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- "My father has eight siblings…
"My father has eight siblings."
Translation:父は兄弟が八人います。
60 Comments
normally when you count something in japanese the number stands with the verb. like when you order two drinks or whatever you would say ~を2ください.
in your case with the number in front of the object it would be connected with a の: 8人の兄弟
and the particle for kyoudai is the ga.
at leats thats what i have learned so far
Kyodai in japanese includes oneself.ie there are 8 siblings would translate as mother has 7 siblings in english
Could you put the number before siblings? Is there a different grammer for putting a counter before the noun?
I know this is old but it's also wrong
Duo uses 2 structures in these sections, which you can use to count things in Japanese
「父は『兄弟が』『八人→います』」
「父は『八人の兄弟』がいます」
are both correct, you can even skip the の particle in the second example and it's correct but duolingo doesn't let you because this is only common in speech and no that much in text.
More about this: https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/japanese-grammar/how-japanese-counting-systems-work-in-a-sentence/
When referring to your own father you do not use the o before chichi. Not-using "O" is used to sound more polite or humble. It is basically to not elevate your own father above someone else's. (That is good manners) However it is correct to use the O before chichi if talking about someone else's father.
I think you're making two errors: 1) You have to use 人 as a counter when you count people. Your sentence has no counter. 2) If you say "(noun) + ga + imasu" you mean "there is a (noun)" or "I have a (noun)" (in absence of more context, I guess the first person is always implicit). In this sentence, you first set the topic in "(my) father" and then you say "he has eight siblings". See http://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/あります-versus-います/
There are multiple correct ways to say the given sentences usually. There will have been a way to form the sentence using the original characters you were given.
Obviously, ideally, you wouldn't be given a separate "correct answer" than the one you were able to make, even though they are both acceptable translations. Just a case of Duo not being totally flawless.
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When talking to someone outside your family, you shouldn't use honorific language in reference to yourself or to members of your own family, because it sounds like you are boasting about how honourable your family is.
in「父は『兄弟が』『八人→います』」the counter is directly modifying the verb, is an expression of extent, "siblings exists to the extent of eight".
in「父は『八人の兄弟』がいます」which assume is the other structure you have seen in duo, is a noun being modified by a counter, 八人 is modifying 兄弟、This is not as common as the first one, the difference here is that you can express delimitation (not necessarily) with the second one, while the first one is just a normal counting. What is delimitation? consider the difference between these sentences:
「兄弟が2人います」"brothers exists to the extent of 2"
「2人の兄弟がいます」"brothers exists to the point of 2"
「りんごを2個食べます」"I will eat apples to the extent of 2"
「2個のりんごを食べます」"I will eat the 2 apples"
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You would use "chichi" when talking to someone outside your family about your own father.
You would use "otōsan" (note the long "o"), which is an example of honorific language, when referring to someone's else's father, to show respect.
When talking to someone outside your family, you shouldn't use honorific language in reference to yourself or to members of your own family, because it sounds like you are boasting about how honourable your family is.
我が is the combination of 我 (a first-person archaic pronoun) and が which used to be the "genitive case" in old Japanese (の now takes its place in modern Japanese).
This sounds very old-fashioned to me and it's often heard in dramas and seen in literary works, so 我が父 would probably be used how you would use "my dear father" in English. You use that wording to imply that there is something special in it. Most of the time it's used for 我が国 "our dear country", 我ら "Us (in a very formal tone)" or 我が子 "my dear child". Those are not literal translations but is how I understand that they are used. I could see「我が父は姉弟が8人います」working, but it would probably strike as a weird wording for normal conversation.
Here is an extract from the wiki that I think it could be useful to you:
"This is a fossilized phrase, and usage is somewhat restricted. Carries old-fashioned connotations, and suggests a favorable view of the following noun. When used in reference to an organization, the speaker must be a member of that organization."
1377
Yet another out of place segment. This has nothing to do with telling time. This sentence was in this lesson. https://www.duolingo.com/skill/ja/Time/practice