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- "We are warm."
"We are warm."
Translation:Uns ist warm.
168 Comments
1877
Yes. We haven't even been introduced to the dative yet. Trick questions represent bad or lazy pedagogy.
709
When frustrated by these things, and i am too, it helps to remember that this is free, they put tons of work into it and ee should be grateful to have it.
404
Free? Yes and no. If you don't pay, they harass you with requests to upgrade. If you do pay, there are perks, but it's not free.
We all "pay", in our own way.
Duolingo shows ads, either for the paid version or for other companies. Ads are an essential feature of internet life, and they allow companies to create and allow people to access incredible stores of information without having to pay a cent or travel somewhere. If you see ads as "harassment", you have a severe misunderstanding of internet society. Be thankful that there is even an option to not use Duolingo Plus.
Totally I agree, too difficult for the point we are now. I live in Germany (and I'm using Duoling as a complement of other self-learning methods) and even though that structure "Mir ist schlecht" are indeed more than just "common", such structure to me sounds a bit more difficult than just "dative".
Dative forms (as akkusative) as far as my knowledge goes, are used only in "object" elements, not in the subject. So to me, the confusing part of that sentence is... where is the subject? Do we have a subject taking a dative form? or (to my understanding more probable) are we dealing with some kind of impersonal form?
147
I think I will remember this phrase much better than some of the ones I have been spoon-fed. Maybe it is part of a test to see how we learn.
237
Spot on! My German girlfriend has been brow beating me this "difference" of translation continuously. I've almost got it down pat now! We just need to remember that German uses DATIV when a person is affected...not just as in a general comment.
299
Questions, tricky questions, make a positive imprint, like in real life. One gets up and remebers the obstacle.
Just remember, this is a free app that is aiding you in a life skill. I find it difficult to criticize something, for a service of which I do not have to pay for.
Just remember, sensations one feels that are derived from something else are generally going call for the dative. I cannot generate cold, that is something the snow or wind provides. I cannot generate warmth, that is something the sun or fire provides. I cannot generate pleasure if nothing provides it, that is up to a concert, a gift, or a new puppy (gefallen). I cannot generate boredom if nothing provides it, that is up to a monotone professor, or watching the grass grow (langweilig).
If you think about it "Ich bin gut." and "Mir geht es gut." sort of have a different meaning even though they both arguably mean "I am well."
You can think of "Ich bin gut." as "In my current state, I am on the positive end of things, life, etc."
You can think of "Mir geht es gut." as "All that is affecting me at this point, I am currently well."
Its subtle and a listener wouldn't think much of it, but the difference is you are specifying where your state of being 'well' is coming from: you vs. what is affecting you
204
If you know Spanish, this concept that you're explaining is a bit easier to grasp. " gusta" means "Its pleasing"...adding a 'me' in front (me gusta) means Its pleasing TO ME. Le gusta = its pleasing TO HIM. We are taught these as indirect object pronouns. Thats how I think of "mir geht es gut" ....sort of like "its going well TO/FOR ME" whereas " Uns geht es gut" would be "Its going good TO US". I think it would make things so much easier if this app occasionally spoke in terms of direct and indirect objects!!!!!
who starts a lesson without reading the notes anyway?
Ahahaha! I wish.
Thousands of people don't read the notes -- many (especially on mobile) don't even know that they exist.
And then ask very simple questions scattered over hundreds of sentence discussions that have been answered already in the notes.
I didn't know there were lesson notes until two days ago! I don't know how I missed it, I've spent 3 weeks doing this without them. It wasn't an issue at first, because I studied German as a teenager, but as grammar became more important here than vocabulary I did start to panic! Fortunately, there are some very kind and articulate people here giving their advice.
823
I don't believe so. "It is we warm" seems to be the translation. There is nothing linking the temperature to what we are feeling, and the translation doesn't really make any sense.
12
Not really... although it does have a Middle (or early Modern) English, Shakespearean, feel to it. Sounds very olde English.
It is the subjunctive form, we haven’t learned that in German yet. I wonder if that would be “wäre “ ? No that is the past subjunctive form. “I were”, so maybe “ich sei warm.” would be closer to “I be warm.” This is not commonly used in German for Ist person pronoun either. It gives the impression that maybe I am warm and maybe not - I think that I am warm, but I cannot verify it.
In some languages, like Spanish, the subjunctive is very much in use when something is felt rather than known, but most people in English have more confidence in stating how they feel as a fact. Even in Spanish, how someone feels is often a fact in Indicative mood rather than subjective or subjunctive mood. In German, this form is used to state what someone else has said as an unverified quote.
http://conjugator.reverso.net/conjugation-german-verb-sein.html
https://www.thoughtco.com/the-subjunctive-in-german-1444485
https://www.thoughtco.com/how-to-recognize-the-german-subjunctive-4085474
However this is not used for this purpose in German, they prefer to say “It is warm to me.”
Wow, that's exactly how Russian functions, which also uses the dative case to express feeling and state of being.
- Мне плохо. = I feel sick.
- Ему холодно. = He is cold.
- Им скучно. = They are bored.
I know it's not German, but I just couldn't help but make the connection.
756
(But I hear and check: that's "Mir ist kalt". So, is this a not grammatically correct way to speak, or something else?... )
Yes, “uns” is the Dative form of “us” (1st person, plural), “wir” is the Nominative form “we”, and “uns” is also used for the Accusative form of “us”. https://www.thoughtco.com/the-four-german-noun-cases-4064290
Scroll down for many case charts, including one that contains these forms.
This German expression omits the actual subject “es”.
823
I'm going to give this a shot adding what I just read from mizinamo (because that got it for me):
Okay, so in English, we say, "We are warm" to mean that the temperature is too hot for us. We could also be saying that we are warm and compassionate people. German, doesn't have this confusion, though.
"Uns ist warm" vs. "Wir sind warm" vs. "Uns sind warm", and The difference between "is" and "are":
"Uns ist warm" (ist not sind) = "It (the temperature/subject) is warm TO us." The use of ist makes perfect sense because the subject (temperature/"it") is singular. Although the subject is never referenced, it is silently there. "Uns" is the indirect object receiving the warm temperature.
"Wir sind warm" = "We (subject) are warm." This could simply mean that we are alive and our bodies are generating heat. But, it doesn't mean we are feeling too hot or it is "too warm TO us". "We" is the subject so the "warm" is just what we "are". If you replace "warm" with "blue" or "slow" you can see the relationship better.
In turn, if you replaced "warm" with "blue" or "slow" in the dative sentence, "Uns ist blau" or "Uns ist langsam", you would still be using the silent "it" as the subject as "it is blue to us" or "it is slow to us".
One shows the relationship between "it" and "us", and the other shows that "we are it".
I sure hope that is all correct! Cheers
So when 'ihnen' is not capitalized, does it mean "to them"? Is 'sie' not capitalized in the nominative case, capitalized in the accusative case and 'Ihnen' in the dative case? Could you refer me to a link or 'Tips' that I could refer to for this? Thanks a lot for your patience. I find this part very difficult.
338
Lesson "Formal you": https://www.duolingo.com/skill/de/Formal-you/tips-and-notes (usually "tips" links send you to the homepage, it's a bit tricky to get it right).
Basically, every case of the formal 2nd person address (singular and plural) requires that you use the capitalized versions of the 3rd person plural cases; otherwise the cases are not capitalized (except with stuff like beginning a new sentence).
It's easier to check it out in a table: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/sie#Inflection_2
There's an implied "it" in the statement. The direct translation to English would be "it is warm to us," but Germans just infer the "it" without having to state it.
I did a lot of research after receiving this question, since Duo doesn't explain. "Wir sind warm" is apparently colloquial for "We are gay" and seems to have been extrapolated from an older sexual phrase "Wir sind heiß." Neither are things you probably want to say when you just need the AC turned up a bit.
1877
Whoa -- need a section like "land-mine phrases". What I remember from long ago is that "Haben sie zeit" might be more than a question about the time.
1877
We haven't learned the dative at this point, but I'm guessing that 'warm' is the subject. So the sentence means something like 'warm(th) is to(ward) us'.
823
The use of "ist" instead of "sind" makes total sense to me now. And, yes, it is a dative case because of how German relate environmental temperature to a person's personal comfort level. In the accusative case, the temperature describes the person's attributes, not how they feel with the ambient temperature.
~[Edit: Typo fix:]~
When you say, "uns ist warm" you are literally saying, "It is (feels) warm to us". And, as you can see, "is" is used with "wir" as an "is" not an "are".
I remember an example about, "Ich bin heiße" meaning, "I am hot" (as in sexy). Whereas "Mir ist heiße" means, "it is (feels) hot to me" or "I feel hot".
I don't know how warm or kalt translates to the subject in, "Du bist warm" or "wir sind kalt" (accusative). I suppose, "Wir sind kalt" could translate to we are acting cold and unapproachable (like mean girls in school). And, thus, "du bist warm" could be referring to how kind and affectionate you are, "you are warm and caring". Therefore, "Sie sind heiße" could mean they are performing amazingly, "The team is on fire!", "They are cooking!", "They are kicking ass!".
EDIT ADDITION: Okay, I got it better in a different reply above. But, it comes down to subject and object:
In "Wir sind warm" we are the subject and the warm describes what we are.
In "Uns ist warm" we are the indirect object receiving too much warmth. It's "ist" because the subject is a silent, passive "it" or "the temperature" that "is" too warm to us.
343
People are getting more ridiculous each generation. Instead of just accepting what is right and wrong you want to invent the German language anew? Their is only one right answer here, deal with it.
I was also told early in language classes that ich bin heiss or ich bin schlecht can have sexual connotations, so I never use those, even though they make total sense to an English ear. But now I have learned the reason for saying mir ist heiss has to do with the object of the sentence, just shortened. Es ist mir heiss, mir ist heiss, it is hot to me, not I am hot, which can have another meaning!
823
HAA! Yeah, I can see how that is. I suppose, "Du bist mein Papa" (You are my daddy) could also be considered a sexual connotation, too.
But, your examples and mine also have a litteral (normal meaning) as well: "Ich bin heiß." (I am hot) - You look sexy OR you are extreamly warm.
"Ich bin schleckt" (I am bad) - ...and need a spanking OR ...because I did something mean.
But, yeah, the dative case seems to eliminate that double meaning....which I kind of enjoy, actually. Double meaning always gets that pregnant pause and double glance from those you're speaking with as they try to figure out which one you meant.
This is what I have understood from this thread. "Uns ist warm" literally translates to "it is warm to us". Though it may seem that "uns" is the subject here, it is not. The subject is "es" (though it is not written) and "uns" is the object. This is why the conjugation of sein is for 3rd person singular (es ist) and not 1st person plural (wir sind). Please correct me if I've made any mistakes.
I think you're overcomplicating it. Here's an explanation of this sentence. The correct sentence would be:
"Es ist uns warm" (It is to us warm). However, you know how English shortens words? Like, "I will" becomes "I'll". "I am" becomes "I'm".
German does a similar thing with this sentence. "Es ist uns warm." becomes "Ist uns warm." (They delete the 'es' and people will still get what you're talking about.)
But do you see a problem with "Ist uns warm"? It sounds like a question! So, if you told someone "Ist uns warm" and they mistake you for asking them a question, they would be confused. So, German rearranges the words to look less like a question:
Instead of "Ist uns warm" we get "Uns ist warm."
As the subject is first there, nobody can confuse that with a question. Voila!
941
No this is not the same thing. This is simply a use of the dative case rather than nominative case in German. French does not have any case (or, you could say, they are all nominative)
French, like English, has retained case in pronouns.
You can't say Je tu aime or Je aime tu, for example -- you need to use the accusative case form te for the object (which gets shortened to t' before the vowel): je t'aime.
Similarly, in English, you cannot say "she loves I"; it has to be "she loves me".
French does not name the cases, but they have direct object forms (accusative) and indirect object forms (dative) for their pronouns and "nous" and "vous" are the only pronouns that use the same form across all the cases. https://www.thoughtco.com/french-pronouns-1368927
German pronouns are declined on this page, but you must scroll down for a while: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-four-german-noun-cases-4064290
The verb is third person singular (ist) in this kind of expression.
There is no explicit subject; the implied subject might be something like "the general situation".
A bit like "it is raining", where the (singular) "it" does not refer to anything in particular -- we don't say "the clouds are raining" or "the drops are raining", it's just singular "it", referring to "the general situation".
823
I don't believe that is right. That would basically say, "It is going warm to us." Possibly, "It is getting warm to us", but I think that is a stretch. But, I see what you are trying to do. I wish I could offer more of an answer.
1877
Must be idiomatic. To my American ear, it sounds like "flat out" to which I expect the whole phrase to be "flat out wrong" -- the opposite of the desired meaning.
“Es geht mir gut.” is specifically about health. “Wir sind warm.” Is not about having a temperature, but rather about the temperature outside of us feeling warm to us. https://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/Uns+ist+warm
Here's an explanation of this sentence. The correct sentence would be:
"Es ist uns warm" (It is to us warm). However, you know how English shortens words? Like, "I will" becomes "I'll". "I am" becomes "I'm".
German does a similar thing with this sentence. "Es ist uns warm." becomes "Ist uns warm." (They delete the 'es' and people will still get what you're talking about.)
But do you see a problem with "Ist uns warm"? It sounds like a question! So, if you told someone "Ist uns warm" and they mistake you for asking them a question, they would be confused. So, German rearranges the words to look less like a question:
Instead of "Ist uns warm" we get "Uns ist warm."
As the subject is first there, nobody can confuse that with a question. Voila!
Here's an explanation of this sentence. The correct sentence would be:
"Es ist uns warm" (It is to us warm). However, you know how English shortens words? Like, "I will" becomes "I'll". "I am" becomes "I'm".
German does a similar thing with this sentence. "Es ist uns warm." becomes "Ist uns warm." (They delete the 'es' and people will still get what you're talking about.)
But do you see a problem with "Ist uns warm"? It sounds like a question! So, if you told someone "Ist uns warm" and they mistake you for asking them a question, they would be confused. So, German rearranges the words to look less like a question:
Instead of "Ist uns warm" we get "Uns ist warm."
As the subject is first there, nobody can confuse that with a question. Voila!
If "Uns" is not the subject, what is?
There's no explicit subject in this sentence.
You might compare it to sentences such as "it's raining", where "it" doesn't actually refer to anything -- such a sentence doesn't really have a meaningful subject, either. (The "it" is just there for grammatical reasons.)
338
Ok, now this seems really relevant: is there nothing fitting the subject position in uns ist warm?
I ask because, as you mentioned, "it" is in the subject position in some English sentences for grammatical reasons only.
Deutsch has no such requirement, of something always needed in the subject position?
In German sentences (please don't call it "Deutsch" when you're speaking English), the verb has to be in the second position.
So there has to be something before it.
But some sentences do not need an explicit subject if there is something else before the verb.
For example, the es in Es sind viele Enten auf dem See is a dummy subject -- only there so that something is before the verb. If you rearrange the sentence to Auf dem See sind viele Enten or Viele Enten sind auf dem See, then the dummy es disappears.
Interestingly enough, even though es in es regnet doesn't refer to anything in particular, this es does not disappear if you put something else before the verb -- Heute regnet es. Similarly, the es in es gibt doesn't refer to anything in particular but is always required: Dort gibt es viele Museen.
So... it depends.
Here's an explanation of this sentence. The correct sentence would be:
"Es ist uns warm" (It is to us warm). However, you know how English shortens words? Like, "I will" becomes "I'll". "I am" becomes "I'm".
German does a similar thing with this sentence. "Es ist uns warm." becomes "Ist uns warm." (They delete the 'es' and people will still get what you're talking about.)
But do you see a problem with "Ist uns warm"? It sounds like a question! So, if you told someone "Ist uns warm" and they mistake you for asking them a question, they would be confused. So, German rearranges the words to look less like a question:
Instead of "Ist uns warm" we get "Uns ist warm."
As the subject is first there, nobody can confuse that with a question. Voila!
(NOTE: Uns means us, not we)
270
It's been a long time since I took German, but isn't "Es geht uns warm" proper? I was taught, "Es geht mir warm" etc rather than "Mir ist warm". Thanks.
270
Thanks for the speedy reply. Is there an official reason? I'm also 99% certain that was in my college German textbook.
Here's an explanation of this sentence. The correct sentence would be:
"Es ist uns warm" (It is to us warm). However, you know how English shortens words? Like, "I will" becomes "I'll". "I am" becomes "I'm".
German does a similar thing with this sentence. "Es ist uns warm." becomes "Ist uns warm." (They delete the 'es' and people will still get what you're talking about.)
But do you see a problem with "Ist uns warm"? It sounds like a question! So, if you told someone "Ist uns warm" and they mistake you for asking them a question, they would be confused. So, German rearranges the words to look less like a question:
Instead of "Ist uns warm" we get "Uns ist warm."
As the subject is first there, nobody can confuse that with a question. Voila!
How do I know when I could skip using 'es' ? because from what I understand, the relatable translation to this question is 'To us, it is warm' since sensations/feelings need a dative case, but in other examples like 'Wie geht es dir?' meaning 'How goes it to you?' we don't happen to skip using 'es', it's confusing, es ist nicht einfach!
That is a rough one, because "to feel" is a reflexive separable verb in German that I am not ready for "sich anfühlen" https://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/anf%C3%BChlen http://context.reverso.net/translation/english-german/it+feels+warm http://context.reverso.net/translation/english-german/it+feels+warm+to+us.
It is not singular. The implied es (the subject in this sentence) is singular, which is why sein (to be) is conjugated to ist (3rd Person Singular).
The reason uns can go where it is because you know it can’t be the subject, or that which is performing the verb (in other words, it isn’t nominative). When you see uns you must assume that it isn’t the subject, unless there is an explicit “Wir” in the sentence as well.