"A táskában nem kicsi autók vannak, hanem almák."
Translation:There are no small cars in the bag, but apples.
16 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Can't we just say nincsenek instead of nem ... vannak? Or is it another one of these cases that has to do with emphasis?
This English translation seem unnatural. It seems to ask for more on the "apples" side of the comparison -"but apples ..."
I think the translation should be "Those are not small cars in the bag, but apples." and the Hungarian sentence should be adjusted accordingly.
The English sounds incorrect to me, I believe it should be "not". Maybe it is clearer this way: "There are apples in the bag, not small cars."
Sorry but for once I disagree with you. I believe there are no small cars sounds better. However, the Hungarian would probably use nincsenek. I am wondering if the correct translation should not be: It is not small cars that are in the bag, but apples
Well, if you notice in your own last sentence, you also used "not" instead of "no". If it is a "NOT A BUT B" type of sentence, which this one is, it has to be "not". There is no question about it.
"There are no small cars in the bag." sounds good, yes. IF there is no "but"! My last sentence above was only an attempt to make it clearer why it must be "not".
And Hungarian can also only use "nincsenek" if there is no "but", that is, no contrasting clause. It was explained several times in earlier discussions why nincsenek cannot be used here. You can probably find some of them by searching for "nincs".
Yes, I used not, as this was the word I was specifically trying to introduce in my sentence, and for that I thought I had to build a NOT A BUT B clause. Now I detect an interesting hint about a search capability here. I am not aware of it. Where can I find and use it? Thanks again for spending the time and answering all my questions. It is highly appreciated.
No problem at all, my pleasure. Again, what I was trying to say is that we have to use "not" here. But we agree that a different word order is much better in the English sentence.
On search, you can go to the Discussion tab, select Hungarian on the right side, then you will have a tab for Sentences. And there is a search feature for these discussions. Write me directly if you need more detailed directions.
"There are no small cars in the bag but rather apples." This is a perfectly fine sentence, but nowadays we usually leave out "rather." Contemporary English is becoming more and more simplified.
Why, when I am giving exactly the answer they want, are they still telling me it's wrong? Word for word, the same translation.
My answer: No small cars are in the bag, but apples. What is wrong with this answer which was not accepted? I don't like the given "correct translation". I would prefer "but there are apples."
Is "kicsi autók" used as "toy cars" in this case, or literally as "small cars"?
What a very strange sentence! Something to replace in a post-beta version?