"Meine Großeltern haben kein Haus."

Translation: My grandparents do not have a house.

[uchual]

That's really sad.

[TheTacoGirl]

They probably live in an apartment.

[Pikachu025]

Handlungswechsel

[miaerbus]

Could this be translated as "My grandparents don't have a home" as well?

[mizinamo]

"a home" is more like "ein Zuhause" or "ein Heim". I wouldn't translate "Haus" as "home".

[O.G.EGGPLANT]

Why is "my grandparents are homeless" a wrong answer?

[mizinamo]

Because the sentences do not mean the same thing.

Perhaps your grandparents have not a house but a flat (an apartment), then they are not homeless.

"homeless" would be obdachlos in German.

[CapnDoug]

Would "obdachlos" (not having a house / home) equate to the English saying "They don't have a roof over their heads"? Since "dachlos" means "roofless"?

[O.G.EGGPLANT]

never thought about it. I equated home with house. although really home is where the heart is.

[morrest_gump]

why is "my grandparents don't have any house" deemed wrong ?

[mizinamo]

"Don't have any X" with singular X sounds funny to me in English -- I think that "any" is the negative version of "some" and is usually used with plurals.

[morrest_gump]

thanks

[landos1]

Any is not the negative of some.

[mizinamo]

"I have some water."
"I do not have any water."

"Do you have some water? - No, I do not have any water."

[landos1]

It doesn't make them opposites.
"I can have any"
"I like any"
"They said they would take any"................

[mizinamo]

"any" in positive sentences is another matter.

[DiegoDalaras]

'kein'?

[mizinamo]

'ningún'

"Sie haben kein Haus" = No tienen ninguna casa.

[Taniakiddo]

If "Eltern" is feminine (die) why is "Grosseltern" neutrum (das) ?

[mizinamo]

Both of those are wrong.

Eltern and Großeltern are both plural (die) - not feminine or neuter.

[AndrewPear68949]

Are all plurals "die,"

[mizinamo]

Yes (at least in the nominative and accusative cases).

There are no gender distinctions in the plural in German.

[Hector290697]

"Eltern" looks like "Elder(s)". Coincidence?

[mizinamo]

No.

Theoretically, the spelling reform of 1996 should have changed the spelling to Ältern, since the word is related to alt “old”, but the committee decided that this relationship was no longer perceived by German speakers and so they retained the spelling with E.

[JakeSwagSnake]

My grandparents do have a "house." One of the options was My grandparents do not have a "gender."

[Anthony172525]

Sometime the speakers are not clear and it is hard to distinguish if they are speaking in the singular or the plural