39 Comments
1428
Engineers like dreaming too, and some of them make their dream come true.
But мечтать isn't dreaming, it's like... Imaging stuff... I don't know how to say this in English
Daydream is different than dream. In Croatian we have the same word - maštati. Do you know that moment you look somewhere and think about something random? That is not dreaming, dreaming is when you sleep
Yes, I am aware of the difference. But "dreaming" can have either meaning in English. Which you mean is generally understood from context. English is my native language :-)
Oh, I have always thought that dreaming means only to dream. I learn something new every day. Thank you, you deserve some lingots.
In english -- Dream: what you see when you sleep || big desire in life (to be famous, rich etc) -- Dreamy (adjective) someone whom is overly desireable E.G. "That girl Lindsay is soooo dreamy." -- if you're half asleep or just distracted, this is called daydreaming.
- 1067
Well, it's kind of difficult to come up with an English verb (or verb + adjective) which effectively translates мечтать, when no indication is given as to how it differs from "to dream" or "to day-dream". Some possibilities:
Free-associate
Ponder
Cerebrate
Ruminate
Imagine (freely, fancifully)
Wander mentally through
In many instances, the meaning would be fleshed out by a phrase or clause, or even a full sentence describing what it is the engineer fancies in his imagination, lets bubble up from the depths of his structured imagination, juxtaposes illogical connections that defy the laws of physics, etc.
it said "engineers also LOVE to dream" is wrong. why does it not accept love, does it really only mean like? In english we say "love" meaning нравится too.
- 1428
They love to dream - Они любят мечтать;
Engineers love to dream - Инженеры любят мечтать.
- 37
I was marked incorrect for translating it as "Engineers also love to dream".
- 1290
Likewise. Engineers love to dream is more idiomatic in English than like to dream, although both are used.
We generally use it with the prepositions:
- о + Prepositional (more formal),
- про + Accusative (more colloquial).
So, «Я люблю мечта́ть о мо́ре» and «Я люблю́ мечта́ть про мо́ре» both mean 'I like (day)dreaming about the sea'.
Or it can be used with infinitive: «Я мечта́ю пое́хать на мо́ре» 'I dream about going to the sea'.
Note that Russian «мечта́ть» never means 'to see something while sleeping', it only refers to day-dreaming. Also, it often just means 'to want, to desire' (without the reference to phantasising about something). So, «Я мечта́ю пое́хать на мо́ре» doesn't neccessarily mean you're imagining your holidays. It can just mean you want to have those holidays.
How much more formal is мечтать о than мечтать про? Would it be like comparing to dream of (very formal and/or old-fashioned) and to dream about (colloquial and/or modern) in English?
No, «о» is definitely neither very formal nor old-fashioned! It's just a bit more formal (so, for example, it's the variant preferred in all kinds of official documents), but it's used in everyday speech too. I think the difference is comparable to «здесь» and «тут».
In fact, I remember some Russian speakers here on Duolingo saying they use «о» much more often than «про», so this might be a regional difference.
Is this "engineers like to dream also (when compared with other people)", "engineers also like to dream (along with the other things they do) " or can it be both?
I would say the former. For the latter meaning, I would use something like «А ещё инжене́ры лю́бят мечта́ть».
I used to have lots of problems with the difference between тоже and также. My teacher, if I remember this correctly, explained that,
тоже is used, like you say, when the action is comparable to somebody else's action.
также is used when the subject is doing something in addition to or on top of their original action.
If I didn't understand that correctly at the time, please let me know.
Кстати... The question didn't seem to like the informal variant 'as well' (reported).
Having spent years getting them muddled, I've settled on pausing & thinking:
"Is this like a taxi driver driving his taxi and doing something else too?"
Yes = taxi = также
the alternatives being тоже or ещё...
"Engineers also like to fantasize" - That's what I wrote, and It was marked wrong. I think it should be accepted? :-)
EDIT: I've also tried "Engineers like to dream as well" from the 2nd attempt, and got flunked as well
That "as well" is possible, but without more context it sounds like the second meaning, engineers like to dream in addition to other things they do.
No, on further thought, it can mean either, depending on where you put the emphasis in speaking. In writing, one needs to choose words carefully to avoid ambiguity. "Engineers, too, like to dream" is unambiguous. For the other meaning, it's not so obvious how to make it clear.
They are pronounced in the same way, /'lʲubʲɪt/. However, since «инжене́ры» is a plural noun, «лю́бят» is the only possible option here.
I said "Engineers also like to wish" and was marked wrong, why?
Thank you, Duo had the translation as "dream / wish" so I was confused.
A real engineer builds bridges. A financial engineer builds dreams. When those dreams turn into nightmares, something something from the inside job.
