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soo.. you can stack adjectives in German? Can I say 'Schlecht kurz' = 'badly short', and in excessively short to the point of disadvantage?
"badly short" isn't two adjectives. Badly is an adverb. So stacking those two adjectives, for example "Ich habe schlechte kurze Hose an" would mean just that you have trousers that are bad and short. So the answer to your question: Yes, you can absolutely stack adjectives in German. But not in the exact way I think you mean.
If you would like to indicate that your "Hose" are short to the point of disadvantage you would just emphasize it with something like "sehr kurz".
I've got the same question, and I'm still confused. :( It's translated as "practically/basically perfect", where "praktisch" is translated as an adverb here, since we can't stack adjectives in English. While in German it's an adjective. How about the rules in German? Does German have adverb? Thanks.
In German, adjectives share the same word as their partner adverb. Langsam = slow AND slowly. Einfach = simple AND simply.
The reason it's "translated" as an adverb, is because it was used as one in the first place.
You can't really "stack" adjectives in that kind of sentence, you would need an 'und' in the middle: 'Ich bin praktisch UND perfekt'. THAT would mean 'I'm practical and perfect', which still wouldn't make much sense :)
In a sentence like this, use your English-speaking instincts. "I am practical perfect" makes absolutely no sense in English, and neither does it in German. Therefore, 'praktisch' can only translate to 'practically' here.
I am pretty sure we can stack adjectives in English. For instance, "I saw the beautiful blue fish"
The German word 'praktisch' is an adverb in this phrase, the difference from English is that there is no difference between the spelling of the adjective and the adverb in German. So while in English we would have 'practical'/'practically' or 'basic'/'basically', German has only 'praktisch' which takes different functions depending on the context.
Is that true of all German adjectives, or is praktisch special in that regard?
Why can't I say "I'm practically perfect"? It's as nonsensical as the official answer.
When I clicked on the word "praktisch" since I wanted to verify its meaning, "basically" was not even listed as one of the definitions!
"I am nearly perfect" is as good as "I am almost perfect," but is not accepted. : (
I did "I am practically perfect" and i got it right. I am basically perfect is the same in this case, but Mary Poppins says Practically Perfect, so that is what i did. =-)
So praktisch is an adjective in German (in this context), while in English it is translated as an adverb?
No, the German word 'praktisch' is an adverb in this phrase, the difference from English is that there is no difference between the spelling of the adjective and the adverb in German. So while we in English would have 'practical'/'practically' or 'basic'/'basically', German has only 'praktisch' which takes different functions depending on the context.
The way I see it, when an English person says "I'm practically perfect" (think Mary Poppins!), it just seems like a slang usage. The way I feel it should be used is as follows:
Practical = handy, good thinking, not hasty. Practically = in a methodical and thought out way.
All too often we use Practically = Essentially/Basically = pretty much/almost completely. It just doesn't feel right to me. It feels even worse seeing it written in German. I know we English carve up and mess with our words to make them fit, and mean something new-ish in the process, but it just seems wrong.
Has anyone actually heard a native German speaker use this phrase or the word praktish in this context?
Just want to point out for non-English speakers that using practical and practically to mean "near enough to be considered so" isn't slang and is an accepted dictionary definition. It isn't messy if you consider that practical's meaning isn't "methodical" or "well thought out" but rather "having to do with real world applications". If at some point one comes so close to perfection that it is not worth the time and effort to make a distinction, then one can be considered perfect for all practical purposes. In that case, one is practically perfect.
No the person is saying he/she is more perfect then everybody else or as perfect as someone could be.
I am more or less perfect is not acceptable apparently. But its fine when the program uses it the other way around.
Hmmmm...so how would I say "I am practice perfect"...which is what I thought this meant...
At least for me, that isn't a grammatical sentence in English. What are you trying to say?
I put virtually, as it was an option. But then I discovered it was wrong! :-(
It tells me virtually is the translation to use for this sentence, but it then says my translation is wrong. Is this simply a bug or is there an actual meaning to this?
...in every way. I am not Mary Poppins. Who decides the sentences, because some of these are ridiculous?
I suppose because the "praktisch" is first it is the adverb.
"Ich bin perfekt praktisch" would mean "I'm perfectly practical, the reverse?
