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- "你看见月亮上的动物吗?"
"你看见月亮上的动物吗?"
Translation:Do you see the animal on the moon?
18 Comments
1665
I don't think there's been a history of Chinese people seeing multiple animals on the moon, though. There's just one "moon rabbit" (月兔) in Chinese folklore.
1214
You mean as in, "Neil Armstrong walked in the moon"? I didn't think so.
This is one case where the preposition can be either "in" or "on," just depends upon what you're familiar with.
Surely Armstrong was the first man on the moon, but the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_in_the_Moon_(disambiguation) seems more relevant to the parallel myth about seeing the shape of a rabbit in the moon's surface.
I tend to think duo should probably accept both 'on' and 'in' here.
833
I tend to agree. 'In' was the proposition I automatically thought of, probably because of the man in the moon. Also, interestingly, I've noticed that 'in' was always used for the moon and planets until about the 20th century; e.g. HG Wells's The First Men in the Moon. I've often wondered what made English speakers start using 'on' instead.
867
Other question from a beginner: Why is the word order this way around? I know "moon on the animal" doesn't make much sense but I still wonder why "moon" stands before "on" and before "animal"? Thanks.