"A sofőr a buszon leesik a székről."
Translation:The driver on the bus falls off the chair.
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Is it ok to say 'falling from the chair' since in English that means falls off? Or do we absolutely have to use the 'off' because of some nuance in Hungarian?
No, there is no nuance in the Hungarian sentence. Whatever feels natural to you in English.
There are no "chairs" in buses - they are "seats". And the seat is not on the bus - it is in it. (Yes, you get on a bus, but the you sit in it. On it would be on the roof)
------- in american buses, judit, the driver usually has his own private chair. the rest of us sit on benches or seats . . .
Big 28 aug 20
You mean he brings his chair with him? Or do you just mean he has a seat in front of the steering wheel?
------ his (her ) seat is, indeed, in front of the steering wheel. it's usually very permanently mounted there, bolted to the floor, but the seat part and the back (his chair ) is adjustable , up-down, forward-back, springy-harder, etc . sometimes in a private little compartment . . .
Big 28 aug 20
"The bus driver falls off the chair" sounds more natural in English. He can't be on the bus when this happens, as there are no chairs on a bus. This must have happened elsewhere.
746
Sorry Lili, that simply doesn't work at all as an explanation, and the Duo English translation is simply inappropriate. Judit is quite right - only seats exist on buses. This is because seats better expresses the idea of something fixed to the floor but chairs are always free-standing furniture. Chairs are never fixed...though some seats can be freestanding.
I take issue with the idea that seats are only "in" the bus - in the UK its perfectly OK to say you are sitting on the bus (or train or tram etc), without being on the roof.
The term "bus driver" would take a different form no doubt: "a buszi sofor" perhaps?
-------- nick if you use the reply button on Lili's post, it will stay connected to Lili's. you can copy and paste, adding it onto her post, and then delete this one.
Big 29 aug 20
Big