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- Topic: Russian >
- "Вы где?"
178 Comments
One could argue that ты is more appropriate, especially since you're speaking to a dog.
ты: you (singular, with someone you know/someone of less social status than you)
вы: you (plural like you all, or with person(s) you don't know/are of more status than you)
Think tu and vous in French or du and Sie in German.
Same happens in original Portuguese, with "tu" and "você". In Brazil though everyone uses "você" as "tu" and it is not informal at all.
1007
I believe you meant "it is not formal at all". In Brazil, "tu" and "você" are both quite informal.
вы is like "vous" while ты is like "tu". вы is for formal situations and plurality while ты is for informal situations when it's one person. If you don't know which to use, use вы.
Thank you! No practical joke but honest and substantial notions. Russian is a beautiful langage as well the others one. Let's try to respect it. I like the touch of french too. It makes clearly the differences. Merci beaucoup !
I've been learning French, then just started doing Russian. This was seriously the best idea ever! :-P Russian feels like a walk in the park right now, but I'm waiting for it to get more difficult!
Like a walk in the park up a steep hill through deep snowdrifts with a heavy pack on my back. But I struggle on.
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Oh yes, I cannot imagine to reach the first checkpoint ever. Reading and writing is one difficulty, but understanding what was said nearly impossible.
Drinking vodka (or any strong alcohol) to keep yourself warm is actually a very bad idea. You only feel warmer, but you're not helping your organism coping with the cold, you're actually making it worse. Alcohol causes a blood rush to the surface vessels (vasodilation) which increases heat radiation. You're feeling warmer but you're getting colder.
The more you know...
Back when English was younger, you also had a formal and informal second-person:
You, Your = formal.
Thee, Thy = informal, family usage.
I can sometimes hack Google Translate into giving me a "tu/du/ты" usage, by saying for example, "Does thee want a slice of pizza?"
I am a bit unsure, but was it not the other way around? Thou and thee the formal ones, showing respect or being polite?
Wikipedia's topic on 'thou' is extensive, and a worthwhile read. For fun, watch Angel and the Badman, where an injured John Wayne is taken in by Quakers.
'Thou' was actually informal. What happened was the English wanted to emulate the French who used 'vous' as formal singular. Eventually everyone just adopted 'you' as both singular and plural.
German
ты - du
вы - Sie, sie
Spanish
ты - tú
вы -usted, ustedes (Latin America) and vosotros/as (Spain).
Portuguese
ты - tu
вы - você, o senhor, a senhora, vocês
Italian
ты - tu
вы -lei, voi
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ты is for second-person singular while вы is for plural. But вы is also used in singular to express politeness.
This is still very early in the program, but I wouldn't recommend using ты until you are familiar enough with Russian to understand the difference. Hopefully they explain it later. Its similar to using sir and ma'am instead of you, but its more important that you get it right than in English. Usually someone will tell you when its ok to switch to ты.
It's never too early. Langage is like music. Read and listen again and again, and the melody will stay in your mind. Even the smalest nuances. I highly appreciate people who dare share details : it's a sign they like langages very much and respect them.
In a face to face situation in a foreign land, deltaray3's advice is good to follow, but in this forum that duolingo provides, I think learners have some freedom to be bold with their learning approach. After all, some of the best ways to learn something is to make a mistake and have someone correct you. Whether done with respect or without, you tend to remember it. Nevertheless, let's all encourage respectful, constructive criticism, whether it be here at duolingo or elsewhere. And on that note, I'll close with one of my favorite Russian proverbs:
Не ошиба́ется тот, кто ничего́ не де́лает.
From the sound of your post, it just might be one of your favorites, too.
I think even in face to face situations, assuming that Russians are more or less like the rest of the world, and based on my experience of talking to them they are, most Russians would be delighted that you're even attempting to speak their language and inclined to be forgiving of mistakes.
That's an equivalent idiom; a more literal translation would be "the one who does not make mistakes is he who does nothing".
Tы is used to address a singular person (meaning you in English), whereas вы is used to address a group of people, while still translation to the word "you" (so in English it would be y'all)
Вы is so polite and for rhe person who is older than u.ты is more informal and u can use while you speak with your friends.
I agree, I also answered "You're where?"
Based on my understanding I thought that would be acceptable
I also put "You are where?" because they switched it round from "gde vy", why did they do this??
I wrote "you are where?" and was given this message (and told I was wrong): The object(in this case you) should not be placed in front of the predicate and the subject in English.
maybe it could translate to "You're where?" if it said "Где вы". Or maybe it just depends on intonation and I am completly wrong.
I'm not sure which is worse: Getting them wrong and not knowing why or getting them right and not knowing why.
"Где" is not a preposition, it is an adverb. You can say both "Вы где?" and "Где вы?", although the first version is more common. With names or nouns, however, it is more common to say "где" in the beginning: Где чашка? Где Том?
Thank you for sharing sensible stuff ! I see for a few times you are serious in your work and you share it generiously with us.
Нет никакой разницы между "Где вы?" и "Вы где?". Разве что немного разная стилистическая окраска. Но её даже русский с трудом уловит.
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So Вы где is more common than Где вы, because the polite word is being given priority, or because pronouns go first? What about Ты где versus Где ты? Same or reversed or equally common?
I love how you don't need to use the verb "to be" in all the sentences.
Don't worry. They make up for it with the number of ways you can say a word like "my". http://masterrussian.com/vocabulary/moy_my_mine.htm
NNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!! :'( Would you happen to know if they at least have common endings like the german mys have the noun article endings?
Here is very good dictionary with word forms too https://www.lingvolive.com/ru-ru/translate/ru-en/%D0%BC%D0%BE%D0%B9
You can use both "Где вы?" and "Вы где?". The difference between the sentences is so small that even native Russians often can't explain what's the difference! :D
Well, if somebody calls me while I'm walking with my dog, he/she will use "Где вы?" (or "Где ты?" if the person is my friend). And if I'm going to any meeting and am already late, the waiting person will call me with the question "Вы где?!" (or "Ты где?!"), so it's more emotional, more impatient.
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In English I would say "Where are you?" if it is a casual question and "You're where?" if I just found out for example that my child has climbed half way up the outside of a skyscraper, or is in jail, or some other unexpected place which requires further explanation. Is it similar with "Где вы?" and "Вы где?"?
So it's not as simple as simply switching the emphasis around as I first thought? Где ты/вы implies "where are you?" and Ты/Вы где "You are where?" (Or was it the other way around and was it last information first..
For Ы listen to the file https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D0%BF%D0%BB%D1%8B%D1%82%D1%8C
Ы should sound a bit similar to И, but more rude and sad. Smile as wide as you can while saying И and then put down the corners of your mouth
Ь has NO sound. It only means that you should pronounce previous consonant softly.
You've given one of the most memorable, useful tips I've seen on how to pronounce this letter. Thank you.
It seems me so important to knowledge and apply correctly the fully prononciation. Thank you fot this site.
in russian language you can change the order of word in the sentence. It can change meaning of phrase or cannot, it is more difficult to explain xD In this case it does not matter. «Где вы» and «Вы где» are simular
As far as I know, "y'all" is not standard English. If you mean literally "you all", that would be "вы все". Где вы все?
How does that differ in meaning in Russian? In "standard" English "you all" can be used in the same way as "you" when reffering to multiple people.
Где вы все? - Where are you all? as in Where is everybody?
As far as I know, you all/y'all is used for "you" when addressing multiple people in some regions of the USA.
The German course accepts "y'all" as a translation for "ihr", which is the German equivalent of вы (second person plural / first person singular formal), as it rightly should. "Y'all" may not be used in all dialects of English, but other Duolingo courses strive to accommodate all varieties of English use (or at least all the major ones). I think that this Russian course ought to follow suit with that.
And QuackSack is right. The usage of "you all" and "y'all" do not strictly have to be comitative (all-encompassing of all entities), they can also be used as a simple, generic, second person plural, and I daresay that this usage is the more common one.
You're right about "Y'all." That's the American southern dialect which you'll basically hear if you're in the states of West Virginia/Virginia, parts of Maryland and basically all the places south of those states.
Some English speakers say "you all" to mean "you plural", i.e. "вы". If that's the meaning you had in mind, I'd say yes, it's OK.
What is the difference between "vy" and "ty"? Are they used interchangeably?
Вы = plural or singular polite form (used when talking to a stranger or a doctor, professor, etc.) Ты = singular, used when talking to a friend or a member of the family.
I think где in first position is more correct and common. What do native speakers think? Thank you
Why is it Вы где and not Где вы? Does the order effect the meaning? Emphasis? Or is it simply one way is just a more common way of phrasing?
in this case you can, in russian language you can change the order of word in the sentence. But sometimes it can change meaning of phrase or cannot, it is more difficult to explain xD
in russian language you can change the order of word in the sentence. It can change meaning of phrase or cannot, it is more difficult to explain xD In this case it does not matter. «Где вы» and «Вы где» are simular
in russian language you can change the order of word in the sentence. It can change meaning of phrase or cannot, it is more difficult to explain xD In this case it does not matter. «Где вы» and «Вы где» are simular
Not only. «Вы» also uses for singular, but there is a difference. «Ты» — it is singular «you» for friends, for buddy or rough «you» to strangers. «Вы» — uses as «you» for strangers or bosses, or people whom you respect.
Guys, you should be happy to have no "to be". I learned a language, igbo, where you have at least 4 ways to say "to be". Spanish can stop to boast their ser and estar, piece of cake...
But "Вы" doesn't mean "they". "They" is "Они".
Try this for a handy summary table! http://www.russianlessons.net/grammar/pronouns.php
So as i understood it right, 'Вы' is for the plural you and 'Ты' is for the singular you?
How do you know when its вы rather than ты?? вы is plural and formal... how the heck was I supposed to know if this was formal or not?!
"where are you" = "где вы" = "вы где". both phrases are completely identical and correct.
can you provide an option for normal speed audio by default ? these slow ones are really annoying !
The speaker makes the second word sound like it starts with a B sound rather than a G sound? Infact thr second word altogether sounds like he's just sounding out the letters B, and J and running them together.
