"Do you all wear dresses?"
Translation:Tragt ihr Kleider?
18 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
"you all" is Duolingo's attempt at translating "ihr" (plural you) into English. I really think just "you" should be the correct translation as that is the second person plural pronoun in English, and then variants such as "you all", "y'all", "ye" or "you guys" should be alternatives.
Specifically, "you all" is the phrase used by the Pearson editors in some sentences they added for their course.
The sentences that they added are unfortunately visible to people taking the public course as well and this causes inconsistencies. Their course content is scheduled to be removed from the public course eventually.
2156
Even though you wouldn't think "you all" in English but "you"; Duo's letting you know to not say Tragt ihr Kleider? when talking to one person only.
- 2915
Yeah, this sentence is confusing. I read it as equivalent to "Do all of you wear dresses?" rather than "Do y'all wear dresses?" So I crashed and burned like an owl hit by a Stinger missile.
- 1435
How would one say this formally, using Sie (plural formal)? Then it must be Traegen Sie alle Kleider? Oder Traegen alle von Ihnen Kleider? Oder? The English should be Do all of you...? This is confusing and should be remedied.
This, like most if not all sentences that use the phrase "you all" in English sentences corresponding to ihr in German, are from the Pearson course.
I agree that it is confusing.
- 2156
When (whilst, for you Brits) I am making my German flashcards for "Phases" in which I put the phrase in English on the front of the card and the answer in German on the back of the card, I will put you all in English to denote that I am wanting a "plural you". But I know that I wouldn't actually say you all (besides I'm asking for the German equivalent and would say the phrase in German). Am I making sense to you all?
I suspect it is the same for the Duo course for EnglishGerman learners. Otherwise, I would have to put plural "you" wanted; instead it is just simpler to write the sentence with you all.
BTW, I am up to 1205 flashcards on Anki and will share them when I have finished the German tree. I pick up some phrases and short sentences from Duo; but I skim newspapers and articles on the internet also. I will definitely let you all know when I have reached a point where I feel it is time to share them. I am proud of them.
Tragen Sie Kleider?
Or if you want to emphasise the "all" bit, Tragen Sie alle Kleider?
But wait, why did it mark "Tragen sie Kleider?" correct for me? Seriously, I have the screenshot if you want to see it.
- 1044
I assume it's because you would be using the word "they" which may be correct. Not completely sure, but if you would like you could report it.
Why the polite version "Tragen Sie alle Kleider?" was marked as incorrect?
This sentence belongs to the Pearson course, but is unfortunately visible to the general public as well. (See https://www.duolingo.com/comment/24066422 and https://www.duolingo.com/comment/24052907/Duolingo%E2%80%99s-Partnership-with-Pearson for more information.)
Pearson editors seem to use "you all" as a hint that they expect the answer ihr -- this word choice is not standard for the public course.
And they generally do not accept ihr alle or Sie alle as translations for such sentences.
You can report those alternatives if you wish.
No one in the English speaking world uses the term 'you all' apart from the southern states of the USA. In Ireland, they use 'ye' for the same purpose. In short, you should use 'you' rather than 'you all' which is slang even in America.