"Они дают мне коробку."
Translation:They are giving me the box.
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maybe parents are giving a box to their adult child, so she/he would finally move out ;)
From one of the great legends of the American people:
http://chutzpah.typepad.com/slow_movement/2010/04/calvin-and-hobbes-beanie.html http://calvinandhobbes.wikia.com/wiki/Cardboard_box
It should be "a box" in this sentence, since the russian word is at the end of the sentence. Had it been placed at the beginning you would say "the box". Word order sets determination.
In this situation the word order is setting emphasis. Because коробка is at the end of the sentence, the emphasis is that they're giving you specifically a box (just like you've always wanted).
If it had been at the beginning, the emphasis would have been that they're just giving you the box (how can they afford to just give away boxes?!)
There is no way to determine from an out-of-context sentence whether they are giving you a random box you never knew about or they are giving you a specific box you wanted, therefore, both 'a' and 'the' translations are correct.
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How would you distinguish this between "they give me a box"? Since both are i believe equally valid translations.
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In Russian there is no difference, because there are not articles and often continuous tenses coincide with simple tenses. You can use your choice as well. If the answer is not accepted click the report button.
Коробку*. The "direct object" (the thing that is in accusative - коробку here) is the thing being acted on directly by the verb. The verb here is give. The box is the thing being given. The "indirect object" (the thing in dative - мне) is someone who is receiving the result of the action, if that makes sense. Technically with the grammar you can switch мне и коробку and it will retain the same meaning. The sentence here though is emphasizing what is being given, not to whom, though.
indeed, i guess you could say the literal translation would be: they have given a box to me
Русский именно так и скажет "карОбку", а то и "карОпку". Только в некоторых областях будут чётко проговаривать буквы так, как они пишутся. Скажет человек "корОбку", сразу поймёшь, что это иностранец, как бы грамотно он ни говорил.
'Answer= 'they give me a box'...well lets hope there's something in the box that explains in what context we use the words give...gave and giving...because the recorded answer is not correct.
Like in many languages, a single verb suffices for the present tense (and in many cases in the past and future as well). In this way, давать (imperfective) can be translated as both "is/are giving" or simply "give" when conjugated in the present tense.
Since Russian doesn't use articles, this can be either "the" or "a" box.
I don't get this. Looking at the conjugation of the verb дать in the Russian Wiktionary (which is what I use to check conjugations), I see that for they give it should be они дадут. Where does this word дают come from? I cannot find it in the Wiktionary.
Well, this is the imperfective "давать", not the perfective дать. If it were "они дадут" then it would mean "they will give me the box".
A russian cat that is unhappy w/ his postal job but still arguing to keep it
Неправильное произношение. Надо "корОбку". Русский скажет "карОбку" или даже "карОпку. Если будете произносить как написано, сразу распознают иностранца, как бы грамотно Вы не говорили.
"They're giving me the box" and "They are giving me the box" are the same but when writing "they're..." it's wrong for Duolingo!!!
Why is they are giving me (a box) wrong? I knew (the box) could is right, but I thought putting (a box) could also be right.
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дают a different conjugation of дайте, да?? In previous lessons, we learned Дайте мне means "Give to me."
"Дайте мне лук" from previous lessons
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Almost. дайте comes from дать, a perfective verb meaning "to give", it is the command/imperative formal/plural form.
дают comes from давать, which is the imperfective verb paired with дать that has the same meaning. дают is the "they" form. да is totally different.