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- "Αυτό έχει ένα παλτό."
33 Comments
My mundane little brain put it in a shop window or clothing catalog. No, it's not an expression I'd use every day but it's not as odd as you seem to find it. Sentences without context can be confusing but just take them as linguistic Rorschach tests and look for the butterfly in each.
It only sounds strange in English, because in English pronoun "it" is usually not used for sentient beings. But remember that in Greek (as well as in a lot of other languages) words like "child", "boy", "girl" etc are all neutral.
This has a coat could be referring to a dress or suit with a matching coat.
Nice thinking that could resolve all the doubts about the meaning of this sentence. Thanks.
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I would like to ask again, why is it not correct to say "he has a coat". The "he" can refer to the boy "αυτο". In English it is perfectly okay to refer to the boy with "he"
I remember adding it in another sentence, but then I thought it'd be better not to mix up the two, because people would call the boy or girl "Αυτός/Αυτή", respectively. What I mean is this:
This (boy, He) has a coat: Αυτό το αγόρι έχει ένα παλτό--->Αυτός έχει ένα παλτό.
This (girl, she) has a coat: Αυτό το κορίτσι έχει ένα παλτό--->Αυτή έχει ένα παλτό.
'This' or 'It' has a coat? hahaha... What is 'this' or 'it', a dog, a mouse, a cat? What could be 'this' or 'it', having a coat?
First of all let me point out that we are trying to teach vocabulary and syntax to give you the ability to create your own sentences. Many of the sentences on Duo are without context so might not seem to be practical.
My thought on this sentence was that we are looking for a coat and found one in a mail-order catalog. So, "this catalog has a coat." or I have been to various stores and "I went to Macy's and it has a coat." But I'd agree with you about the animals...at least I've seen dogs with coats.
We don't love this sentence, either. Definitely no caps needed, read my comment here.
If you read the comments you'll see some very logical ways in which this sentence could be used.
Am I the only person who hears παλτό as if it has three syllables in it? So it sound like παλιτό.
Yes, it doesn't stress the last syllable much but it's not far off. Most importantly was your answer accepted because it should not be rejected due to accents?
Good for you that needed to be done. But in all the time that I've been on Duo as a learner and later moderator I've taken every chance to test the system. And if there's one thing I'm sure of it's that no sentence was ever rejected for lack of/misplaced accent, missing punctuation and or capitalization. I've tried typing whole sentences without spaces and had them accepted. That's why I'm surprised that yours was rejected. Let's hope that it's corrected soon.
I really don't like the English translation here. Αυτó (παιδί, κορίτσι, αγόρι) έχει (ένα) παλτό translates to he, she, it (perhaps a κουτάβι) has a coat. This ONE has a coat sounds normal English to me. I think all these translations should be accepted.
The word being taught here is "αυτό" which translates to "this" "it" and also "that" depending on context. But I'm afraid not "he" or "she".
If you have read the previous comments you'll note that "this one" was added a year ago. And you'll find some other possible settings for this sentence.
Thank you for your input.
