"השוטר לא יודע אם אלה בקבוקי מים או בקבוקי יין."
Translation:The policeman does not know whether these are bottles of water or bottles of wine.
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1058
In English, there is a possible subtle contrast between:
A. a water bottle and a bottle of water; and
B. a wine bottle and a bottle of wine.
A bottle designed for wine that has no wine in it is generally termed a wine bottle, but would not be termed a bottle of wine.
I would appreciate comments on Hebrew equivalents.
Great observation! The term בקבוק יין would generally mean "(a) wine bottle", as if a bottle which originally was made to contain wine, AND ALSO "(a) bottle of wine", as if a bottle full of wine. This nuance just doesn't exist in Hebrew as it is in English.
To emphasize the content of a bottle, you could say בקבוק מלא יין which is directly translates to "a bottle full of wine". On the other hand, you could say בקבוק יין ריק, which literally mean "an empty wine bottle".
Hope this helps!
- 1080
Why have you written, "בקבוק מלא יין" and "בקבוק יין ריק"? I don't understand why there's a difference in word order.
- 1270
the first one is בקבק מלא יין = a bottle full of wine. (not necessarily a wine bottle). In the second expression it is a בקבוק יין, a wine bottle, but an empty one. Neither in Hebrew (I think) nor in English would you say "a bottle empty of wine".
Why the clicking of the tongue at the beginning of the sentence. Is that to convey contempt for not knowing?
You’re using police as plural (The police, they don’t know) which in Hebrew would be משטרה mishtara, the collective entity.
Duo consistently translates shoter as policeman or police officer, singular.
