"Oso contra caballo"

Translation: Bear against horse

[asthakur]

"CONTRA" reminds me the game :P

[Egipcio91]

Contra is using in dentistry

[mirrinias]

I have a question about the definition of "against" for contra. Is this against solely used in the context of a "fight"? as in "versus"? Or is it also used for two things that are physically against each other, as in touching?

[jbtaylor]

Great question! Apparently, yes, you can use it for physical relationship: http://spanish.about.com/od/prepositions/qt/Contra.htm

However, I can't comment on how common it is, or if there's a more oft-used synonym.

[AlexandraK34]

Bears seem rather particular about their personal space. Even if Duo has them simply next to each other, I think there's going to be a fight.

[parkcityfan]

Isn't this a sentence fragment?

[BabyNamePro]

Yup. But it could still be the title of a book or movie or show or something.

[jennyb233]

Cound contra her also mean "versus" or is there another Spanish word for that?

[yomiac]

I used the word versus and it was accepted.

[capuche777]

Le apuesto al caballo!

[ArmandoGal17]

Don't all nouns require an article in Spanish? Shouldn't it be "El oso contra el caballo"?

[ardymusgame]

On a more serious note, how are they using "against" in this sentence? Are the animals fighting or is the bear leaning on the horse? If it was fighting, couldn't they have used a more specific verb?

[taylei]

This chapter is on prepositions which are words that show placement or relation to another object. Therefore, they meant "contra" as in the bear is touching against the side of the horse.

[srrrevans]

Could be either! Someone's link from upthread: http://spanish.about.com/od/prepositions/qt/Contra.htm

if it's a hug though, I guess my bet on the bear will not pay out.

[AlexandraK34]

There was no verb in sentence I had (Oso contra coballo). Did you get something else?

[TobyBartels]

Yeah, it's a fragment. No period either.

[Komah311]

So, I'm guessing this doesn't directly translate, right? What is this sentence going for, exactly?

[Spirus123]

Where are articles? WTF?

[MaddieC242]

This would be an interesting battle, wouldn't it. This is 1 of the most unlikely sentences I would expect on duolingo.

[Lechuza-chouette]

what happened to plain old corridas de toros?

[Sudeepto]

I guess the NES game "CONTRA" derived its name from this spanish word :)

[dax20798]

Yes and also from the Contras, the guerrillas who fought the Sandinistas in Nicaragua in the 1980s

[somebody4u]

Why can't i say the bear against the horse?

[smazzo1103]

Could bear vs horse work?

[ha4841234]

I don't know about vs, but I typed in versus and it worked fine

[Matthew-Henry]

why can't they say bear vs horse instead?

[Oso-the-Bear]

Y no abbv.? IDK