ciò che resta sono....

English translation: All that remains is a deeper understanding of the words, rather than the words themselves

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Italian term or phrase:ciò che resta sono....
English translation:All that remains is a deeper understanding of the words, rather than the words themselves
Entered by: Louise Norman

06:39 Oct 29, 2001
Italian to English translations [Non-PRO]
Italian term or phrase: ciò che resta sono....
Si tratta in realtà di un dubbio grammaticale:
"ciò che resta non sono le parole ma i loro significati più profondi".

What remains IS / ARE not words but....
(il verbo essere va riferito a "what remains" considerato come singolare, o va coniugato al plurale rispetto a "words").
Dubbio atroce!!....
Grazie mille!
Giorgia Pregheffi
All that remains is a deeper understanding of the words, rather than the words themselves
Explanation:
How about inverting the sentence?
Selected response from:

Louise Norman
Italy
Local time: 15:27
Grading comment
Thank you!
Regards,
Giorgia
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1All that remains is a deeper understanding of the words, rather than the words themselves
Louise Norman
4all that remains are not ...
Denise Muir
4 -2Non userei "What remains"...
Floriana (X)


  

Answers


8 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
All that remains is a deeper understanding of the words, rather than the words themselves


Explanation:
How about inverting the sentence?

Louise Norman
Italy
Local time: 15:27
PRO pts in pair: 38
Grading comment
Thank you!
Regards,
Giorgia

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Denise Muir: yes, sounds good
10 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -2
Non userei "What remains"...


Explanation:
che non mi sembra un'espressione molto comune (e che comunque andrebbe seguita dal singolare). Per esempio "Non mi resta che piange" lo tradurrei come "I'm left with nothing but tears", ecc. Almeno nella fraseologia USA (per GB non mi pronuncio), si preferisce "to be left with ntg. but..." o "All that's that left is...".

Floriana

Floriana (X)
United States
Local time: 08:27
Native speaker of: Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in pair: 317

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Louise Norman: I'm British, and I would say 'all that remains' as well as 'to be left with'
3 mins

disagree  Denise Muir: "all that remains" is fine by me too (UK-Scotland)
8 mins
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

29 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
all that remains are not ...


Explanation:
Although I like Louise's suggestion the best (translating it literally makes for a rather contorted sentence in English) I just wanted to answer your precise question. I checked with a couple of UK professor friends and their opinion was like mine - that we would all be inclined to go for plural(are) as it seems to roll off the tongue
better. However, whether this corresponds to proper grammar or not I wouldn't put any money on it although I do have a strong hunch that gramatically speaking it should be singular.
(have probably only confused you even more - sorry)
Denise

Denise Muir
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:27
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in pair: 12
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search