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- "We are having dinner along t…
"We are having dinner along the water."
Translation:Wir haben Abendessen am Wasser.
50 Comments
Why is it okay to say "Wir haben Abendessen" to say you are eating dinner but not "Wir haben Brot" to say you are eating bread?
"Wir haben Brot" means "we have bread." I don't think it is an idiomatic expression.
460
I think because "Wir haben Abendessen" doesn't mean we are eating dinner, it means we are having dinner.
- 235
As I and others have pointed out 'Wir essen zu Abend' is the German way of saying this. 'Wir haben Abendessen' is just not German, totally incorrect!
- 123
why is "wir haben abendessen entlang das wasser" incorrect? isn't entlang suppose to trigger accusative?
- 535
entlang is only used when there is movement. So you could use entlang to say "we are walking along the water" (wir gehen am Wasser entlang)
but since eating lunch does not involve movement, you would use the preposition "an" . so you would translate "we are having dinner along the water" as "wir haben Abendessen am Wasser" (am = an + dem)
IMO, a clearer translation of this preposition is to say "we are having dinner ON the water"
- 845
Thank you for explaining entlang, however to me, having dinner 'on' the water suggests one is dining on a boat. Having dinner 'by' the water suggests eating on the riverbank or beach. I'm not sure which alternative 'along' means.
- 535
i believe youre right, 'by' would definitely be a better translation for 'an' ! I'm not 100% sure, but i think 'along' could mean both depending on the context.
Nevertheless, there are many English sentences that feel thoroughly natural to me where having dinner "on the water" implies being near it - lakeside, beachside, etc. "On" in English feels like it implies a more formal / fancy dining experience than "by."
The family can go and have a picnic by the water, or they could go to the 5-star restaurant "on" the water (which is actually not literally on the water, but merely close to the shore).
"along" implies movement, so you could be eating on a moving boat, or eating while walking. It would still be more natural to say "on" or "by"
- 238
Nope, as a native English speaker I totally disagree. This is a silly way of trying to present English and it does not work. Nobody would say what you are trying to express.
- 845
There maybe something else wrong with it, but I know that entlang normally goes at the end of the sentence. But I wrote something similar and it rejected it too.
Why is "Wir essen am wasser zu abend" not accepted ? I thought that "Wir essen zu abend" was the expression to say "We are having dinner".
- 238
I see that 'along the water' is still the supposed answer. That is a rubbish sentence. Nobody eats their dinner along the water. They might eat BY the water, but along the water makes no sense. Please hurry up and change this silly sentence for a sensible one in order to help the students.
- 235
Although less usual these days traditionally Germans eat a hot meal at noon, and then Abendbrot (bread, cheese, sausage, etc) in the evening.
Why is "Wir essen zu Abend am Wasser" accepted? Shouldn't that be grammatical/acceptable?
- 235
Exactly - this sentence should be either totally overhauled or removed. It is just not German!
- 238
I am a native English speaker and I cannot think of any time that I would say in English 'We are having dinner along the water.' I did get the German answer correct but that is a rubbish question. Please either change it to something more sensible or remove it. I cannot think of an appropriate alternative to suggest because I cannot work out what you are trying to say.
Never heard any English speaker say they were having dinner "Along the water" sounds weird. "By the water" sounds more natural.
Die deutsche Variante des Satzes macht überhaupt keinen Sinn, besser wäre hier "Wir essen am Wasser zu Abend." Der Satz würde bei Muttersprachlern noch durchgehen. Denn es ist durchaus üblich, zu Abend bzw. zu Mittag zu essen. Aber "wir haben am Wasser Abendessen" geht gar nicht.
- 107
I wrote: "wir essen Abendessen am wasser." I didn't think that was correct but I couldn't think of the right translation. But duo accepted this answer...?
What on earth is this "hint" supposed to mean:
"Gerade beim Essen sein"
???
- 280
I tried "wir sind beim abendessen am wasser" it was not accepted. No way am I going to type "wire haben abendessen"
- 238
Yes, that makes more sense. It could be referring to a journey from A to B and you, 'Have dinner along the way.' Much better and it now makes sense in English. Good thinking :-)
