"The water is deep and clear."
Translation:El agua es profunda y clara.
35 Comments
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Ah! but water ("agua") is feminine! Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed "a" take the masculine article, "el," in the singular. This is similar to using "an" before "apple" in English
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A clarification popped up on this example in the lesson explaining what you have said. It must be a recent addition. I like it.
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Thank you for that. The latin aqua is feminine, so I wondered why it was el agua.
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Been at this for months now and think it's the first time I've come across this. Great explanation, thank you very much!!!
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I always have trouble with stuff like this. The system accepted my incorrect use of masculine adjectives though.
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Yeah, it did. Maybe because it couldn't discern enough of a difference when I said the words?
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Learn something new every day. I'll look for a speaking section.
... and found it. Home/(head icon)/edit profile/account/microphone on. ...and now I remember thinking that would drive my wife nuts.
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With the microphone; it was a speaking section. I said, "El agua es profundo y claro." and it was accepted.
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I started out using the microphone feature, then turned it off early on when the system couldn't ever pick up anything I said. It was very frustrating. Then I got a new microphone and started using that part of the lesson again. Maybe it'll work out for you to turn it back on again sometime? The speaking practice is quite helpful.
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I think "esta" should work here too. I couldn't decide whether the water is always deep and clear (ser), or just at the moment (estar).
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I agree. While in many places the deepness of the water is constant, it may quickly change in other places (e.g., tides, flash floods), thus using "estar" would also make sense. Water clarity is really easy to mess with, so my choice would be "estar" regardless.
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It is a bit confusing because I wrote la agua and got as a comment that agua is masculine... Here there are correct explanations of what is wrong but I will report this as a wrong explanation of the correction.
Did I miss something or was "clara" not even listed as a possible translation of "clear"?
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Agreed. I don't remember learning this word before and was bummed to lost a heart because the possible translations didn't include this.
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agua = Concrete Noun «feminine» Note: This type of noun requires the masculine article when in the singular and feminine article in the plural. Adjectives are always in feminine. El agua + <feminine Adj.> , las aguas <<in the plural>> [As per Word Magic Dictionary]
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Why not "honda". Thats how Honduras got its name from Columbus who complained about the "deep" waters.
Thanks to those who explained the use of "el" before accented first syllables starting with "a" or "ha." I've studied Spanish on and off for almost 40 years, and I still am amazed when I learn something for the first time.
Thanks to 341 for the clarification. I used claro and profundo in this and was marked wrong. Now I see.
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I knew it had to be "el" because of the way Duolingo sets up these questions now. In short, if two choices read "el" and one "la", "el" must be correct. But now i know why :)
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"Agua" is not masculine, it is feminine. Read more of this thread for explanations (from Hacu, below, for example) .