Noi conoscevamo entrambi i rischi.

Sentence Discussions Italian
#1
English Translation

We both knew the risks.

Every time I see this sentence that placement of “entrambi” in it puzzles me. Is that place set in Italian ? I guess “noi entrambi conoscevamo” is not allowed.

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#2

I think it’s allowed but it changes the meaning. According to DeepL:

Noi conoscevamo entrambi i rischi.
We knew both risks.

Noi entrambi conoscevamo i rischi.
We both knew the risks.

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#3

So, for the original Italian sentence that English translation in the CM is mismatched?

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#4

Yes, it’s a mismatch.

3 Likes
#5

If you allow me to be a bit pedantic: I would like to point out that this sentence, like almost all Italian sentences here, is a translation from English and not original. I think this fact is very important as it explains a lot of the strange, overly literal or plainly mistaken “translations” we see around here.

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#6

The translation, as you notice, is ambiguous: “entrambi” could refer to either “noi” or “i rischi”.

You can avoid this by placing “entrambi” before the verb:

“Entrambi noi conoscevamo i rischi”. It is not very colloquial however: “Tutti e due conoscevamo i rischi” feels less formal, and it is clear.

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