"Do you have a cell phone?"
Translation:けいたい電話をもっていますか？
51 Comments
What you said means more like "Is there a phone," whereas this sentence is "Do you have a phone in your possession"
115
No, because it's not talking about the location of the phone. Here arimasu means have. It's a perfectly valid way of asking someone if they have something and it's just as commonly used as motte imasu. In fact motte imasu is probably more accurately translated as do you have it on you right now/currently.
No it is an unnatural way to ask someone has it by using ありますか. Something that a native speaker never uses
- 675
Google "携帯があります" and it's basically all cell phone companies saying "we have phones". Yes, technically in English we translate it as have, but really it means "there are phones" or "phones exist" in their stores.
That was my first guess as well. I think a better English sentence might be "Do you carry a cell phone [with you]"
I dont know why you are getting so many downvotes. In uni, i learned "motsu" is "have" as in like holding something, and that "ga aru" can mean have, but usually means possesion.
Instead of downvoting alone, maybe leave a well constructed rebuttal alomg with where you get your info.
- 115
Either is fine BUT 電話は does sound a little clunky and is trickier to say. If I was talking with friends I would simply say けいたい 持ってる？Plain form, no particles.
- 115
Motte imasu do you have /have you got it right now? Arimasu do you have/have you got. Motte imasu is more immediate.
Does anyone else have the issue where sometimes the right particles/characters are NOT provided by Duo to select? I've run into this three times now...
First one didn't have wo(o), but second one had wa https://www.duolingo.com/comment/22896119 And third one has o again?
Could this also be: 持ちますか？ If not, is it grammatically incorrect, semantically, or both?
- 675
No, 持つ (motsu) is just one of those verbs that you need to use in the present progressive form (持っています) to mean that something is currently in one's possession (where in English we would usually just use the present tense).
As a work around it is possible to copy-and-paste text from somewhere else to get the "wo"
- 115
When it's a question with tiles to choose there is an option to switch to a keyboard and type your own answer in. I think I have only seen this on my pc though, not on my cell.
- 115
Because a phone is not a living thing and います is reserved for living things ONLY.
- 292
I consider to use the te form is equivalent to 'having" your phone on you at the time of asking.
I looked in vain for an を tile so went without it producing a perfectly natural unaccepted Japanese sentence. I failed to notice the left-over は tile, but I might not have used it. That sounds to me more like "Your cell phone. Do you have it on you?"
