"请别再抽烟了！"
Translation:Please don't smoke anymore!
22 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
"再" means "again". It seems reasonable to allow "again" in lieu of "anymore" here as in "Please do not smoke again!"
280
Good point, but there's a subtlety here. You can say this Chinese sentence to either
(a) A person who is smoking right now, or
(b) A habitual smoker, who may not be smoking at the moment.
In case a), you are basically asking the person to stop smoking. 再 = any longer (or maybe "anymore" as well?)
In case b), 再 = (ever) again. To be unambiguous, you could start the sentence with 以后 (in the future), or use 再也不要 instead of 别再.
- 66
That's right, and so while "again" is acceptable, it is not the best i.e. most accurate answer here.
Why is it less accurate than "anymore"? The context could be either a or b. We dont know. I think both should be equally correct.
It means both, but I agree that it should accept "again" in the answer as well.
I translation you translate the idea, not the word-for-word coz that's when it becomes shaky and strange....
再 in a majority of cases means anymore "你不要再來" is not only "Don't come again" but "Don't come anymore" or "不要再來這套/招 would also express" anymore...
I agree. Duolingo could be so much more embiggened if it just expanded its vocabulary.
"Please don't smoke any more," with a space between "any" and "more" is natural British English, quite apart from other considerations.
- 17
Could this sentence be interpreted as "don't start smoking again", considering 了 implies a change in situation and assuming that one was once a smoker and quit a while ago but is considering to smoke again, upon which they are said this?
了is used to show an activity has been started before the speaker is speaking. In this case it's implying the smoker has been smoking for sometime. I guess it is safe to say It works like past particle and past sentences in English language
Is it?
I don't think 了 would be used as a marker of completed action for a verb that is an imperative (do not smoke).
This is my interpretation:
请 Please
别 don't
再 again or anymore
抽烟 smoke
了！(change of state)
Current state: Listener is smoking or is a smoker. New (desired) state: Listener is not smoking anymore or is no longer a smoker.
1) Please include anymore as a hint - there is only again for 再 there
2) who knows, does 别再 really mean "stop"? Is it colloquial?
