14 Comments
German here. I have to say that almost NOBODY would ever use this sentence like this.
The translation for "The child does not eat oranges" is "Das Kind isst keine Orangen". Even though "Das Kind isst Orangen nicht" is grammatically correct, no one would use it!
You should remove this sentence, it can confuse the people I think.
I agree, I actually learn German at university (on here to refresh me on the basics - we don't learn food at uni haha) so have learnt sentence structures etc. and other stuff, so when I saw this, I was very confused!! have NEVER learnt it this way.
"The child is not eating oranges" (Present - Now!) is different from "The child doesn't eat oranges" (Permanent situation - Forever!). To which one "Das Kind isst Orangen nicht." refers to?
There is no difference between those two tenses in German, that is why it can refer to either. So right now it does not and it probably will not in near future, but that may change as an adult, for example.
I answered with the permanent situation ("The child doesn't eat oranges"), which is marked wrong. I wonder if "Das Kind isst keine Orangen" is what one would say if the child doesn't eat oranges, not just isn't eating them now.
Almost. It would be "Das Kind isst keine Orangen", because "die Orangen" is plural. In singular it would be "keine Orange", because it is female, too.
what is the difference between 'is not eating oranges' with 'will not eat oranges'?
I think 'will not eat oranges' is like a refusal by a child and 'is not eating oranges' could be that the person in question isn't eating them at that moment...? But they could mean the same and can also mean other things.
The explanation for the position of 'nicht' says: Usually nicht follows the conjugated verb and adverbs of time: Ich esse nicht viel. (I am not eating alot). and Ich esse heute nicht. (I am not eating today).
I wonder if it right to say: Das Kind isst nicht Orangen
Why can't we say "Das Kind isst nicht Orangen"? why Nicht here at the end? thanks for the help
