"まだいえにかえってはいけません。"
Translation:You cannot go home yet.
51 Comments
its because the conjugation at the end is a special case. the subject is you because its a command spoken at someone
Sometimes it's difficult to learn on Duolingo without any lesson or explanation at all.. Thank you for the hint
This course definitely needs a textbook on the side. I work my way through Duolingo and use Genki next to it. Practicing on DL experience makes the Genki chapters very easy, and when I encounter something new in DL I can get an in-depth explanation in Genki.
That said, I think the course could still add some more grammatical info. There are a small handful that do and it makes it way easier to get started.
You can find Genki on Amazon, or check your local bookstores and libraries for it.
Not only is this not true (when you say "i can't yet go home' you are expressing the ability or capacity to do so, not commanding yourself- まだ帰れない) but this is also 丁寧語 which wouldn't be used to talk to yourself
Good point, but if you are explaining to someone else that you can't go home would you still be polite?
@Goren
There are reflexive pronouns (じぶん for oneself) and you can add じしん at the end of other pronouns for "(noun)self", but I'm not sure if that is what you are asking...
In English i cannot go home yet describes a capacity to go home while 'you cannot go home yet' typically describes a command. Similarly, in japanese てわいけない is an imperative form forbidding an action... Which doesn't make sense to say to yourself
That is not necessarily an imperative/command form. It's a simple statement that you could be saying to someone else (or yourself, though you might not say it so politely to yourself). You could say to a coworker: "I mustn't go home yet as I still have work to do" or "I must not eat this chocolate since I'm on a diet". Also, the particle wa is written as は.
ってはいけない is a form that says that someone must do something literally (verb-ing will not do). ex: 明日テストがあるからちこくしてはいけない。There's a test tomorrow so you can't be late. You take any verb +ってはいけない（For する verbs it's verb +してはいけない）
Well, you also have to use the correct -て form for each verb + はいけない. For example, 遊ぶ (to play) would be 遊んではいけない.
For me -てはいけません is for "must not" (forbidden) and -なければなりません is for "must"/"have to". Ex: 行ってはいけません。 I can't go (it is impossible/forbidden) 行かなければなりません。I have to go (must)
This is correct. While I was in the Kansai area it seemed like I rarely heard the ~なければならない construction. Instead, people usually opted for ~てはいけない with a negative verb root as in 行かなくてはいけません.
Because it's an order. In English, the base form of verbs are used for orders, but in Japanese you use the -て form. For example, 「帰って！」 would be "Go home!".
It's wrong. While this form can be an order, this is a specific construction saying "It is forbidden to..."
That's at least not common English. It's arguably correct, but I'm ok with it not being accepted. The standard English is You cannoy go home yet.
~ てはいけない or ~ てはいけません means someone tells / informs / order another person not to do or something is not allowed. This grammar construction is never used standalone to describing ownself unless you append other grammar if you want to talk about yourself
It should be since the context does not specify if you are talking about yourself or to somebody
ーてはいけません form is usually translated as "you must not do...", meaning a strong prohibition, like rules or regulations. That's why this sentence cannot be translated as "I cannnot go home yet".
I always understand kaite instead of kaette. Am I hearing the sounds wrongly?
From what I understand ni is used to indicate the verb is targetting a location. In this case いえ, home, is the location.
is "You cannot go back home yet." correct? it marked me wrong for that answer.
Alternative まだ家に帰られません
What you're asking is either incorrect or incomplete. What I think you're actually asking about is removing 家に from the sentence (i.e. the part that specifies where you're returning to: your home). I believe 帰る just means to return somewhere. It can and often is used in context of returning to your home, but that's not a guarantee, so we use the 家に to specify.
Using 帰る without 家に is extremely common as it is implied and assumed by any listening that you are returning home. It is so common in fact that in jisho.com one of the definitions for 帰る is "to come home". Saying 家に is completely unnecessary. The only thing necessary is Japanese grammar is a verb. The objects, subject, and topic can all be taken from context.
