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- "Η αράχνη δεν μιλάει."
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From Wikipedia: Ο Spider-Man (ελληνική μεταφορά: Άνθρωπος Αράχνη, πραγματικό όνομα: Peter Benjamin Parker)
1993
You can break all my 8 legs, but i still won't speak! The secret dies with me! Spider's honour!
That's why I put "The spider isn't talking"… – and it ranks as OK!
No difference in meaning.
δεν is the older form. It is still used before vowels and before some consonants (π τ κ μπ ντ γκ ψ ξ τσ τζ), while the shorter form δε is used before other consonants (β δ γ μ ν λ ρ φ θ χ and any I might have forgotten).
It's a bit like English "an" which got shortened into "a" before consonants -- there's no difference in meaning there, either.
This sentence should be δε μιλάει by current spelling standards, as μ is not one of the consonants where the ν remains. But it's a bit difficult to change the course at this point.
I think what Austin_Texas wanted to say is that the pattern when to use δεν resp. δε is not logical.
I think the logic behind it is that you use δεν before vowels and before plosive consonants (b (represented by μπ), d (represented by ντ), g, k, ks (represented by ξ) p, ps (represented by ψ), t and ts (represented by τσ)).
Correct me if I'm wrong, it's just a guess.
So it's δεν before vowels, stops (plosives) and affricates, but δε before fricatives and sonorants? That isn't such a complex rule. An affricate is "really" a stop consonant opened into a fricative, so it makes sense that the τσ and τζ follow the pattern for stops. It is interesting that the vowels follow the pattern of the stop consonants, though.
What about γ when it's pronounced as [j]? I can't think of any verb that begins with γ right now, but surely some exist? Would you negate it with δε or with δεν?
δεν threw me off at first, because Attic Greek (ancient) likes to balance sentences with μεν...δε which is not translated or translatable and the δε is never a negative. Currently, I'm trying to get used to when modern Greek adds a letter to the end with the common words δε and καφέ. The explanation from mizinamo is helpful and can be gotten from a standard grammar, but sometimes the inductive method of just trying to get a feel for when to add a letter to the end can be useful for a beginner. I don't yet have a feel for when to add the letter.
Roughly "on the one hand ... on the other hand".
It's still used in Modern Greek (as a deliberate loan from Ancient Greek).
For example, οι μεν άντρες είναι πολλοί, οι δε γυναίκες είναι λίγες "the men are many but the women are few / the men (on the one hand) are many; the women (on the other hand) are few".
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I answered "the spider don't speak" and got rong!!! I am here to learn greek not english. I would much more prefer to use my own languagd but it is not supported! I think i will sonn spend more time with english than Greek
I answered "the spider don't speak" and got rong!
Yes. That is not a correct sentence.
Duolingo can't actually speak English, Greek, or any other language.
It can only compare words -- is the sentence that a learner typed in on the list of accepted translations or not?
If it isn't, then it's marked wrong. Even if a native speaker would have understood you.
I think i will sonn spend more time with english than Greek
That's a very good idea, especially if you still struggle with such basics as which verb endings to use on "do".