if you address a group of male and female kids, you use bambini not bambine, and in dictionaries, entries are always masculine). I agree that feminine alternatives should be accepted though, I promise I’ll note this down and deal with it as soon as possible!
Thank you so much for reporting the error and raising this issue!
Best,
Matilde
Italian 3. Thank you. Much appreciated.
@memrisesteph I can’t seem to find that item. You taking Italian for British English or American English? Which level is it in? Could you tell me the English translation for that item? Thanks!!
Oh I didn’t know there was an option. I’m American but have always been presented with courses for British English, maybe because I live in Germany. So I’m doing the British English one.
Translation is “I am thrilled”
Is there a level designation beyond Italian 3?
But I actually came back to the forum for an Italian 4 issue.
Mio nonno andava sempre a correre al mattino is translated My grandpa always went for a run in the morning. But earlier in the Italian course, we had andare a correre AND andare a fare una corsa. (Or at least we had andare a INFINITIVE versus andare a fare NOUN FORM for a few verbs. I think correre was one of them, but I’m not sure). So I feel like the Italian should be Mio nonno andava sempre a fare una corsa al mattino OR the English translation should be My grandpa always went running in the morning.
Just thoughts. Thank you!
Hello again,
Found the video and removed it.
Re the grandpa issue, I fixed that too changing the English to would always go running, so it also conveys the habitual aspect of the action. Thanks for reporting it!
I’m almost certain that the courses that are suggested to you stem from the language of your device, so if your phone is in English UK you’ll be mainly shown courses for British English. On web, I believe you can easily choose the language you’re learning from. The course for American English is also slightly different as it was created after some changes had taken place in the Italian syllabus, if you wish, I’d maybe suggest to go for that one as it’s a later version? As you prefer though, bear in mind your progress wouldn’t be transferred to the new course you start, sadly.
All the best,
Matilde
Ah! That makes sense. I bought this computer in Germany, and it took me a few days to realize that the default English across all applications was British English and change it in the most global preference setting. So I had probably started using Memrise by the time I did that.
Thanks again!
Hi Matilde! Italian 4 again. “la mente” is translated “a mind” instead of “(the) mind”. Any particular reason?
Italian 4
mi piacciono i film drammatici, ma preferisco le commedie
English
I like drama, but I prefer comedies
Literal translation
to-me like the film dramatic, but I-prefer the comedies
should the literal translation not have films in the plural?
English translation: I like dramas, but I prefer comedies?
Just throwing it out there. Not meaning to be a pain.
Italian 5
i’m not good at telling jokes
io non sono bravo a raccontare barzellette
suggestion:
would be great if “non sono bravo a raccontare barzellette” were also accepted
thank you!
Italian 7
affermarono che stavano solo proteggendo i bambini
they claim they were only protecting the children
Would love for anyone to explain to me why the translation isn’t “they claimed” they were only…
Thank you!
@memrisesteph
Thanks for all your reports. I’ve changed and updated accordingly:
a mind > changed to the mind
to-me like the film dramatic, but I-prefer the comedies > changed to the films
io non sono bravo a raccontare barzellette > added non sono bravo a raccontare barzellette as an alternative
they claim they were only protecting the children > changed to they claimed…
Matilde
Thank you so much, Matilde!!
I just had a thought. There are many examples throughout the Italian course where the Italian is only correct when speaking to or as a man or boy. The example in Italian 7, se fossi stato, is just one of them. I’m pretty sure there are tens of them spread across all the levels. It would amazing if there could be a note like “when speaking to/as a man or boy” in small font next to the Italian. I don’t know if that would ruin the graphic design, but I really think it would be so helpful for learners. (And it would also be superrespectful to half the population.) The only reason I know what’s going on is because of previous experience with French. Maybe it’s not that big a deal. But it kind of seems like one.
Ok thanks again!
