58 Comments
Is the word elegant used more in Latin America??...I was trying to think how often I use it and I'd say not much and only for specific things. I would never, for example, call a friend or family member elegant.
For what? I mean what would you find in an elegant store? Or are they referring to the architecture? I mean I've maybe seen a few bridal boutiques that could be described as elegant, but that's about it.
yeah im a native english speaker and never really use that word "elegant" its not common
I was thinking the same thing and noticed the change in voice immediately. Way better than the older lady.
I have never heard anyone in the UK describe a store as elegant. Is there a better translation for this phrase? Or maybe I don't hang out with the right people or shop in the right places. ...
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I can just about imagine saying elegant but saying store rather than shop bothers me! I don't think you'd say "store" in either the UK or Ireland so "shop" being incorrect is a pain...
Who talks to a store? This can be said about some stores on Rodeo Drive.
With what in it? I would still never describe a fancy jewelry store as elegant.
I learned that you use 'An' at the start of a word that begins with a vowel. An elephant, an igloo, an umbrella, vs. a apple, a ear, a octopus.
More exactly, you use “an” before a word that begins with a vowel sound. So, you also have “an hour”, because the ‘h’ is not pronounced. You also have “a use”, because the word starts with a ‘y’ sound.
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I'm imagining a store that is well-kempt and sells haute couture. It does make sense, but might not be a common expression.
I think it would be more realistic to use words like "expensive" or "nice"
What did you put? Which form of the exercise did you have for this sentence? What is “this” ? Don’t forget the apostrophe in the verb contraction for “ It’s not working!” and we only use one exclamation point.
Said no American ever... I mean have you ever heard someone describe a store as elegant?
No, although the store may also be wonderful, elegant is very specific and not so common.
Exactly what was your answer, because “Im” is not correct and would be “I’m” Take a screenshot which will also verify which exercise instructions you were given.
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You can call a store "elegant" if it has classy decoration, is kept neat and tidy, and isn't too poppy. A store where you would expect to find high couture, for instance.
So youu know how there is that rule in English with the vowels, and if the word starts with a vowel than it changes A to AN is that the same in spanish?
No, it is not the same. All nouns are either masculine and use “un” or feminine and use “una”, but somewhat like that if a feminine word begins with a tonic a sound then it will use the masculine article so as to avoid two a sounds together. See RyagonIV below for more.
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There are four words (and a couple of relatives) in Spanish that change their form depending on what sound the next word starts with.
The singular feminine articles la ("the") and una ("a, one") change to the masculine forms el and un if the next word starts with a stressed 'a' or 'ha'. For example: "el agua" (the water), "un águila" (an eagle), "el haba" (the bean) are all feminine nouns. If the 'a' or 'ha' is unstressed, the article will remain in the standard form: "la arena" (the sand), "una agente" (an agent).
The same rules apply to forms derived from una, like alguna ("some") or veintiuna ("twenty-one"): "algún águila" (some (kind of) eagle), "veintiún habas" (twenty-one beans).
The word y ("and") becomes e when the next word begins with an 'i' or 'hi', regardless of stressing:
- padres e hijos - parents and children; but: hijos y padres - children and parents
- Hablo español e inglés. - I speak Spanish and English; but: Hablo inglés y español. - I speak English and Spanish.
Similarly, the word o ("or") becomes u when the next word behins with 'o' or 'ho', again regardless of stress:
- ¿Debería usar "vegetal" u "hortaliza"? - Should I use "vegetal" or "hortaliza"? ("Hortaliza" is the more appropriate term for "vegetable".)
- ¿Compraste huevos u olvidaste eso? - Did you buy eggs or did you forget that?; but: ¿Compraste huevos o los olvidaste? - Did you buy eggs or did you forget them?
Perhaps you should double check the instructions for your exercise, if you were supposed to type what you hear then you were not supposed to translate, just put what you heard in Spanish, and yet Duolingo will show you the translation in case you wanted to know.
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Since that's exactly the preferred translation, I assume you had this as a listening task. When the program tells you to "write what you hear", you need to write the Spanish sentence that is spoken, not translate it.
