34 Comments
I put "See the markets" like a command and got it marked wrong. Was that a mistake?
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Because this sentence of DL is so weird. Markets can't be seen, they are virtual. I am in doubt if ever a human will say this.
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Yes, this is a sentence no one would ever see, I'm not sure why Duo concentrates on so many sentences that no one would ever use, but skips sentences that everyone uses every day!
Would this mean both a physical market, eg "I see the farmer's market from the highway". and a stock exchange market, eg "I watch the market closely because i have many investments" [where Ves can be either physically looking at OR following something/watching over something] ?
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Looking it up "mercado bursátil " = "stock market". So I assume if people were taking about financial matters beforehand they might shorten it to "mercado/s" in conversation.
elleisa, here is a helpful answer to a similar question I asked about a different sentence:
When to use articles with abstract ideas From rspreng:
From what I have been able to glean: Abstract ideas used as subjects get articles (La vida es dura, Life is hard.), but as objects they often don't unless modified: He is giving wonderful hope = la esperanza maravillosa, but only esperanza if not modified.
I'm a little confused here, ( so I'm probably wrong ). I tried "you see markets" and was rejected. I had been thinking of "markets" in the abstract sense like "commodities markets" "futures markets" etc.. Since romance languages like to have articles for abstract concepts, I thought maybe "los mercados" could mean "markets" in the abstract sense. It turns out this is not the case. So, mercados can only mean a physical store? Or the various more abstract financial markets are not consider an abstract noun in Spanish? Sorry for the confusion. For what it's worth, Google translate also thinks that "los mercados" translates simply to "markets".
I do not normally hear people say "markets" without the article in English, in both the physical and abstract senses of the word. I watch the commodities markets, the markets are now closed, I go to the market for bread.
In other news, markets plummeted today after the lackluster employment report... I guess that works, but it is usually more specific.
If you said, "I watch markets." I would think you didn't actually, or you were a non-native speaker.
"You watch the markets." seems to be the best translation here, and Duolingo accepts it.
In English, "market" and "store" can be used as synonyms for a small business, as well as for a local store that is part of a larger business or corporation. I would say that either answer is acceeptable depending on the context.
Just saying "See the markets" would be an imperative command. "You see the markets" is simple present indicative.
With questions, you can, especially in informal contexts, leave out the subject:
(Do you) see the planes?
If I understand you correclty, you're asking why usted ves los mercados is not correct? The Answer is: The formal forms require the use of the third person. So it usted ve or ustedes ven for plural, but never usted ves or ustedes veis.
That is backwards "tú ves" is informal or familiar form and "usted ve" or "ustedes ven" are formal (although in much of South America "usted" is used for both formal and informal). http://spanish.about.com/od/pronouns/a/you.htm
Thanks, corrected it. I can't say much about South America because my Spanish experiense comes from Spain.
I think the informal or familiar is the second line in the conjugation chart, tu. Usted is in the third line with he and she.
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"Ves" (the informal, familiar form for tú) is what is listed as correct at the top of this page.
I heard 'des' rather than 'ves', even with the slowed down version. But my brain should have told me that this was not possible...
The "tu" is implied but not said . It would be easier for us whilst we are learning - for Duo to leave it in, - but he thinks his role in life is to make our lives difficult - and he's already a bit too good at that.
I answered this in the singular "I see the market" thinking it was one of those cases where Spanish uses a plural where English would use a singular like "vacaciones." Is that wrong? Maybe it's just me, but in English using "markets" in the plural in this context seems awkward. My intuition is that if they are close enough together that you can see them all, then it is just one big market.
I feel like the "v" is cut off in the normal audio, so I keep putting "Es el mercado".
In Elnglish "you" is often excluded. the translation " see the markets" should be accepted.
