31 Comments
Duo gave me the answer 'I made this on accident' An English speaker. We woud say 'I made this by accident' or 'I made this accidently' but never 'on accident'
"on accident" is an American thing. "I made this on accident" or "I did this on accident" both sound better to my American ears than "by accident". It gets more common the younger the speaker is.
I never heard this one (probably I'm too old :-) ), but it is a logical opposite to "on purpose".
The meaning is interchangeable in some contexts but not always. Pomyłka/mistake implies that an error was made; whereas przypadek/accident only implies that the result wasn't intended and/or expected, and random chance was involved.
I.e.: Odkryłam to przez przypadek / I discovered it by accident.
Yes, but here "Zrobiłam to przypadkiem!" can be by mistake as well as by accident. Przez pomyłkę and przez przypadek/ przypadkowo are synonymous here.
We do not know the context, though. We would lose some meaning by imprecise translation.
"by/on" is not a word, and "on accident" is simply wrong in English, so that cannot work
You know, I sat and thought about if I should bother replying or not. Decided I would.
You're astounding observation about 'by/on' not being an English word is a masterstroke of brilliance. Most people would have seen it as two words; either being capable substitutions in context. But not you. You saw much much deeper.
And as for your second assertion about 'on accident': 'on accident' is a common, if arguably correct, expression in everyday English. Sorry. You're not the only native speaker on this forum.
I wish you'd have used the correct word "your" instead of "you're", now you just look like a dick, Native Speaker.
Now then. Fact: You'd never write "by/on", therefore you cannot type "by/on" as a translation for this exercise. Fact: In Polish, it is common to use "tą" instead of "tę" when speaking, exactly parallel to the case with English "on accident" instead of "by accident". Fact: In Polish, it is NEVER "correct" to use "tą" instead of "tę" when WRITING it, exactly parallel to the case with English "on accident" instead of "by accident". Fact: "By accident" is by far more common than "on accident", research it yourself. "On accident" really does not even count as common. By the way, it's wrong. It's as wrong as saying "you're" instead of "your" when you need the possessive.
Enough with this now.
I make no claim as to correctness in PL. As for being a dick: that's on you. I sat for days thinking about what would drive someone to be impolite for no reason. I rarely if ever step in and just slap someone down. I have discovered that there is an incredible amount of nuance in language. Some words are customary. Some are cultural. Some are regional. Some have no equivalence of any kind in another language. I have learned that, even in American English there are differences in word use. Which means that where I live 'on accident' is common to the point of going unnoticed.
How about this: we save the rest of the duo lingo community from our spat. Honestly, I was just trying to help. Not get a scolding.
I resolve to be more patient with thicker skin. How about you keep in mind you're not an absolute authority and don't be condescending.
:-)
America took all the class out of language. We say "on accident" and it's generally fine.
It seems only half my message was posted!!
"by accident" is correct here.( No idea if the youth of today use "on accident" in the big cities, but I've never heard that expression) The wonders of language!
Ehh, they're different. Chance implies... man, this is hard, but believe me, they are different. "By accident" means you had no intention of doing it, the unintended outcome is neither good nor bad. It might even tend towards bad. Chance implies that it was... lucky? Like, you didn't really mean to, but, thankfully, you did. Hope that helps.
True, but actually without any context... 'by chance' is a correct interpretation. So... added now.
My first Polish teacher taught us przypadkiem means by chance like when you ask a question - by chance do you have? So accident is another meaning. Does wypadek only mean auto accident?
I get a free paper, Anonse, from a local Polish centre, and it has many adverts offering help to people who have had accidents: "Miałeś Wypadek Drogowy? Pomożemy Ci!" The full list is "Wypadki samochodowe, pieszych i rowerzystów, taksówkarzy, w pracy, w miejscach publiczynch". And that is from just one advertiser.
I see a common root with the verb "to fall" = "padać"; an accident is something that "befalls" you, in somewhat old-fashioned English.
I'd be interested to hear some examples where 'on accident' is commonly used
"On accident" is commonly used in place of "by accident," but it is considered grammatically incorrect.
