Word
Glielo confermo, il latte sa di cipolla.
Meaning
I confirm it to him, the milk tastes like onion.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Glielo confermo, il latte sa di cipolla.
il latte
the milk
la cipolla
the onion
confermare
to confirm
glielo
it to him/her
Questions & Answers about Glielo confermo, il latte sa di cipolla.
Doesn't sapere usually mean to know? How does it translate to tastes like here?
While sapere is most commonly used for knowing a fact, when it is paired with the preposition di and a noun, it takes on a sensory meaning: to taste of or to smell of. Therefore, sa di cipolla means it tastes like onion.
Could sa di cipolla also mean the milk smells like onion?
Why is there no definite article before cipolla? Shouldn't it be sa della cipolla?
When describing a general flavor or scent using sapere di, you omit the article. You are saying it has the flavor of onion as a general concept. If you used the articulated preposition and said sa della cipolla, it would sound like the milk tastes of a specific, previously mentioned onion.
The translation says glielo means it to him. Could it also mean it to her?
Yes, it absolutely could! Glielo is a combined pronoun joining the indirect object (to whom) and the direct object lo (it). When combining pronouns, the feminine le (to her) changes to glie- to link with lo, making it completely identical to the masculine version. Without broader context, glielo can mean it to him, it to her, or even it to you (formal).