"Dogs are allowed here."
Translation:Psi sem smějí.
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I'm curious why "sem" is used instead of "tady." Is it because the real meaning of the sentence is "Dogs are allowed (to come) here? Just wondering...
Yes, this Czech translation is like that. "Psi sem smějí (vstoupit/přijít)." "Dogs are allowed (to enter/to come) here.".
You can as well say "Dogs are allowed to be here." "Psi tady smějí být."
Another translation, very close to the English original is "Psi jsou zde povoleni." allowed=povolen/povolený
Well, yes, that is, as I wrote, "Dogs are allowed to be here.", that is a different sentence.
"Sem" is a direction. "to here (from somewhere)". "Tady" is static. Simple "Here".
Most commonly used in "Pojď sem" = come here.
Can we say that "tady" is "here, and "sem" is "to here"? As well as kde vs kam?
Ah ha! Kacenka! To je ono!! I've been hanging around on this platform, just minding my own business (LOL) wondering when I would encounter "Pojd sem" and you have done it for me. When I was a kid, my parents would say to me: Pojď sem a dejmi pusu (I"ve no idea how to spell dejmi). And now you have brought it to the light of day! This may seem like a little thing, but learning this language has been a goal of mine all my long life. The comments that you Moderators write provide so much additional value to this Duolingo platform. DěkujiDěkujiDěkuji!
Vladimir and Kacenka, thank you both for taking the time to respond. I really appreciate the work you and others do behind the scenes to help those of us who are struggling with Czech!
Czech, by the way, was listed in an article I saw recently as one of the "very hard" languages for native English speakers to learn. On the bright side, however, it was NOT in the "super hard" group, so that's something! :-)
Should, perhaps. But they aren't both possible. Verbs like "smět", "muset", "moct" etc. on their own require expressions of direction. Motion is implied.
- Musím domů. - I must [go] home.
- Můžeš sem? - Can you [go/come] here?
- Nesmím dovnitř. - I mustn't [go] inside.
Only if another "state" verb is added, we use expressions of location/position instead:
- Musím zůstat doma. - I must stay at home.
- Můžeš stát tady? - Can you stand here?
- Nesmím být uvnitř. - I mustn't be inside.
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"Můžeš sem? - Can you [go] here?" shouldn't it be "can you come here?" you can stay here, but you can't go here, because you are there! : )
Yeah, it should be "come". Czech doesn't care so much and it can easily be "Můžeš jít sem?" or "Můžeš přijít sem?" in this example.
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is both "smejí" and "smí" possible or should I have chosen "my answer should not be accepted"?