"Mám to auto jen osm dnů."

Translation: I have only had the car for eight days.

[kowalsky2]

Both "I've only had the car for eight days" and "I only have the car for eight days" are accepted, even though there is a big difference in meaning between them. So my question is: Is the Czech sentence really a perfectly fine translation of the simple present, or should it be something like "Mám to auto jen na osm dnů."?

[kacenka9]

Because you specify the time, there is hardly any difference in the English meaning of 'have had' and 'have'. You got the car 8 days ago and you still have it. Most native speaker would use 'have had' here. Czech does not have ability to use tenses and the present is the best translation.

Note: Mám to auto jen NA osm dnů" is not the same thing. That means that you have the car for 8 days only. Today might be day 2. You still have 6 to go.

Mám to auto jen osm dnů" means you got the car 8 days ago, you have only had it for those 8 days (and now it needs service already or so)-

[EinatAdar]

If you say "I have the car for eight days" it implies you can use it for eight days only, not that you got it eight days ago. I was also confused by the English translation.

[imaldastar]

yeah, in english "i have the car for eight days" it seems would be translated to "mám to auto jen NA osm dnů." so i don't think it's a good answer here. that is what i thought this sentence meant at first, but there really is a big difference.

[kowalsky2]

I thought the simple present would only be used to express the first meaning (with "na") and not be interchangeable with the present perfect. But I'm not a native speaker, I might be wrong. How would you translate "Mám to auto jen na osm dnů" back to English, then?

[ion1122]

Note the difference here:
1. "I have had the car (for) 8 days " means I got the car 8 days ago and still have it.
2. "I have the car (for) 8 days'" means I have the use of the car for a period of 8 days.

So, for example:
1. I've had the car only 8 days, and already it needs service.
2. We had better start our vacation now, because I have the car only 8 days.

[kowalsky2]

Thanks for your explanation. I got confused by kacenka's answer, but a quick Google search wasn't helpful, and I was too lazy to ask the question on some language forum. Your clarification is appreciated.

[CathyBowde1]

I used 'just' for 'jen' - don't see why that shouldn't be accepted.

[VladaFu]

Some sentences with "just" are accepted. We need suggestions/reports of complete sentences.

[nueby]

For everyone's convenience, the discussion of the reverse exercise is https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/24828362.

[Matt92HUN]

Why is "I have that car only for 5 days" wrong? In the sense that after 5 days you have to give it back.

[VladaFu]

That is "Mám to auto jen NA osm dnů." in Czech.

[PaulRobert667871]

It is still accepting "I only have the car for eight days", which I believe is wrong from all the comments below.

[nueby]

Those comments may not be below. I just removed all present simple answers from the accepted list. Not taking any simple past either. This exercise may now be quite hard for our reverse students or for others whose native language is not English.

[PaulRobert667871]

True, not below ;)

And true, the exercise introduces some confusing English grammar subtleties that, while helpful for English speakers for understanding what Czech does and does not mean, might not be an ideal exercise for the next round of improvements. Thanks for updating though, it was clearly incorrect as it was.

[Dlehrke]

I just test "I had the car for only 8 days" and it was not accepted... which is good right, because the Czech means you've had it for 8 days and still have it?

[BoneheadBass]

Yes.

[nueby]

A related discussion for Jsme tady na pět dní.