"Le lait est blanc."

Translation:The milk is white.

February 19, 2013

12 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/MarkoHablo

This sounds unnatural. "Milk is white" would be a better translation


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/adysah

I agree. All milk is white so there is no need for the definite article to specify it.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/daymann

"Johnny, there's there's a glass of milk and a glass of pee on the table. The milk is white."


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/10goC
  • 1054

Ok, but as I see it, "milk is white" should also be correct.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/n6zs

Of course, and it is accepted.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/n6zs

It's not better; it is just different. The sentence is completely correct with or without "the" and both versions are accepted. We are aware that francophones speaking English may have a tendency to use "the" when it seems unnatural to do so in English.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/-Sapphira-

well, not all milk is white . . . what about chocolate milk?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Paper-Tiger

Different... Then you would specify, chocolate milk is white.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/CherylPrice2014

I think it should be 'milk is white'


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/mottaise

Basically, the translation of 'milk is white' is 'le lait est blanche' isn''t it? so it has to be accepted as correct (all milk is white, not just some of it). Or am I way off base?


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/brigids.em

Not quite: "blanche" is the feminine form, but milk is masculine ("le lait", not "la"). The masculine form is "blanc", so we need "Le lait est blanc." All vs. some milk isn't the issue -- the gender of milk in French is.

Ex.: Le lait est blanc. ... but: La vache est blanche.

The le/la tells us whether the noun is masculine or feminine. (Honestly, 'un' or 'une' is even more reliable for learning the gender of a noun, but that's a separate issue, and 'le'/'la' makes more sense in this context.)


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/CondeFombrilac

Why is milk in Spanish feminine and in French masculine?

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