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- "Moje sestřenice si čte v pos…
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What does the reflexive particle "si" add here? The hint gives "to each other", but as the verb is in the singular, that doesn't make sense, does it?
"Čte si" = literally "She reads for/to herself"
There is even an English dialect that uses very similar "I read me" (I read me a letter).
"Čte si v posteli" without "si" sounds odd.
So is it still a reflexive particle after all? Following the same set of rules (2nd position, jsi si = sis, etc.)?
Yes, it is a reflexive particle. If used without it would not be clear if she reads a book alone or if she is in bed but reads out loud for the entire family.
We can. Your report was not accepted because of the "the", not because of the "is reading". I will likely add it soon, but I have to investigate something.
What about ... reads on the bed?. Would that be accepted? That sound more natural in English.
IMO, it wouldn't be more natural.
But to clarify the preposition usage in my own head... If she is just sitting on her bed reading something for a little while -- not lying in bed reading or, say, propped up on a pillow to read -- we would use na, otherwise we'd use v? Or is it not that simple? :-/
Thank you! And, for the benefit of others, I will add another thought that just came to mind.
What would be most natural -- at least in the US, it would be standard usage -- is "My cousin reads/is reading in bed." It would be generally be understood as referring to her own bed, but it would also allow for the possibility that she she might read/be reading in whatever bed she happens to be in at the time.
The benefit of including the possessive "her" is a gentle reminder of the gender of "sestřenice" which "cousin" is devoid of unless we reach for the less gentle club of My female/girl cousin reads/is reading in bed.
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I suppose that if we added a direct object like 'casopis' or 'knihu', we wouldn't have the reflexive particle?
You would. The reflexive pronoun is there because the subject is "receiving the action". She is reading for herself.
If the pronoun was left out, she would be reading for someone else. It would be weird to leave it out when she's in the bed, but if you added for whom she's reading it, it would be possible. For example: Moje sestřenice čte v posteli pohádky své dceři. My cousin reads fairytales in the bed for her daughter.
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You might notice that the English sentence leaves open all these possibe scenarios, whereas the Czech translation chose to specify that she is reading to herself.
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Dobre, chápem že v angličtine sa obvykle použije spojenie "her bed". Ale je použitie člena "on the bed" vyslovene chybou?
Zvlášť keď v ceskej vete nie je nijalo naznačené, že si číta vo svojej posteli? To sa mi vidí tiež vcelku bežná veta "Čte si ve své posteli".
