"Les carottes et les haricots sont des légumes."
Translation:Carrots and beans are vegetables.
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Could it not also be 'the carrots' and 'the beans'? While the usage might be more limited, the sentence 'the carrots and the beans are vegetables' is a proper sentence.
I agree. It's now accepted as an optional translation. Thank you.
Thank you George. I believe that, in English, the distinction between "The carottes" and "Carottes", etc., as to whether it refers to a generality, or to something specific, doesn't matter very much and depends upon context for clarity.
"The carrots and the beans are vegetables." and "Carrots and beans are vegetables." In English, either translation works correctly, and either translation can refer to a generality or to a specific situation.
I'm pleased that Duolingo has made both translations valid.
Thanks. I do appreciate your point. But without context or modification, both sentences, in English, mean exactly the same thing.
Is there any other way of identifying whether it means the noun used in general (carrots) or the noun being specified, other than guessing by the way the sentence is formed.Thanks
It must be done through context. For example, if you have apples, carrots, beans and bananas in front of you, the sentence would refer to the specific objects: "Out of these four different things, the carrots and the beans are vegetables." If this sentence came out of the blue, then you can presume it's a general statement. It all depends on context.
I don't think I've ever seen beans categorized as vegetables in America. Are they considered veggies in France?
When making statements of generality about something, use the definite article.
- Dogs are cute. = Les chiens sont mignons.
- Apples are fruit. = Les pommes sont des fruits.
- Life is beautiful. = La vie est belle.
It is not. You're not making a generality about vegetables. You're making a generality about carrots and beans.
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Previous task was translating "des haricots and du pain". The translation was given as "beans and bread". Why is "les carottes et les haricots" also "carrots and beans" (no "the")?
How do you know which form to use?
You must understand the meaning of the sentence whether it's a general statement about things or not. In English, if you want to make a statement about all carrots and beans, you don't need an article. In French, you need the article. Look around this forum for other examples.
Wait a minute! Any previous time if I did not write "THE ..." I was marked wrong. The only time the noun alone was permitted was when "de/du/ des" was used. Why is it "the" omitted now?
The only time the noun alone was permitted was when "de/du/ des" was used.
Not true. When you make a statement of generality about a subject, use the definite article.
- Dogs are cute. = Les chiens sont mignons.
- Apples are fruit. = Les pommes sont des fruits.
- Life is beautiful. = La vie est belle.
The article "des" is simply the plural of "un" or "une", and is not used for statements of generality.
- I am eating apples. = Je mange des pommes.
- Prisoners escaped yesterday. = Des prisonniers se sont échappés hier.
Yes, I understand that. What I'm saying is that my answers were marked wrong if I didn't translate Les + noun as The + noun. If I translated as Noun (without the The) I was marked wrong. Now the sentence is translated in the way I'd been marked wrong previously. Inconsistency while I'm at an early learning stage is frustrating.
You are right .. i noticed that..i guess that other question was wrong.. That was " les banans et les citrones"
Les haricots - the S in LES is not pronounce d. I googled it and found that it's an acception.
I got this question as a word bank, but there was no "are"! I put "Carrots and beans vegetables." There was no "are"!!!!!!!
In other question it said " the bananas and the lemons are fruits" is not correct.. "bananas and lemons" is right... but here it says " the" should be used...why so?
If the translation ( the carrots and the beans ) are accepted why did it mark mine wrong
Could you also just say "sont legumes" ? Do you need to have the 'des' before legumes?
Yes, you need the article since “légumes” is a noun, acting as a noun.