"They want one glass and three plates."
Translation:他们要一个杯子和三个盘子。
12 Comments
So in the previous lessons, 想 was correct for want, and 要 was considered incorrect. Now it's reversed.
Some consistency would be appreciated.
Although I got it right, I think there is no need for 和 here. Am I wrong?
1501
Irrespective of now accepted Duolingo answers, we can replace 和 with a general comma “，” (逗号) or a slight pause comma “、” (顿号). Then the sentence is like “They want one glass, three plates.”.
- 1501
Not sure if that's colloquial, though “, also want …” is colloquial in English? But I would consider it a “flexible” translation. 也要 is literally “also/and want”. If you want alternative translation for “and”, there are: 跟…, 与…., 及…, 以及…, and less literal ones: 加… (plus), 还有… (still have).
- 562
Well, that depends on the convention. 要 is commonly used in Chinese conversation, though of course may not be colloquial in English. In this case, Chinese speakers should easily understand how one uses 要 in certain cases. That character does not often appear in formal cases, such as signs, consisting of the form "请勿" instead of "请不要". This is why I feel that 要 is easily used almost anywhere.
I am not into literal translations, trying to precisely match word-by-word. I often look for closer, more precise or alternative meanings of the sentence. However, I understand the point you made about the alternate translation "and".
- 1501
I feel that you are off-topic now… why are we talking about “Do not …”, not “want”? 8-|
Even though 要 is very ambiguous, this doesn't mean it deems to be colloquial. People can hear it very often from news reports. Commonness is also not the key factor to determine whether a phrase or sentence is colloquial. I can't tell how frequently (请)不要 is used for signs. But as a native speaker, I feel that (请)勿 is more bookish/solemn/formal than (请)不要 which is already formal enough for news reports. Chinese people often make use of some short and classic (thus less common) words to achieve formality.
- 562
Perhaps, I switched to the different topic too quickly? My apologies.
It was the response to the beginning of your comment, where it starts "not sure if it's colloquial". The "and" topic is simple enough to look at, so I am not interested in discussing this. I often like to discuss topics that are either difficult to tackle, or ones that are often questioned or give people foods of thoughts. :)
The "not"/"not want sign" part is the example to show how one formulates sentences in some levels of formality. I would agree that 要 is not necessarily at all times colloquial (much like you said - it can be used in news). However, I wouldn't agree that 要 is the "favorite"/"best" vocabulary to use in any cases. Chinese native speakers can be very prosy with characters, sentences and moods.
- 1501
Never mind. I was wondering if you thought that Chinese sentence is as colloquial as “They want …, also want …”. I judged by the sentence structure instead of the word “要”. (囧 face)
Now I see that we are talking about two kinds of signs: those rather serious (and maybe shorter), and those friendlier. Then 不要 is usually used for the latter and often longer ones.
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