39 Comments This discussion is locked.
I put 'the sky falls' and got it wrong. As a English speaker I'd say both were fine.
Indeed. If it's good enough for Chicken Licken it should be accepted.
That sounds fine to me, idiomatically. Report it during the lesson to bring it to the attention of those who can do something about it.
In many other contexts, "falling down" would be ok. But as has been pointed out obliquely, "The sky is falling!" is an idiomatic phrase in English, coming from a nursery rhyme/folk tale about a chicken named "Chicken Little" or "Chicken Licken" or "Henny Penny". That's why an English speaker would never say "The sky is falling down, because in the story, Chicken Little always said "the sky is falling!"
1996
I'm pretty sure that "The heavens" is "die Himmel." Die Himmel erzählen die Ehre Gottes. = The heavens declare the glory of God.
- 165
I refused to add “down”. Got it wrong every time! LOL Skies rarely fall up or even sideways.
- 1996
Henny Penny believes the world is coming to an end when a leaf lands on her head and starts shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!"
You can see the link for more information. :0)
- 88
Henny Penny, a.k.a. Chicken Little. The story is a little like "The Boy Cried Wolf."
- 338
Asterix and Obelix knew this would happen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qa8UMICNkbA
I would say that the verb "to fall down" is a different verb to simply "to fall". "To fall" is simply to act under the influence of earth's gravity. "To fall down" is to fall due to a system failure: a house can fall down if poorly built; a pair of trousers can fall down if the support fails; but the word "down" is superfluous for an item falling from an aeroplane.
- 1996
It's not wrong. Keep reporting it when it's rejected and they'll eventually accept it.
Yep. I even went so far as to get it "wrong" twice on purpose so I could report both "The sky is falling." and "The sky falls."
This sentence belongs to the Pearson part of the course (see https://www.duolingo.com/comment/24066422 if you haven't heard about their influence on the course).
I haven't seen anything so far to indicate that they act on reports or read sentence discussions, but by all means, keep reporting.
- 1996
Would it help to submit a "Bug report"? If so, I'll send one off in the morning. :0)
My answer is The sky is falling.. I was "incorrect" because I didn't add "down". Where ELSE does anything FALL but DOWN?? LOL!! It should be understood without the addition of down.
- 1030
Is the "sky falls" and the "sky is falling" wrong because this is a particular phrase (idiom?) That you wouldn't use if the sky was actually falling but as just an expression?
I dont reall know. Bit if the sky is trul falling down, when we are all in trouble. Duolingo inclusive.
- 271
Brings me back to childhood - can't quite remember the animal who went around yelling "The sky is falling. The sky is falling." It still isn't accepted. What other direction can something fall anyway? The accepted translation is redundant.
That was chicken little, or Henny Penny. And I put "The sky is falling", just like I learned in the book.
