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- "Η πτήση ξεκινά το πρωί."
16 Comments
A flight doesn't start, a flight departs.
No one would say 'η πτήση ξεκινά το πρωί', rather 'η πτήση αναχωρεί το πρωί'.
I agree. This is a sentence we might need to change when we start editing the new tree.
1433
Usually one can use the verb είναι, considering the departure of the flight that way. Αναχωρώ is used for airplanes etc mostly. I think so.
"the flight leaves in the morning" rather than "starts" which sounds a bit awkward.. "begins" too is wrong, i'm afraid.
That's what i was thinking; "the flight leaves" should be accepted on the grounds that it is more idiomatic than "the flight starts" (or begins).
I've added "leaves" to the correct answers. In any case this is a rather unnatural means of expression. If you check G. Georgopoulos' comment below you'll see a better version of this sentence.
I get that the English translation is a bit awkward here, but does this sentence reflect how a Greek speaker would express the concept of the flight leaving in the morning?
The most common way would be "Η πτήση είναι το πρωί", with the verb "φεύγω" being the second best choice in my opinion ;)
- 1220
Granted all the above remarks about the oddity of both E and G phrasing here, count on me to come up with yet another! Could my "the flight sets out in the morning" be added, at least until the whole shebang is revamped?
- 139
Just to drive you mad, I suggested "takes off". I think this sentence just needs to be revamped as you say earlier. Both the Greek and the English are upsetting native speakers of both!
That would be: "απογειώνεται" which would have to be "the plane takes off" but we don't use it with "flight". As G.Georgopoulos said the most natural in Greek is "Η πτήση είναι το πρωί", "The flight is in the morning."
We haven't included this in the new tree where we are trying to avoid these kinds of mistakes. Sometimes it's hard to create interesting and exact sentences when there are limits to the vocabulary and grammar we can use at each level of the course.
- 139
Ah I know. I write books in easy English for learners of English so I do sympathise. Looking at that Greek word, I'm not surprised it's off our syllabus at this stage!! Does it literally mean "from the soil"? Interesting.
Glad you get it. Yes, something like the Eng. "land" which btw in Greek is "προσγειώνω" bet that gets a smile. (there is also "προσεδαφίζω" "to the land" "το έδαφος but it's not used much).
