"Did a bird just chirp?"
Translation:今、鳥が鳴きましたか？
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Why are we using 今 here? Isn't 今 now? This sentence is in the past tense, right? Can anyone please clarify my confusion?
Because we end with ました. Indicating past tense. So 今 becomes "Now of the past". Which Duo describes as "just now".
If you come here asking why it uses が not は: you are introducing a new subject.
Because the bird did the action. If you used を you would have said something like "I chirped the bird just now". Because を indicates the direct object the verb is acting on.
Perhaps because 「鳴る」(to chirp) is not a transitive verb? Particle「を」requires an object. Master Roshi can explain this better...
It is not a transitive verb, but even if it was you would still use が here instead of を:
今、鳥が鳴きましたか？
"Did a bird just chirp?"
--
今、鳥を鳴きましたか？ [example only, 鳴く is not a transitive verb]
"Did you just chirp a bird?"
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今、鳥が鳥を鳴きましたか？ [example only, 鳴く is not a transitive verb]
"Did a bird just chirp a bird?"
I'm confused with the kanji for 「とり」. It looks a lot like the kanji for 「うま」to me.
I differentiate them by seeing the little dot on the top of the 鳥 kanji as a feather on the top of their head.
鳥 (とり) the bird with a feather on its head.
馬 (うま) the horse runs with its mane flying in the wind.
魚 (さかな) the fish with a fin on its back.
今、鳥が鳴きましたか ？ "Just now, a bird chirped, it did?" _Yoda-sensei
I (personally) find that studying Japanese grammar is easier if you turn the English translation into Yoda-speak.
(It's 鳴いた)
Using ばかり or ところ here doesn't sound correct because it puts the emphasis on the time since the chirping; therefore it makes it sound like you're asking if it was just now that the bird chirped.
You could maybe use たった今 to put an emphasis on the "just", but it's really not necessary.
it sounds awkward when saying it in english, but it would still mean 'did the bird just chirp' the now part just is specifiying the time.
How do i report that the word selections given cannot be combined to create the correct sentence? I had to use the keyboard entry because there was no か for me to use only が???????
The 今 identifies as "just". Thats so freking confusing. WhY cAn'T tHeY uSe JuSt NoW????
Why must ima be put at the beginning of the sentence ? I wrote tori ga ima nakimashita ka, and it was rejected, why ?
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The Duo answer: did a bird just sing now, is completely different to the actual question of: Did a bird just chirp?
Duo: 今、鳥が鳴きましたか？ GT: 鳥はただ鳴きましたか?