54 Comments
But they are not accepting the translation "we are seeing the apple" why is that?
Sorry, I have to amend what I said above. Since Standard German doesn't distinguish between the simple and the progressive aspects (e.g. I do vs. I'm doing), you can normally use either translation in English - in real life, context would determine which form you have to use.
However, there are a number of verbs in English whose meaning changes when they're used in the progressive aspect. English is not my native language, but AFAIK there is a difference between "we see XY" (with our eyes) and "we're seeing XY" (we have a date with XY). The German verb "sehen" normally means "to see something with your eyes", so translating it in the simple aspect makes more sense. At least I think that's what the problem here is about.
Ich sehe kann is falsch(wrong) ... the right form for I can see is : Ich kann sehen .... keep in mind that whenever you want to use Können , you must use it at the 2nd place in your sentence & put your main verb at the last place ... sorry for broken English :) I hope it helped you :)
That was very noble. To admit being wrong so others could learn. I admire that. :-D
exactly Katherle. "see" is a stative verb in English, which means that it refers to a "static" activity and doesn't take the progressive. If you do use it with the progressive, you force it into a different metaphorical meaning
Well i wrote "we see the apple" because i'm lazy so it has less words.. turned out "are seeing" is wrong as i read your comments haha :P
In English, you cannot say "We are seeing". It is wrong to use the verb "See" with Continuous tense. So the correct form of the sentence would be: "We see the apple".
it is wrong to say "are seeing", "are smelling" etc. Some verbs in English don't have continuous tense!!!
Hey, can someone please tell me what's the difference between "Der Apfel" and "Den Apfel"?
"Der Apfel" is using the masculine nominative article, "der", whereas "Den Apfel" is using the masculine accusative article, "den".
The Wikipedia page on German Articles may help you. http://wikipedia.org/wiki/German_articles
Is there a place in Duolingo where all forms of a verb, possibly a glossary, can be seen (like at the end of a chapter or lesson)? If not, who thinks that this is a good idea? :)
Why can't it be "We are looking at the apple"? IMHO, this is the most native translation.
Looking at something requires you to pay attention to it. Seeing something does not.
Same here, "We are seeing the apple" is not accepted. And also, as a solution, its offered "We bin see the apple." :)
Auf Wiedersehen = goodbye. Does the "sehen" in that word mean something like see you soon?
Auf Wiedersehen literally translates to "at seeing again", like "until I see you again".
I'm confused as to why the verb "sehen" can be conjugated as either "sehen" or "sehn" for Sie/sie and wir. Can anybody explain?
I don't get why some exercices accept different kinds of translation for the same exact word. For example here "looking at" is right and "viewing" is wrong, but but another exercice I just made has the same meaning of looking at something, but "looking at" was wrong and "viewing" was the correct translation.
No, in a declarative sentence (= statement), the verb is the second element:
Wir sehen den Apfel.
Your word order (verb last) would be used in subordinate clauses such as "because we see the apple", "when we see the apple", etc. Example: Wir sind glücklich, weil wir den Apfel sehen. (We are happy because we see the apple).
I put "we are seeing that apple," because it is the same thing, and last time it told me to put this.
Why isn't it "Wir sehen den Apfel an." ? I thought the verb was Ansehen
- Wir sehen den Apfel. "We see the apple."
- Wir sehen den Apfel an. "We are looking at the apple."
sehen and ansehen both exist but mean different things (see vs. look at).
No. It's pronounced [ˈzeːən].
The [eː] vowel doesn't exist in (most dialects of) English, so it's hard to describe using just English words.
How is sehen pronounced? When i listen to the female voice, it sound like seen, i cant hear the H in the middle
How is sehen pronounced?
https://forvo.com/word/sehen/#de
https://www.duden.de/rechtschreibung/sehen#aussprache
i cant hear the H in the middle
That's right. The H (redundantly) marks the first vowel E as long. It's not pronounced as a consonant in this word.
It shouldn't sound like the English word "seen", though -- it's two syllables, ['ze:ən].
I wrote "we are looking the apple" and it was wrong
Indeed. That is not a correct English sentence. You cannot "look something".
wir sehen den Apfel = we see the apple.
(Not: we are seeing the apple -- "see" in its main sense of "perceive with one's eyes" is not usually used in the -ing form.)
Aren't the only "the" words das, der, and die? Is there something I missed about this sentence?
Here is what I wrote: "we are watching the apple" Here is what Duo said: "You used the wrong word. • We are seeing the apple. • We see the apple." Here is what the dictionary hints said: "are watching" So why wasn't this accepted?
Can someone give me a brief explanation for the use of the word "den"?
I put an exclaimation point at the end and I got it wrong! Its never done that before
Translate this text to English
<pre> Wir sehen den Apfel.
We are looking this appel. Why this sentece is wrong?
We see apple. How this sentence is correct !?
</pre>
Neither "We are looking this appel." nor "We see apple." is correct English. The first sentence has misspelled "appel," requires "at" after looking, and should not contain the demonstrative pronoun "this," so if corrected it would be "We are looking at the apple." This would still mean something different, since one can look at something and not see it. The second sentence (We see apple.) is missing an article "the."
