ItalianPod101.com

I am doing some revising and came across the above phrase in
newbie season 1 - 10

the translation is "yes it is"
"yes" is "si"
"is" is "è"
but what is "it" _
"lo" is a direct object pronoun "him" or "it"

I am confused how would you say "yes it is him" or "yes it is her"
would they be "si lo è" and "si la è"

so in fact what "si lo è" means "yes it is it"

thanks

John

Hi John,

Thank you for asking. It's not really simple, being a peculiar Italian expression.

In one of these Begginer lessons we have:
Anna: E' una foto di famiglia quella?
Peter: Sí, lo è.
meaning
Anna: Is that a family picture?
Peter: Yes, it is. => this literally should be "Yes, it is THAT".
"lo"="that" doesn't substitute the word "foto"(which is feminine), but stands for "quello che hai detto"="what you said/meant/thought..."

So, we can also have
A: Sei in vacanza?
B: Sì, lo sono.
meaning
A: Are you on vacation?
B: Yes, I am. (Lit. Yes I am that/ I am what you said)

This "lo" can be used for any person and also with negation.
A:Sono sposati?
B:No, non lo sono.
meaning
A:Are they married?
B:No, they are not. (Lit.No, they are not that)

I hope this can help! Please, feel free to ask again if you want!
Ciao e grazie,
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com

Thank you very much for your prompt reply, it is becoming clearer

Almost like i verbi pronominali

andare to go andarsene to go away - literally to go yourself from it
fare to do farcela to manage - I do not know the literal translation
volere to want volerci to take - literally to want it where 'ci' = 'it' s a concept rather than a 'thing'
sapere to know saperlo to know (it) - non lo so - I do not know

so I can think of four other 'verbi pronomiali'
esserlo to be him / it
esserla to be her
esserli to be them masculine
esserle to be them feminine

Is that Marco? yes it is him è Marco? si lo è
Is that Maria? yes it is her è Maria? si la è
is that a photo? yes it is (it) è una foto? si lo è
is it raining? yes it is (it) piovere? si lo è

Can you give me a hint on when to use cioche meaning what / that
is it
puoi mostrarmi cioche hai comprato? - can you show me what (that which) you bought?

also how many ways can you translate 'that' in Italian
I think along these lines -

quel libro that book
quello that one
lo that as an object
ci that as a concept

I am probably making things far too complicated, sorry

Thanks

John




_

Hi John,

I tried to find a literal translation.

andarsene to go away - lit. to go onelself/bring oneself away from there/here
farcela to manage - lit. to do/make that
volerci to take - lit. to be wanted/needed for that
saperlo to know that - non lo so - I do not know

esserlo to be him / it /that
esserla,esserli,esserle (these three are not very used)

Is that Marco? yes it is him Quello è Marco? sì, lo è
Is that Maria? yes it is her Quella è Maria? sì, LO è
is that a photo? yes it is (it)Quella è una foto? Sì, lo è
is it raining? yes it is (it) piove? Sì, piove. (here the verb is "piovere", not "essere")

ciò che=that which/what
puoi mostrarmi cioche hai comprato? - can you show me what (that which) you bought?
Ciò che dici è giusto - What you say is right.

There are many ways to translate "that" in Italian, but the most important thing, when learning to speak or write a language is to imitate, to repeat. While doing so, sooner or later, you will grasp the meaning. So try to use all the difficult combinations you know, if you are wrong you will be corrected and you will learn.
Of course also to try to understand is important
Thank you!

A presto!
Ofelia
Team ItalianPod101.com

ti ringrazio Ofelia tu sei molto carina e molto intelligente

posso fare una domanda ?
"perche non ci sono molti commenti?"

Abbi un buon natale e un felice nuovo anno

Complementi

John