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- "Na oranžových talířích ta po…
"Na oranžových talířích ta polévka vypadá špatně."
Translation:In orange plates that soup looks bad.
19 Comments
34
We use both. A "soup plate" is typically shallower but with a bigger diameter than a soup bowl. Look at fine china patterns for examples.
"That soup looks bad on orange plates" and "That soup looks bad in orange bowls" are both accepted. There are dishes called "soup plates" that are sort of a cross between a bowl and a plate -- they have a hollowed-out center area to serve non-solid foods, like soup and stews, and a somewhat wide rim around the top, like the rim that often surrounds a standard plate. There's been quite a little controversy about the whole issue, in this and other discussions. :-)
Well, I don't see ion1122's comment on the accuracy of the translation. I'd be interested in hearing it defended. Perhaps "poor translation" was a bit harsh. I was aiming to be constructive, not critical.
Anyways, I'm enjoying the course immensely so far, and am glad to hear that the few remaining kinks are being worked out.
So to say, "The soup in the orange plates looks bad" is incorrect? The given translation suggests that the soup only looks bad because it is in an orange plate, but it might look great in a white one. Is that a correct reading of the intent here? How might my sentence be better translated, in which the soup (which happens to be in an orange plate right now) looks bad and would look bad anywhere?
34
Your suggested sentence is actually a shortened form of "The soup that is in the orange plates looks bad." So I imagine that the corresponding Czech sentence would use a relative clause as well, perhaps with that = že in it.
I am native AmE. I would interpret this sentence as meaning that when the soup is on orange plates, it looks bad., rather than that it is the soup that is on orange plates that looks bad. I'd expect, if it meant the latter, that a relative clause would be used -- something like, for example, "Polévka, která je na oranžových talířých, vypadá špatně." But it will be interesting to see what one of the Czech natives on the team has to say