14 Comments
Can someone explain why the 'mir' is in Dativ and not Akkusativ? Trying to understand this from the ground up, I would assume the simplicity of the sentence implies only one action happening: 'YOU not helping ME' Why would that not be Akkusativ 'mich'?
helfen requires an object in the dative case.
There are a number of verbs whose object is in the dative case; some of these are helfen, danken, folgen, gefallen, gehören, antworten.
It's just something to learn; there's no logic why the object of helfen should be in the dative case rather than the accusative.
By invitation. When the current team notices someone being helpful, they might ask whether they want to help moderate the forums and/or contribute to the course.
Can someone please explain why "You help me not." would be wrong? Isn't that the literal translation?
I am not a native English speaker, but this negation construction without an auxillary verb sounds a bit archaic to me. The point is: the best translation is not the one, that translates every single word literally, but the one that expresses the same content with the same connotation/style/etc. in the same context.
I guess that while it is not wrong, and it is the literal translation, but it's just that... It is also not the common way to say that in English, is it? So it's simply not in the list the program verifies your answers against for validity.
I've used it in speech several times in the last five years. It should be accepted. Also, we don't know the context, one of Duolingo's biggest flaws. There isn't a "best" way to say it because we don't know what conversation or event took place to make someone say this phrase.
Because in English the negating word "not" goes in front of the word it is negating, not at the end of the sentence ("Not" jokes aside).
She helps me; she helps me not.
I wouldn't advise anyone to speak like that, but it is acceptable in certain circumstances.
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I first thought of a belligerent drunk refusing help by saying "Don't help me!" but apparently it's slightly different. How would one say the commanding "Don't help me." rather than this?
That's exactly what I've been saying to Duolingo through this whole lesson. None of these translations are any good, and the explanations are far from sufficient.
