31 Comments
I have not seen this in Greek before I would expect the article to be there and so left it out deliberately in my answer, as I have found that some fo the 'correct' answers are in slightly odd English
In some cases, the article for singular countable nouns is ommited in Greek. For you to always be sure whether or not to add the article in english, check if the english translation makes sense without the article as well (in this case, it doesn't.) One of these cases is probably when the object of the sentence is supposed to be only one (based on logic), so the article is implied instead of added.
exp. "I'm eating an apple - Τρώω ένα μήλο/Τρώω μήλο",
"I'm writing a book - Γράφω ένα βιβλίο/Γράφω βιβλίο",
"I'm watching a film - Βλέπω μία ταινία/Βλέπω ταινία". I hope this helped a bit. :)
If the article is omitted in Greek does it always equate to an indefinite article in English?
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My answer is "I do not write book", as in greek there is no article. Why is this wrong?
Yes, but we need to have the English correct. In English we use "a" so we must use it in the sentence.
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Wouldn't anyone say "I do not write books" here though rather than "I do not write a book"?
In English, yes. However, this is not the case in Greek. Sometimes, singular is prefered oven plural, even when the statement is general. ^.^
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But in translation, we would have to use the plural in English in order for the grammar to be correct.
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Not necessarily, because it carry the English meaning of progressive action: "I am not writing a book." (Imagine the response to the question, "How is your book coming along?" e.g., "No, you are thinking of my brother, the novelist. I am not writing a book!")
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You can say this in the progressive, but you cannot say this in the simple present. Duo's answer is wrong. In the simple present, you would respond, "No, that's my brother. I do not write books."
Li, I cannot think of any example when 'book' without an article or other defining/descriptive word is possible. 'Books', yes, but 'book' , no.
The same is true with all normal singular countable nouns. (I hope!!)
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Where’s the indefinite article?
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I understand "I'm not writing a book" is right, but shouldn't "I don't write books" be also accepted? Can't this sentence also convey this meaning? Because it seems to me that singular direct objects in greek can also mean general ideas that in english would be written in plural, like "Τρώω μήλο". Is that correct?
Perhaps "Τρώω μήλο" is not a good example because 'apple' and 'an apple' and 'apples' are all possible in English, where 'apple' is the stuff or the flavour. In other words, in 'I eat apple', 'apple' is the stuff, not the fruit, whereas in Greek, 'Τρώω μήλο' means "I am eating an apple'.
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Actually, it's the same situation. We can say, "I don't eat apples," and "I'm not eating an apple," but we can't say, "I don't eat an apple." The word being plural or singular in Greek shouldn't matter to the translation unless it's what makes you use the progressive instead of the simple present (since they're the same in Greek).
"My brother eats an apple for breakfast every day. I don't eat an apple I eat a banana." Notice how with context it's possible.
In this case as well you could use. "I'm not eating an apple."
Singular or plural make a great difference in both languages. You could not have used "books" here since the Greek was singular. You could, however, have said "I am not writing a book." which is one of the correct translations in our database.
"I don't write books." would need to be plural "βιβλία" in that the Greek and the English are the same.
"I dont write a book" was the suggested translation but to me this doesn't sound quite right in English. Wouldn't "I am not writing a book" be better?
Yes, "I am not writing a book." is also an accepted answer. Was it rejected? It shouldn't have been. Where you on the web or the app and in which part of the lesson did it occur? Strengthen skill e.g?
Do you mean it was rejected on strengthen skills? On the web, Android or iOS?
No, sorry I think there's a misunderstanding. It wasn't rejected - I wrote a different (incorrect) answer which was rejected. However the suggested correct translation was then given as "I don't write a book". My suggestion was that the correct suggested translation should be "I am not writing a book" since this is more acceptable in normal English
Oh, that's ok. I just moved "I am not writing a book." to the preferred accepted translation. No harm done and it is more natural. Thanks.
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I am on the web in the regular lesson and using the word bank. Only the English sentence with incorrect grammar is possible.
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I am surprised by the accent on in βιβλίο because it sounds to my ear more like βιβλιό.
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The English is wrong. It should be "I do not write books." You can't use the present tense and a singular object in the negative in this way.
Without context, the sentence does sound odd. But it is still correct.
