41 Comments
Right, I tried translating it as "the granddaughter gives thanks for...". Is that not a correct translation?
"to give thanks" to me has more of a religious connotation but maybe there are people who use it as a synonym for "to thank"
That's probably because that's where you've heard it most often used, particularly if you had a religious upbringing. "to thank" is in fact short for "to give thanks", it's also the reason we say "thanks" sometimes instead of "thank you". It doesn't have any religious meaning though, no more than the words "to praise" must be followed by the name of a deity.
It kind of sounds religious to me too, and I did not have a religious upbringing. I have never heard it used outside of someone religious using it. In English that is. I don't know about Portuguese. Interesting note about thanking someone being short for "to give thanks". I was not aware of that bit of language history.
Yeah, the english translations of this verb is killing me. "Is grateful for" may be best usage here.
"the granddaughter gives thanks for the cake" is still being marked incorrectly, I've reported it.
Would 'The granddaughter appreicates the cake' be alright? Or must we use 'is thankful for the' because 'pelo' translates to 'for the'?
These translations are not in good English. How about: says thank you for...
It's possible to be thankful without expressing it verbally, so I'm not sure that "says thank you for" is valid here.
Estou agradecido, NobleJohn. Yours is the interpretation I expected. We have the exact same word in Spanish and it is understood as feeling and expressing gratitude, which is broader than the social nicety of saying "Thank you".
The English translation "the granddaughter thanks for the cake" is marked correct but this is not good English! What I do want to know, though, is if this is a sentence that would be heard in Brazil or of this idea would more likely be expressed another way. Thank you!
You just wouldn't say that in normal English. It is very formal church language.
I totally disagree with your opinion here. Other than when actually describing the act of saying Thank You, it would never be said any way but gives thanks in Australia and we are a very irreligious country :-)
If you Google “give thanks” all the references are religious. I did a straw poll of my friends, without giving any clues, asking them to give a definition of “give thanks” and without exception everyone said they would not “give thanks” except in church or poetic, high flown language. dictionaryreference.com gives the following: thanks•giv•ing noun 1. the act of giving thanks; grateful acknowledgment of benefits or favors, especially to God. 2. an expression of thanks, especially to God. 3. a public celebration in acknowledgment of divine favor or kindness. 4. a day set apart for giving thanks to God.
Also note - “Give thanks in all circumstances” 1 Thessalonians 5:18
“Giving thanks always for all things” Ephesians 5:20
“Give thanks and praise to the lord and I will feel all right” Bob Marley
Maybe Australian usage is different from British and American English.
Can you provide any contemporary references where “give thanks” is just used to mean “thank somebody”?
Just 40+ years of living here, while working in roles that have a high degree of interactive, written and spoken contact with a very large number of people. It's interesting, although not surprising, that the religious context springs to mind for (presumedly) US English speakers, when asked about this usage out of context. I suspect it says more about the culture of the country than the language directly, but the two are reflective of each other in most places. Thanks for the input.
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When my wife prays in Portuguese, she uses forms of agradecer when thanking. That's why I wanted to translate it as "gives thanks" since that's when I hear the word used the most.
seems like this sentence would be less confusing if the granddaughter thanked someone in particular for the cake.
I agree, I wrote "the granddaughter thanks for the cake" and it accepted it, I was really confused.
It accepted my answer of, "The granddaughter thanks for the cake."
I reported it. I wonder why it would accept that, but not those saying, "gives thanks".
And now it is wrong and I get "you missed a word" --> says?? agradecer = to thank for There is indeed no need to say thanks and express it verbally
I don't think that this translation "the granddaughter is thankful for the cake" is an accurate translation of the sense of the word "agradecer". From what I understand and according to my Collins dictionary "agradecer" is a verb implying an action of "to thank somebody for something". Therefore to translate this sentence as "the granddaughter gives thanks for the cake" should be accepted as this shows the action of giving thanks and not just the attitude of "being thankful", something which may or may not be expressed verbally.
I agree! My dictionary defines 'agradecer' as "to thank, thanks, express gratitude" and mentions nothing about it having to be verbal. Could be just a nod, but actively conveys appreciation not just feels it.
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A neta está agradacida pelo bolo The granddaughter is grateful / thankful for the cake
Not special for this particular exercise, but it is being confusing for me when most of the comments are complaining about losing hearts or how a certain phrase sounds more natural in english. English is a second language for me, too, so it's usually helpful. But repetitions of the same complaint on the same thread of comments makes one lose track of what one is here for, which is learning portuguese. Thank you all who's read my first and last complaint on a duolingo exercise.
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I wrote “The granddaughter says thank you for the cake.” It was marked wrong and the correct answer suggested instead was the same except substituting “thanks” instead of “thank you”. If it is given as a correct answer to say “The granddaughter says thanks for the cake” then it should also be correct to say “The granddaughter says thank you for the cake.”
