"李老师没有弟弟。"
Translation:Teacher Li does not have a younger brother.
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It's probably because it wants you to be specific what I typed in it was teacherly does not have any younger brothers or something like that
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Have I missed part of this lesson? Sometimes I'm getting pulled up on saying the brothers or the brother - but I haven't seen any lessons on plurals in Chinese yet. They look (and sound) so far the same.
Can someone explain to my why my answer, "Teacher Li has no little brother.", is wrong?
I'm not sure if you've received an answer yet, but in Chinese (and Japanese) nouns are always implied singular (or plural in cases where it wouldn't make sense to be singular). If you want to specify plural, you would need to add a number and appropriate counter word before the noun.
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That is correct. Chinese language does not have plurals, at least not that kind of plurals in western languages. Example 1 - put a number : A: 你有没有兄弟？ B: 有。-- does not imply number of brothers. A: 几个？ B: 一个。
Example 2 - use 们 for multiple persons: 我的弟弟 -- imply one younger brother. 我的弟弟们 -- my brothers.
Can I say 李老师 when I am referring to an uknown gentleman, as in "Mr. li"? If not, then Duolingo will not allow "Mr." As an answer, as it specifically refers to a teacher.
Besides, why are chinese people using Duolingo to learn Chinese?
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Hi, I am Chinese and I learn this course to consolidate my Chinese-to-English translations. I think maybe I can learn some idiomatic expressions to improve my English here.
Phil, your answer is correct, sometimes the app just needs more time to be fime tuned for the various answers that can be given
I understand as a native English speaker why distinctly calling this person "Teacher Li" is more correct than calling them "Mr. Li", and is more informative for learning the chinese language in this case. But nobody in the English world could say this sentence the way it is currently written and sound normal. Maybe both could be considered accurate in this case but have a note that this is only used for teachers when you show the correction/correct banner after the answer is given. Just a thought.
What is the difference between the negatuon in this sentence and negation with bu?
《没》 is a negation of past actions and of the physical. 《不》 is a negation of future actions and intentions. For example, 他不喝咖啡 : He does not drink coffee (or rather does not intend to). 他没喝咖啡 : he does not drink coffee (physically, or never has in the past so it might imply he won't now). "Does not" can be ambiguous in English, 没/不 tries to provide some insight.
But doesn't "bushi" we learned in previous lessons concern physical and present?
没 (méi) can be used to negate the verb 有 (yǒu) ("to have") to mean "do not have." You can only use 没 (méi) to convey this meaning. It is grammatically incorrect to use 不 (bù) to negate 有 (yǒu)
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For 没 as “not have”/“there not be”, it only for use with 有, and 有 could often be omitted.
For 没 as “not yet"/"did not", it is grammatically correct to put a 有, but it usually be omitted.
我没（有）钱 ；今天没（有）雨；他没（有）你高。
他没来；他的病还没好。
My answer was Teacher Li doesn't have any younger brother. Why is this incorrect?
不 is never used with 有，always use 没有。 i remember it as always use mayo(naise)
不 indicates a negation through intensions and implies the future, while 没 refers to negations that are physically present and past. 不有 makes no sense, because to have is physical and present. 没有 is also an established character couple.
Also, its stranger still to say he does not intend to have a little brother in the future...
I typed "Teacher Li does not have younger brother.", notice there is no "a" before "younger brother" and it got wrong. Isn't it too strict?
I don't think so. The program forgives most times if you miss a character or misspell the English. Report it next time and they might include an allowance for a missing "a" in the future. 我为你加油！
Mr Li should be accepted as an answer. Since when in English do we refer to a teacher as "Teacher so-and-so"?
Except there is already a term for mister: 先生 (Xiānshēng). You wouldn't want to confuse new learners.
老师 can also be translated as "professor", right? I typed "Professor Li doesn't have a younger brother" for 李老师没有弟弟 but it wasn't accepted.
"Teacher Li has no younger brothers" how would my answer be translated in Chinese?
I typed in exactly what it says the correct answer is and still got it wrong. This has happened twice now. I think the link is messed up.
They are looking for the contraction of "does" and "not" so doesn't is what they wanted
Am i the only one who is wondering what the new word for no is? I thought 'bu' was used for everything negative...
I feel like saying li teacher istead of teacher li should be correct because the direct translation is li teacher.
Because it is as grammatically incorrect as "No a brother Teacher Li has".
Any other question?
Thanks, but it's not a right example. As I know, this sentence maintains the correct linear and grammatical sense, with subject or noun, verb (in this case in negative) and predicate. A well done sentence, accepted at school and used at literature and news. What I guess is Duolingo doesn't accept the form "has not" instead of "does not have", although both are correct in English grammar. Sometimes Duolingo accepts only one of two or more correct forms that are correct in English. My question was actually a rhetorical one. Cheers.
See this link with discussion on this topic https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/he-has-not-a-pencil-or-a-pen.2448528/
Hope this helps.
I really don't know why do you think "has not" is correct grammar to denote non-possession; but it is actually wrong in my opinion.
"Has not" is employed in sentences like "He has not gone yet", better recognised as "He hasn't gone yet".
I'm really curious to know which grammar resource advises "He has not a younger brother" or "He hasn't a younger brother" is a correct sentence.
Because 有 is always negated with 没.
不有 is a wrong construct. Hope this helps.
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没：not have, there not be, not yet
不：not, be not, will not, no, negative
你有弟弟吗？ ——不，我没有。
Do you have younger brothers? No I don't have one.
你是弟弟吗？——不，我不是。
Are you a younger brother? No I am not.
你去那里吗？——我不去 (I will not go there)
你去（过）那里吗？——我没去过(I have not been there yet)
Why won't it accept "Teacher Li doesn't have a younger brother"? I lost a heart for that.
I don't understand why it's " Teacher Li " shouldn't it be Mrs/Miss/Mr Li
I have a mnemonic device about Dexter's lab helping me remembered dìdì. "Deedee de dìdì (is) Dexter" Dexter's Deedee's didi, not the other way around
The voice says "Li Laoshi" (isn't that incorrect?), but the text has it reversed, which is correct: "Laoshi Li" . Or is it really interachangeable? The earlier lessons always state the title 'Teacher' before the family name.
