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- "There are almost no dogs."
"There are almost no dogs."
Translation:개가 거의 없습니다.
15 Comments
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Now I understand. 별루 is "not many", and 거의 is " almost". It's a little bit different :)))))
and the particles strike again... why can't i say 개는 in this occasion? (only 개가 is accepted) (what are the nuances between both options here?)
가 is used for when a subject is newly talked about. 는 is used when continuing to talk about such. So if you are talking about a house and then change the subject to dogs it would be 개가 and if if you continue to talk about the dogs 개는.
It depends on nuance honestly. In this statement it's just a general fact that there are almost no dogs wherever you are. For most general statements like this you use 가/이
To use 은/는 you would need to be specific like saying "as for dogs, there are not many" or something like that since 은/는 is used for comparing and changing subjects as well.
At least this is the kind of guide i follow.
I think you might be switching the two. ~은/는 is used for general statements. "There are almost no dogs" is not a general statement because that would have to be true generally, i.e. they're on the brink of becoming extinct. Since it's not a general statement, it makes sense to use ~가. In other cases where ~은/는 applies to non general statements it brings attention to a particular topic or provides contrast, i.e. 남자는 might mean something like "as for the man (vs for other men)..."
I've tried to follow logic like this, but the Duolingo answers really seem to be random about it. I suppose it's geared more for users using the multiple choice blocks than for people typing answers.
