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- "No, I do not like the lamp."
"No, I do not like the lamp."
Translation:Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht.
138 Comments
I entered "Nein, ich mag nicht die Lampe" and it was marked incorrect. If this isn't just another duoLingo glitch, what about the syntax of my sentence makes it wrong?
'nicht' makes it wrong. The syntax needs nicht at the end. It is: Subject, verb, object, nicht, where object and subject might be switched, as you see it above. If you have a compound verb, nicht is placed before the second part of the verb: Ich kann heute nicht kommen.
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You may have had some other error. I just now (28Mar20) answered with: "Nein, ich mag die Lampe nicht" and was marked correct.
So (Nein ich mag die lampe nicht and Nein die lampe ich mag nicht are correct answers ?? the important thing is nicht must be at the end of the sentence ?
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The most important thing is that the verb needs to be in the 2nd position (apparently "Nein" doesn't count, btw - an interjection, I guess). So your second sentence doesn't work.
I marked Nein Ich mag die lamp nicht and it's wrong answer on January 2021
Hi! Can you give us feedback? Redd.16Yo asked you a question about your course, you can find it below. Thanks and have a nice day!
hey, can i contact you. and ask you some questions about how good you will be after finishing the whole german course. because i can see here that you already finished it... do you have like. discord, facebook or something. or you can just right on here. thank you.
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I finished the Spanish and am at about the level called B2, or the end of the second year of college Spanish. I think the German would be similar. I ended feeling like a beginner but able to read newspapers and simple fiction.
I would like to know that too. We need to answer for her comment. Maybe that's why she didn't answer.
But I put that and was marked incorrect (without the question mark of course)
nein, ich mag die lampe nicht nein, die lampe mag ich nicht i understand it. But when i want say : the lamp do not like me, how to say?
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me! I greatly appreciate it.
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I have been marked wrong before when writing Sub. verb. nicht. Obj., telling me that it should be Sub. verb. Obj. nicht. There is no absolute rule for this, and even though someone in a comment section on a previous exercise that it depends on what exactly is negated, this does not solve the question or explain why any of us were marked incorrect for this question (I answered the same as the person above by the way).
just a side question ,I have heard someone say that it can be placed that way but it will mean some more emphasis on the not , is that correct ?
How is "mag" composite? And am I correct in thinking that for other non-composite verbs, nicht can come right after the verb, as in "Ich bin nicht ein Hund"?
Early on duolingo taught learners that a sentence like "Ich bin nicht ein Hund" is an acceptable sentence construction. With this example here, however, I wonder if the fact that this more complex sentence, which contains a direct object, dictates the need to place "nicht" at the end. Anyone want to comment on this?
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I can't get why nicht sometimes follows a verb immediately and other times is at the end of the sentence. The split verb issue is one reason for the difference but other times it's just random.
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Not actually random; there are rules, you just haven't learned them yet. As with most things German, they are a bit complicated (I certainly haven't internalized them all yet). One or more of these may help:
https://chatterbug.com/grammar/german/position-of-nicht
https://learnoutlive.com/german-negation-nicht/
https://resources.german.lsa.umich.edu/grammatik/nicht/
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I gave you a lingot. I shouldn't have been so dismissive. I know it's not random. It's just that I kept thinking I understood the rule, and then it would change and I was frustrated. Nicht and the adverb/verb position switches are actually more problematic for me than declentions and inflections are if you can believe that. Thank you.
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Also, because nicht issues led me to "separable" and "inseparable" verbs. I offer the following as a beautiful resource for understanding how to deal with them. https://www.fluentu.com/blog/german/german-separable-verbs/
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Haha, thanks. I can certainly empathize with your frustration. Sometimes I read a new sentence and wonder if German was deliberately devised as some sort of secret code.
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Ah, thanks. Yes, separable verbs, another tricky one. And I still need cheat sheets to help me figure out which endings to use on adjectives and articles. I can just see me now, on a sidewalk in Hamburg, sifting through bits of paper as I try to construct a recognizable sentence....
Me too Duolingo had to explain to us what this statement is
I blame Duolingo about this
Die lampe mag ich nicht. Why is the object at the beginning of the sentence instead of subject. I know that would also be correct but can someone help me learn the logic behind this?please.
You have a choice here, Duolingo accepts both "Ich mag die Lampe nicht" and "Die Lampe mag ich nicht" as correct, the difference is in the emphasis. If you want to accentuate that it is YOU who doesn't like it, you say the first one (that's more common, I would say). If you want to put more emphasis on the object, as in "THIS LAMP is what I don't like", you use the second. I hope that helps.
Oh can I like this answer 5 more times?!? THANK YOU!! I've been reading through all the comments in this type of lesson looking for this explanation. My hero!
Indeed, quite a few German words and expressions resemble old English, for example: thou hast - du hast.
I entered "nein, ich mag keine Lampe" and it marked my sentence as wrong. Warum?!
I typed in "Nein, mag ich nicht die Lampe." Can someone please explain to me why this isn't correct?
The verb must be in second position, plus nicht must come last. In your sentence mag is in the first position of the sentence. Both "Nein, ich MAG die Lampe NICHT" and "Nein, die Lampe MAG ich NICHT" are correct.
Thanks! I got confused on verb position, because I thought that 'nein', even though I see why it can't be now, was the beginning element of the sentence. Lol, I was so mad last night because I couldn't figure out what I did wrong...
It would be really helpful to know when something "counts" as occupying a position. It seems "Nein" doesn't here, but some other "little" words do, it seems. Are there any general rules?
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I think of it this way: the major elements of the sentence - subject, verb, object - are usually the first, second and third elements. The subject isn't just the bare word, like, say, Milch. It could include an article or other modifier. It could even be a whole subordinate clause. But it is the subject of the sentence. Objects, too, can be more than one word, but they are a conceptual unit. Subjects and objects can be in the first or third position, but, in a declarative sentence (not a question), the verb is always in the second position. Oh, and, as far as I have been able to work out, conjunctions just don't count in the designation of position.
I think I have that right. German-speaking persons, please correct or confirm.
How will I ever remember when to put "ich" almost at the end of the sentence and when not to??
So, how do you know when to use "Nein, ich mag die Lampe nicht." or "Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht."?
Read the answer above your:
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/191954?comment_id=31584762
Or this:
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/191954?comment_id=3044888
I tried, "Nein, ich mag die Lampe nicht" and it didn't work. Since the 'nicht' is at the end, shouldn't this work? It would translate to, "No, I like the lamp not" which is how it usually would work.
If anyone has trouble with this, take a look at the children's story in "Struwwelpeter" about the boy who won't eat his soup and gets skinnier and skinnier daily until he dies (as one does in old German kids' books)
"Ich esse keine Suppe! Nein! Ich esse meine Suppe nicht! Nein, meine Suppe esse ich nicht!"
He's trying to say that he doesn't like lamps (obviously not very clear).
@Skyio1: you use "Ich gern(e)" when you like doing something. In other words,it's used for verbs.Not for nouns,as here (die Lampe).For that you use "Ich mag".
How does one tell the difference of when "dass, das, die, or der" is used grammatically?
I put Nein, Ich nicht mag die Lampe, but it was marked incorrect while when I hovered over the words with my mouse, it said what I said.
Both answers are correct, it's just a matter of word order. In Duolingo's answer, there is more emphasis on the lamp while your answer emphasizes the subject.
No, the lamp, like I don't. Can someone please explain the German Syntax?
Hey! I'm sure this might be late, but typically I've noticed that its subject, verb, and object being affected. In this example, Nein is sort of like its own part. Then, "ich mag die Lampe nicht" is Ich (I) subject, mag (like in Ich form) for verb in second position always, and die Lampe for the object being affected. Nicht is at the end to negate the verb. Hope that helps! Vielglück!
When you say "Nicht is at the end to negate the verb" - shouldn't then "nicht" come right after the verb (which it negates)?
I wrote " Nein ich mag Licht nicht " It was reported incorrect on 20 October 19.
If that´s exactly what you wrote, it´s probably because you used Licht vs "die Lampe". Vielglück!
I think because the verb must always be second position. Imagine it as "Nein. Ich mag die Lampe nicht." In the sense that after the comma is a new sentence. Hope that helps, and vielglück!
come on, the order in real german doesnt matter. "nein, ich mag nicht die lampe" "nein, die lampe ich mag nicht" "Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht." is the same thing.
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Order does matter, just not in the same ways as in English. In German, the verb needs to be in the second position, therefore your second sentence does not work. The other two are correct.
ohh I see ..
(1) "ich mag keine Lampe" means "I don't like any lamps."
The "Lampe" here means all the lamps.
(2) while "ich mag die Lampe nicht" or "die Lampe mag ich nicht" means "I don't like the lamp."
And "die Lampe" here means a specific lamp.
Hope it's helpful for you ;-)
But it doesn't let you say, "Nein, ich mag die Lampe nicht" even though it is technically correct.
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The answer is confusing. Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht to me it translate like "the lamp does not like me".
"nein, ich mag die lampe nicht" is still marked as incorrect. Is it always this way for plurals? If not it makes zero sense. Unless it's a mistake on Duolingo's part.
Yeah I screwed up there. I was tired. Six nights a week. Still, it should except my answer though, as literally every other similar sentence has had the same formula. I got it. Then this happens.
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Hello, greetings from Corona time 9th of June 2020
I understood that it can be either:
"Nein, Ich mag die Lampe nicht" --> usual!
"Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht" --> so unusual & 1st time to see!
From what I understand from the 2nd one is "No, the lamp doesn't love me"
Am I the only one?
Somebody explain plz!
Thank you and stay safe
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Both sentences mean the same thing. You can tell, because "ich" is only used as the subject in a sentence, wherever you find it. I'm told that the difference in meaning is more or less that the second sentence emphasizes it is the lamp, and not some other thing, that I don't like.
If it were the lamp doesn't love me, "me" would be the object of the sentence, therefore in the accusative case, therefore "die Lampe mag mich nicht".
Why doesn't "Nein, die Lampe mag ich nicht" work? It should be correct if I'm using "ich" instead of "mich" right?
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Here is a comment from further up this page:
You have a choice here, Duolingo accepts both "Ich mag die Lampe nicht" and "Die Lampe mag ich nicht" as correct, the difference is in the emphasis. If you want to accentuate that it is YOU who doesn't like it, you say the first one (that's more common, I would say). If you want to put more emphasis on the object, as in "THIS LAMP is what I don't like", you use the second. I hope that helps.
Perhaps you had a typo?
Again, I don't see what is wrong with the word order in my translation.
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You would need the dative form, "Nein, die Lampe gefällt mir nicht". I don't guarantee that Duo has this version in its list of accepted answers, though.
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"Nein, die lampe nicht gefallen mir" was not accepted. Can anyone help me with why this might be incorrect?
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"Lampe" is a noun and so has to be capitalized, you have the wrong conjugation for "gefallen", and "nicht" needs to go at the end. So it would be, "Nein, die Lampe gefällt mir nicht". I don't guarantee Duo has that version in its database for this exercise, though.
Come on man, "the lamp like i not" is just insane. It would have been so easy to say "ich mag nicht die lampe" but no, it's german so it has to be hard and evil.
