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- "Sir, do you have two books?"
"Sir, do you have two books?"
Translation:Señor, ¿tiene usted dos libros?
62 Comments This discussion is locked.
Shouldn't it be , ¿Usted tiene dos libros? As we are tought that the pronoun comes before the verb.
is "Senor, tu tienes dos libros?" an acceptable alternative? Duolingo didn't accept it.
that's because senor is formal so you must use the respectful version of you which is usted. tu is used for close friends or informal addressing
Tienes is informal and we are addressing someone formally therefore, we use tiene
But the given correct answer is "tiene usted dos libros". Still pronoun after the verb...
I see the same thing... I wrote"usted tiene" and it was different from the duolingo answer but it was marked as correct. Duo lingo
I also wrote "usted tiene" like John865911, but it was marked wrong. I see some explanations that it is "tiene usted...", because it is a question, but it would seem that the tone of voice would suffice as well, using "usted tiene" If a question with a pronoun subject isn't written, you could not tell it was a question except for intonation.
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Or rather, pronouns are attached to the verb. In normal order they come immediately before the verb, but in switched order, like when used for a question, they come immediately after the verb.
In Hagar's example, "dos libros" has been inserted between the verb and the pronoun, thus it's not a correctly formulated question in Spanish.
tiene dos libros is aceptable y has been up until now. if you are going to place a personal pronoun at us at least explain this new add-on before we are charged with failing it.
Got it: formal = usted, informal = tu. Thanks for the comments, glad im not the only one.
Yes, it is formal. This means that you need to use the formal "usted tiene" instead of "tienes" (use the third person form with usted).
"posee"? We haven't learned this word. why is it popping up in the answer and why is tiene missing?
When we write "el señor" and only Señor. I am from Poland and it is problem for me. Thank you for answer.
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Spanish and English both are languages that use articles: - I met a man and I asked the man: "Man, where do you live?" - Conocí a un hombre y yo pregunte el hombre: "Hombre, ¿dónde vives?"
- "a man" / "un hombre" uses an indefinite article "a" / "un", to indicate that we're not talking about something specific.
- "the man" / "el hombre" uses a definite article "the" / "el", to indicate that we know whom we are talking about. (It's the man I mentioned before.)
- "Man" / "Hombre" is a form of address, where we no longer talk about someone, but rather we talk to him.
Um, mine is saying that Señor, ¿posee dos libros? is correct. We have not learned the word posee.
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Poseer is something like English possess.
It's no surprise that the alternatives will sometimes give words we didn't learn, as the alternatives are contributed by students, who report that their alternative should be accepted as well. Thus, they tend to include words we haven't (yet) learned but which would indeed be acceptable in the language.
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Because "tienes" is for you informal. Here, Duolingo addresses someone as "Sir", which it does to indicate this is not someone you are familiar with. Hence, you need the verb form for you formal: Tiene.
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"?tienes" is "do you (that I know personally) have ..."; "?tiene" is "do you (who are a stranger to me) have ...". Thus, to use "usted", which is formal, you always need "tiene".
When you're directly addressing him, it's simply "señor".
When you're talking about him to someone else, it's "el señor".
Think of it this way:
"Please, Judge, don't send me to jail"
vs
"The judge was lenient with me."
I've been out of touch of linguistics for a while, but I'll point out that ' el señor ' is used when when sir is being talked about and is used in the middle of the sentence ( to put it simple ). And ' señor ' here is used as he is directly being talked to and the speaker sounds to be exclaimed ( ofcourse it is in the beginning of the sentence ). This isn't the exact and correct explanation, but might help you get what I'm trying to say.
Could someone explain to me when and when not to use ''usted'' and how you need ti use it ?
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The word "usted" is similar to "you" in English. It's more formal, though. Duolingo uses "madam" or "sir" to indicate formal. Likewise, the teacher is "usted", as is the post man, etc. On the other hand, in this day and age your little sister and little brother are probably both addressed as "tú", and your older siblings as well, and the other kids in the same class, etc.
Of course, in Spanish you don't actually have to use the pronoun, but though the pronoun can be left out, the verb is always conjugated. Where you could say "Tú tienes un libro.", you can instead say "Tienes un libro.". Because "tienes" is still conjugated as it's done for "tú", it's still clear that you're addressing that person as "tú": informal. The same holds for "usted" and "tiene". You could say "Usted tiene un libro." or "Tiene un libro.", and because you're using "tiene" in both cases, it's still clear that you're addressing a stranger: formal.
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The sentence doesn't start with a leading question mark. If, after indicating whom you're addressing, you would insert "¿", then the sentence would seem fine.
Because if you address him as "señor", that means you address him with the polite "usted", not the familiar "tu". And "usted" has all of the same grammar as "él".
Thanks Rae.F. Appears that the use of usted and tu is the same as Sie (formal) and du (informal) in German. I am not aware of any special "you" distinctions in English
Not anymore, but once upon a time "thou" was the singular familiar and "you" was the plural or the polite. "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Also "prithee" was literally "pray thee" or "ask you".
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We usually say that Spanish has leading question marks at the start of the sentence. But to be more precise, it has that leading question mark at the start of the question. Thus, if your sentence starts with an address, the leading question mark only comes after that: Tú que lees esto: lo entiendes? (You who read this: do you understand?)
Then, once you know where the question starts, and recognising there's a formal address before that, "Señor", you'll recognise that the actual start of the question will need "tiene", being the formal third person singular.
If you address someone as "sir", if you're not on a first-name basis with them, you need to use the "usted" form, not the "tú" form.
No, they are very consistent. Any sentence with sir, ma'am, señor, or señora will be formal. Any sentence with a first name is informal. If no hint is given, either is accepted.
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I had "senor tienes usted dos libros" and was wrong. I thought that tienes was used when talking to the person? Can someone help explain this to me?
"Tienes" is the informal "tú" conjugation. The polite "usted" takes all of the same grammar as "él/ella", because it derives from "vuestra merced", or "your mercy".
El senor usted tiene dos libros should be an accepted answer corrct? it was not
It's only "el" señor in the third person, never in the second person. When you address someone, their name is not the subject of the sentence.
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It should not be an accepted answer for lacking the question marks. It's a bit of a curious structure, as you are addressing "El señor", meaning you're talking about him, rather than addressing him. But even then, at the point where you stop addressing and start the actual question, you need the leading question mark (and at the end the trailing one). El señor, ¿usted tiene dos libros?
I have missed this 4 times you keep switching from tiene to tienes it a catch 23
The expression is "Catch-22". It's the name of a book about soldiers who don't want to be fighting.
When i miss an answer i write it down so i do not make the same mistakes twice with you the rule is tienes or is it changed here
It's "tienes" when you're on a first-name basis with someone and call them "tú".
It's "tiene" when you're not on a first-name basis with someone and call them "usted".
Since we're addressing this person as "Sir/Señor", we're not on a first-name basis with him. Therefore he's "usted" and we need "tiene".
It's a matter of whether you're addressing him directly (talking to him) vs talking about him.
https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/27556014?comment_id=42700705
