48 Comments
it's one of the possible translations/variations. If it was not accepted report it to the moderators, they'll sure add it ;-)
For reference: на + [accusative] = onto/intended for ... на + [prepositional] = on, at ... this example is prepositional
Sorry, but "What is it on the plate?" is bizarre English. Not sure if it's completely ungrammatical or not, but... it is a stretch to imagine when this sentence would be the one you'd want.
When something is stuck on the plate that you are cleaning, you can't get it off easily, and can't remember or don't know what is on the plate. Or it came out of a dishwasher and there's something stuck to it. Or your child wonders out loud why you are inspecting the plate closely, is it a bug, is it food, or is it an unknown objrct?
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Naw. Even in those situations it would be more common to say, what is on the plate or what is on this plate.
I agree. To my native speaking mind, it would be much more common to hear "What is that you're eating?" or "What are they serving?" Almost to the point of excluding the plate altogether. If one did involve the plate, it would be to ask, "What is on YOUR plate?" as in, it looks pretty good, and I want to know what it is, so I can order it, too.
I put "What is on this plate?", It involves all the same pieces but in a slightly different order that is mire natural to a native speaker. Ive flagged it.
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That sentence carries a different meaning, the corresponding translation would actually be что на этой тарелке
I think there is a difference.
что на тарелке asks simply "What is on the plate." Maybe you can't see it and the answer would be also simple like "breakfast/apples"
While Что это на тарелке is "What is it/this/the thing on the plate?" You see what's there but you don't know what it is. The answer to this question could be: "It's called xy, it's a tradditional Russion dessert."
Wouldn't "What is this on the plate?" be a correct translation? or no? also what are the differences between это, этом, эта, and others if there are more variations and when/how should I use them in everyday situations?..
In general. But for feminine nouns ending in ь, use и, and for nouns ending in ия, ий, or ие, change the ending to ии.
I put "What is on this plate" as a translation, would it be correct (should i report it), or is it something else?
This reply is to your comment below; I didn't see a reply button there. How can I change the pronunciation chart to reflect that there are exceptions? I had the chart reviewed before posting it, but clearly you are correct. Should I remove that notation completely, or simply add, "There are always exceptions" or "In general,..." first?
I'm afraid the most accurate way to describe it is to say "in most cases it is pronounced 'ch,' but in some consonant clusters and very common words it is pronounced 'sch' to facilitate enunciation." You can give a few common examples like что, мужчина, конечно... to really get the point across.
By the way I don't know if you've noticed, but in those cases it is pronounced like щ - not like ш. That way it stays a soft consonant. It's not extremely important but it's a little tidbit of consistency I really enjoy pointing out. :-)
One last anecdote on the topic which I find even cooler: there are two versions of the word конечно. The one you're introduced to in this course, with the ч pronounced sch, is an adverb which means "of course." But if you pronounce it like ч is usually pronounced, it's the neuter short form of the adjective конечный, meaning final/finite (you can see how it's related to конец, the end.)
Thank you for the explanation! I had noticed that, yet defaulted to the 'sh' sound as it is explained in my textbook. Oddly, it uses конечно (of course) as one of the examples, but uses 'sh' to describe the sound. It's probably done that way to make it easier for new learners. I think this defeats the purpose, however, as learning things incorrectly is never a good thing. Thanks again!
Why do i always hear что as "shto" and not "chto"? How should I pronounce that?
Your hearing is right, in russian что is actually pronounced as што.
So I notice that the timed practice uses a transliteration of the Russian alphabet. Is this an intentional choice or is my computer bugging out again?
"What is on the plate" should be 100% correct instead of another correct solution
I'm having a hard time hearing the difference between стол and что. I was wondering why my answer made no sense until I got the answer back lol. @_@ This voice generator is...not very good sometimes.
I misread it as что это ЗА тарелке. Sounded to me like someone was pretty unhappy with someone else's choice of table setting.
It's that tasteless thing of what Russian/Northerners call food :P . Really guys, condiments are not your enemy. And I'm talking about you Scandis and Finns as well :P
Probably not a good idea to insult the culture of the speakers of the language you're trying to learn
Especially when their foods (and their condiments, btw) are actually pretty good.
