"Melyik gyereken nincs nadrág?"
Translation:Which child is not wearing pants?
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"which child doesn't have pants on?" Would this answer be correct, too? I mean, wouldn't be "pants on" closer to the original "gyereken"?
It would be closer if literally translated, but according to the logic of the English grammar it would be awkward I think.
However I am not a native English speaker.
Could someone give a very literal translation of this sentence? I understand the meaning, that clothing is on the person, but I usually try to make sense of different phrasings and word orders by translating literally, and i can't seem to do that with this one. Thanks!
Melyik - Which
gyereken - on child
nincs - there is no
nadrág - trousers/pants.
Literally, "On which child are there no trousers?"
This is a common way of saying this in Hungarian.
"Van rajtad kabát?" - "Is there (a) coat on you?", in English: "Are you wearing a coat?"
You can also be "in" clothes. "Én nadrágban és ingben vagyok". "I am wearing trousers and a shirt".
1486
This is prefered to wearing / "visel"?
(the same way "birtokol" / to own is not really used instead of the "to have" constructions, which following lessons will target)
But if i use visel:
Melyik gyerek nem nadrágot visel?
Viselsz kabátot?
Én nadrágot és ingot viselek.
I hope this is right.
"Melyik gyerek nem visel nadrágot?"
"Viselsz kabátot?"
"Én nadrágot és inget viselek."
These are OK, but I think "visel" is more frequently used when talking about habits, not a specific occasion. So, I would not use it when asking "What are you wearing?"
Another verb you can use, strictly for habitual wearing, is "hord".
"Télen nem hordok szoknyát." - "I do not wear skirts in Winter."
"Birtokol" is indeed rarely used in Hungarian, much less than "own" is used in English (not so rarely). Therefore I would not place an equal sign between them. A typical alternative to "own" is this:
"I own this place." - "Ez a hely az enyém." (Literally, this place is mine.)
Technically, every child wearing skirts and dresses might usually not wear trousers. Usually not what you mean when you refer to someone as being without trousers though.
