"Les hommes ont des enfants."
Translation:The men have children.
37 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Why does everybody think 'kids' should be accepted? It's a different word. It may be used interchangeably in English but one is a colloquialism and one is a formal word. If there's a French version of 'kids', then it would say that, if it wanted us to translate as 'kids'.
Furthermore (and these are genuine questions - the answers to which may either prove or disprove my point):
-
I know 'femme' means 'woman' but is there a separate word to mean 'lady', as these are used more interchangeably in English than 'man' and 'gentleman' may be?
-
What's the French word for a baby goat? Is it the same as the word for 'kid', as this is where the English term comes from?
1725
It seems like “les hommes” are a gay couple, but could it also translate to “The people have children”?
1725
These are different conjugations of the verb “avoir” (to have).
Use the 1st person plural to talk about a group, which you are part of: we have – nous avons.
Use the 2nd person plural to talk about a group, which you are also talking to in this moment: you (guys) have – vous avez.
Use the 3rd person plural to talk about a group, which neither you are part of, nor is the addressee of your speech: they have – elles/ils ont.
The formal addressing of people is to call them like if he/she was a group: you (sir/madam) have – vous avez.
Find an overview of this topic in the tips and notes of the skill “Basics 3” (click the light bulb), only available in a web browser, not in the Duolingo app: https://www.duolingo.com/skill/fr/Basics-3/tips-and-notes
1725
If you want to point out the “some”, then you can say so in English. But the French “des” doesn't point out any concept. “des” is the usual indefinite plural article and it has to be there. Whereas in English there is no indefinite plural article, instead you place a so-called null article, which in fact is just nothing.
To sum it up, you have to put “des” and you should omit “some” in most cases. The given translation in Duolingo is fine.
Also read the tips and notes of the skill “Basics 2”: https://www.duolingo.com/skill/fr/Basics-2/tips-and-notes
1725
“These” / “Ces” is a demonstrative article and is used to point at certain men, who are not known from context.
“Les” / “The” is a definite article and denotes the certain men are known from context, but it doesn’t point at them.
For reference, please see the tips and notes of the skill “Demonstratives 1”: https://www.duolingo.com/skill/fr/Demonstratives-1/tips-and-notes
1725
Ils ont = They have Ils sont = They are
See the full conjugation table: https://www.duolingo.com/skill/fr/Basics-3/tips-and-notes
If you read IPA, "ont" is /ɔ̃/ and "un" is /œ̃/. The main way to tell them apart is practice - I recommend listening to them side by side on Forvo.com or even Google Translate.
Context is also useful, there aren't that many situations where either would really fit in the sentence.
1725
Because LES is an indefinite article and THE is a definitie article, they are not equivalent.
The men have the children = Les hommes ont les enfants
The men have (some) children = Les hommes ont des enfants