"He pays for the newspaper."
Translation:Er bezahlt die Zeitung.
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Is "Er bezahlt für die Zeitung" incorrect? When I type that Duolingo says it should be "Er zahlt für die Zeitung", but based on discussions above I'm not saying I'm paying anything for the newspaper. This is confusing.
bezahlen is "to pay (for an item or service)"
zahlen is "to pay (an amount)"
The direct object of bezahlen is the thing you are paying for. There is no preposition needed, as there is in English:
Er bezahlt die Zeitung
Wir bezahlen das Abendessen
Ich bezahle die Rechnung
If you put in a dative object, it's to say who you are paying it to:
Er bezahlt dem Verkäufer die Zeitung
However, you can also use the person as the direct object. In this case, you need the preposition für to say what it's for:
Er bezahlt den Verkäufer für die Zeitung
The object of zahlen is the amount you pay. Here, you can add the purpose of the payment with the preposition für, like in English:
Er zahlt zwei Euro
Er zahlt zwei Euro für die Zeitung
In common usage amongst German native speakers, this distinction is not always made.
But in this case it says that the subject is paying for something. Shouldn't it be bezahlen in this case?
bezahlen + dative + [currency] = to pay a sum of money (or e.g. an amount of camels) to somebody: "Er bezahlt der Frau (dat.) das Geld (acc.)" = "He pays the money to the woman". You need a direct object (acc.) here; just "Er bezahlt der Frau" doesn't work. ...
...For that, you'd have to say, "Er bezahlt die Frau (acc.) [für die Blumen (acc)]" = he pays the woman [for the flowers] (i.e., he buys flowers from the woman)
(If the woman is buying flowers for herself, but he offers to pay for them on her behalf, it's "Er bezahlt der Frau (dat.) die Blumen (acc.)" = he pays for the woman's flowers. So, by the way, you couldn't know if "Er bezahlt der Frau hundert Blumen" means "He pays for the 100 flowers the woman is buying" or "He gives the woman 100 flowers in exchange for the 100 apples she gives him".)
"Er bezahlt die Zeitung" and "Er bezahlt für die Zeitung" are interchangeable. Normally you'd simply prefer "Er bezahlt die Zeitung". Besides that, I'd use "Er bezahlt für die Zeitung" to say that "he doesn't steal it / he doesn't get it for free".
I just added an accidental extra H. so what? you could still tell what i was saying. It just upsets me so much when this happens
;(
1535
I was confused too until I asked a German friend, and that's what his explaination was.
Q:Es geht... My A: It goes, you say it works, as correct. I was wrong with It goes. Then why not: es Arbeiten instead? Confusing...pleas advise am I missing something? Another issue...
Q: He pays for the Newspaper My A: Er bezahlt für die Zeitung
YOU say i used wrong word should be :Er zahlt für die Zeitung.
WHy Zahlt? Zahlt means to count.
Umlauts are important here: "zählen" means "to count", "zahlen" means "to pay".
As for "Er bezahlt für die Zeitung", please see the other comments - it's not wrong but apparently not accepted by Duolingo.
"Es geht" can mean: "It (e.g. the cat) goes/walks", "It works out, it's all right the way it is" (e.g. I don't need help carrying this cupboard, I don't need a bag for the thing I'm buying, it's possible to carry the sofa up the twisting staircase), "I'm doing so-so" (as an answer to "How are you?"). As for "Die Maschine geht" ("The machine is working = not out of of order") - I think it's more commonly used in the negative: "Die Maschine geht nicht mehr" = "The machine is not working anymore".
Apart from "es arbeitet" = "Das Kind/Pferd arbeitet", it would only work if you meant "Das Holz arbeitet" = wood expands/contracts/twists when it gets older or when e.g. the temperature changes. "Die Maschine arbeitet" isn't used; you'd say "Die Maschine läuft" for "The machine is working (it's not inactive, it's doing its thing)", or "Die Maschine funktioniert" (it's not out of order).
First Question: As far as I know, "arbeiten" refers to work in the sense of labour, not in the sense of an idea or a machine functioning well. And "Es geht" means that it moves from one place to another., not that it functions well.
Second Question: If you use, "bezahlt", the n "für " is not needed. If you use "zahlt" it is. So the translation should either be, "Er bezahlt die Zeitung" or "Er zahlt für die Zeitung."
Usually there are many more meanings to words/sentences than just the literally oners. So, yes, all the above meanings are correct.
Announced revenge: "Dafür wirst du bezahlen...!" So, bezahlen für etwas works, too.
So when I translated this as 'Er bezahlt fuer die Zeitung', why was it corrected to 'Er zahlt fuer die Zeitung'? The correction should have been my German English use of 'fuer'.
I wrote: "er bezahlt fur die Zeitung" - wrong? Correct answer given was: "Er zahlt für die Zeitung" - never used/learnt zahlt??
There shouldn't be an article for "for" part or is it just unnecessary in this sentence i said für die Zeitung and i got incorrect answer warning ...
when I checked my answer "bezahlt" I was marked incorrect and yet that was also the printed answer-so what is wrong?
Because the root verb bezahlen means "to pay for" so für is not needed technically.
I am German. Correct German is Ich bezahle für die Zeitung. Not Ich bezahle die Zeitung. You cannot pay a newspaper, you can only pay a man for doing something, for example.
ANSWER FOR THIS PROBLEM:
Bezahlt means "paid", so Ich bezahle die Zeitung would mean "I paid for the newspaper." However, if you say it before you pay, it is commonly understood as "I WILL pay for the newspaper"
Zahlt ALWAYS means simply 'pay', so "Er zahlt für die Zeitung" also means He pays for the newspaper. You also might've noticed that "He pays for the newspaper" is uncommon, and the more common version would be "He PAID for the newspaper." This is true, but in German, both would use bezahle, and only the former uses zahle für.
Why isn't the app accepting er bezahlt für die Zeitung. There is clearly a pronoun here