"I like you all."

Translation:Ich mag euch.

October 13, 2017

21 Comments
This discussion is locked.


https://www.duolingo.com/profile/az_p
Mod

    First, you need to know there are several different words for "you" in German:

    du - for speaking to one person in a familiar tone
    ihr - for speaking to multiple people in a familiar tone
    Sie - for speaking to any number of people in a formal tone

    These are the words you use in nominative case, i.e. for the subject of a sentence. The verb form also changes to fit with the subject, like "I am" but "you are" in English:

    du bist alt
    ihr seid alt
    Sie sind alt

    When "you" is not the subject of the sentence but rather the object, we need to use different words. This is called accusative case. This is equivalent to how we can say in English "he likes the dog" but "the dog likes him". In German, the "you"s can also change when they are the subject:

    du --> dich
    ihr --> euch
    Sie --> Sie (this one stays the same)

    As a result, you would end up with the following sentences, which you would choose between depending on how well you know the person and how many people you are saying it to:

    ich mag dich
    ich mag euch
    ich mag Sie

    So can you see why Duolingo wants euch now? Do you think there are any other possible translations for this sentence?

    Later you'll also learn the third German case, dative, which modifies the words again. You can find the whole table of pronouns on Wikipedia. I recommend keeping a copy accessible in your notes until you've memorised it!


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Triunn_Maegin

    Take my Lingot and keep talking!


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Mac948505

    Thanks! This really helped me understand.


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/DemontMore

    Although I got this correct, thank you for the great detailed and understandable explanation


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Aniloracat

    Thank you very much!


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/OlgaVitvitskaya

    why not "ich mag euch alle"?


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/ethereal_dream

    Doesn't euch imply "you all" by default? I think in English we just add on "all" so you can tell it's plural.


    https://www.duolingo.com/profile/aqilokoq

    Olga, but "ich mag euch alle" is quite right. And - IMO - it's a good translation!


    [deactivated user]

      I agree. The "all" just confuses the issue. German has a different word for singular and plural "you", but English does not, though it used to ("Thou" for singular). If an English sentence including the word "you" is to be translated into German, then perhaps Duolingo could put "singular" or "plural" in brackets with the word "you", so we would know which German pronoun to use.


      https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Ioannis541593

      I gave the exact same answer :-) (with alles, not sure it is correct)


      https://www.duolingo.com/profile/roman2095

      Yes that is also correct. However Duo often uses "you all" to simply mean second person plural "you" in which case you don't need the alle. In countries outside the US "you all" will usually have a slightly different meaning which emphasises the collective "all" and in this case you probably need the alle to achieve the same emphasis.


      https://www.duolingo.com/profile/SparkyRush

      my German translator states I like you all as Ich mag dich alle or Ich mag euch alle.


      https://www.duolingo.com/profile/aqilokoq

      "Ich mag euch alle" is correct (and it was accepted). --- By the way, I'm a German. --- (But "ich mag dich alle" is a false translation!! The "all" in the English indicates that we have to consiser the "you" as a plural). - I beg your pardon, my English isn't good.


      [deactivated user]

        Your English is a wole lot better than my German!


        https://www.duolingo.com/profile/RobertHJMa

        'Ich mag ihr' means 'i like you all' surely?


        https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Lucas270644

        No, because of the cases in German. Ihr means you, yes. But whem "you" is the object of the phrase, is has to change its form. You can look at this(Keep it close to you until you memorize it) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_pronouns#Personal_pronouns . In this sentende, "you" is the object, so you have the use "euch" instead.

        Ihr is for whem "you" is the thing doing the action. If you were to reverse the sentence and try to say that "You(all) like me". Them you would have "Ihr mag mich"


        https://www.duolingo.com/profile/cellogirl28

        That is what I thought also!


        [deactivated user]

          Several people have said that they agree with the given answer, saying that "Ich mag euch" means "I like you all". I really don't see why. Surely it just means "I like you", with "you" in the plural sense.


          https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Oscar354366

          I just got this wrong (and understand why), but the correct answer it gave me is "ich mag Sie", and I don't understand why that would be right


          [deactivated user]

            Apparently, the word "all" is only there to tell as that the "you" is plural. I find it very confusing. It's a pity they don't just write "I like you (plural)".

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