"The water is in a glass."

[jeanprendiville]

Do you have to use μέσα in this sentence? Is " το νερό είναι σε ένα ποτήρι" sufficent? I always think of "μέσα" as being inside of and "σε" αs being simply in. Is this wrong?

[D_..]

You could omit μέσα, but in keeping with the as-close-as-possible translation I guess you shouldn't or it upsets the system! :) Σε on its own is not "in" strictly speaking though. It can replace many English prepositions (see here).

[jeanprendiville]

Thanks D, thanks for the clarification, it does indeed seem like a fine line. In the note it translates " it" as "to,at,for,on" as you said but in the examples it gives " μέσα στο (or στο) αυτοκίνητο. i shall bow to Duo.

[Marva441926]

If the full, correct translation of "in" in this case is μέσα σε, then the dictionary hints ought to show that.

Also, it would be helpful if the Notes & Tips section would mention the many uses of από and of σε, especially as combined with other prepositions. The current list of prepositions is actually a little misleading.

[Stergi3]

Briefly, το νερό είναι σε ένα ποτήρι. But I don't remember a case I used this phrase. Maybe in a Chemistry lab :)

[jeanprendiville]

"The water is in a glass, the vodka is in the jug" Could be?

[Kalikur]

I put 'το νερό είναι μέσα στο ποτιρι' which was marked wrong. Is this because i said the water is in the glass, not a glass?

[Thanasis61]

Μέσα στο ποτήρι=In the glass, Μέσα σε ένα ποτήρι=In a glass.
"Ποτίρι" is wrong, although you may see it rarely.

[G.Georgopoulos]

Watch the spelling of "ποτήρι" ;)

[Jon345104]

Normally would σε ένα be σ'ένα

[G.Georgopoulos]

In oral communication, yes, but it's usually spelled "σε ένα".