Does it make sense to say "se quando"?
Ciao!
One of my lessons (from Pimsleur) has a sample sentence:
E se quando viaggio, prendo una macchina.
Its English translation even says "And if when I travel, I take a car", which doesn't make sense "to say "if" and "when" consecutively like that. Is this simply a mistake in my lesson material?
Grazie mille.
Search from various English teachers...
Answers · 2
0
Hi Ian,
u are right.
E se quando viaggio, prendo una macchina full stop is not correct in italian.
At least it makes sense:
Se e quando viaggio, prendo una macchina. (In a contest in which a person is telling someone he doesn’t like travelling and he never catchs planes. So he is stressing “If and when” Se e quando : If and when I’m going to travel, I’ll take a car).
Instead it’s correct in this sentence:
E, se quando viaggio prendo una macchina, mi sento male. (And if a take a car for travelling, I feel sick). Maybe he prefers travelling by train or by plane.
Anyway, also in this case is better to say:
Quando viaggio, se vado in auto mi sento male.
Ciao
0
it isn't very fluent, but it is right, but you must put a comma in this way: "... e se, quando viaggio, prendo una macchina ...". It is more fluent to say: "... e se prendo una macchina quando viaggio ..."
Ciao Yan.
Still haven’t found your answers?
Write down your questions and let the native speakers help you!
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to learn a language from the comfort of your own home. Browse our selection of experienced language tutors and enroll in your first lesson now!
Start Learning Today
