"Wir sehen unsere Bücher."

Translation: We see our books.

[Bekir978479]

Duo rejects the correct answer as "we are seeing our books". Very, very irritating!!!

[raulssorban]

And sometimes when I write "we see ..." it says it's a correct answer but a better answer is "we are seeing ...". Incredibly irritating indeed.

[BasharGhanem11]

Hello. See is a non-progressive verb in the english language. This means it does not take an -ing to express present continous tense (to express things happening right now). So, it only occurs in its present tense form (see/ sees). The only exception to that, is when you use the verb (see) as in (meet) ex: I am seeing someone today = I am meeting someone today. I hope this clarifies it all.

[az_p]

The verb "to see" is not commonly used in the continuous tense in English. See here: https://www.learnenglish.de/grammar/verbstative.html

[razikazmi]

difference between "unsere" and "unseren" and on what occasion we use?

[AnkitGupta333119]

Duo rejects when i write we are seeing ......then there is difference in we see and we are seeing in german

[mizinamo]

Duo rejects when i write we are seeing

That is correct.

In US/UK English, "see" is a stative verb; it is not used in the -ing form in its basic meaning "perceive with one's eyes". Similarly with "have" and "understand" and "love" and several similar verbs.

Compare:

• "I see your daughter." (I see your daughter with my eyes. Basic meaning: no -ing possible.)
• "I am seeing your daughter." (I regularly go out on dates with your daughter. Metaphorical meaning: -ing possible.)
• "I have two dogs." (I own two dogs. Basic meaning: no -ing possible.)
• "I am having two dogs." (I am eating two dogs. Metaphorical meaning: -ing possible.)
• "I understand." (I comprehend what was said. Basic meaning; no -ing possible on the verb.)
• "I am understanding." (I am the sort of person who has compassion. This uses the adjective "understanding".)

Ham hamari kitaben dekhte hain (regularly) and Ham hamari kitaben dekh rahe hain (right now) would both be "We see our books" in English and Wir sehen unsere Bücher in German.

then there is difference in we see and we are seeing in german

Yes, because "we see" and "we are seeing" mean quite different things in US English, which is what Duolingo uses to teach.

• I see your daughter. = Ich sehe deine Tochter.
• I am seeing your daughter. = Ich gehe mit deiner Tochter aus.

[Mooniak8]

Thank you so much! I'm learning German in English but English is not my first language. On daily basis I think I understand English pretty well, but there's always something more to learn :)

[grub8787]

Thanks for the very clear explanation. I now SEE the difference

[Nick8675309]

There are some times when we use "am seeing"-- for example, "I can't believe what I am seeing" or "I'm seeing it, but I don't believe it" or "Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?"

So I guess we use the 'am' when you need to affirm that you are indeed seeing the thing that has already been mentioned, or something like that.

[PatriHGB]

One more fail not allowing present continuous instead of present simple and I am done with this f****ng app

[mizinamo]

not allowing present continuous instead of present simple

Are you from India, perhaps? Or a non-native speaker of English?

At least in US English (which Duolingo uses to teach German), we don't use "see" in the continuous forms when we're talking about observing something with our eyes.

[Andrea157280]

So--there's nothing in German that limits meaning of sehen to stative verb ? Just a question of most frequent translation into English? Please confirm!

By the way, to this native speaker's ear,"I'm seeing my books" is perfectly grammatical. (e.g., JIM: "I left a candy bar on your bookshelf. Better check." ME: "I'm seeing my books, but I'm not seeing your candy." There's a kind of playfulness in this word choice, whereas "I see my books" is flavorless, fine, always a safe bet.

[Jrgen682839]

Hey is "we are seeing" wro7

[mizinamo]

Hey is "we are seeing" wro7

Yes. Please read all of the comments on this page, especially the thread started by AnkitGupta333119.

[crossett]

I think the women does not speak clearly or the audio resolution is not good enough. Many times

[Super_Al]

So is unsere here accusative, but because it is feminine it doesn't change? Just wanted to check :)

[mizinamo]

So is unsere here accusative

That's right.

but because it is feminine it doesn't change?

Also right.

Only masculine words change in the accusative case -- feminine, neuter, and plural words are the same in nominative and accusative.