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- Topic: German >
- "The girls listen."
"The girls listen."
Translation:Die Mädchen hören zu.
20 Comments
1511
Zu is necessary because the verb zuhören means to listen. Hören alone would mean to hear.
618
Wait, why is "zu" separated from "hören" and inverted? Shouldn't it be "Die Mädchen zuhören"?
Many German verbs are separable-prefix verbs. The infinitive is zuhören, but whenever the verb is conjugated or in a main clause, the prefix is separated from the verb. This hasn't been introduced in Duolingo yet... But it will be soon. Separable-prefix verbs are definitely a headache for German learners!
958
Or they have mercifully allowed. As written above, it can be the difference between hearing and listening, concentrating on what you are hearing...
1511
I am wondering if "die Mädchen zuhören" would be acceptable, (since the separable verb might not need to be separated in such a short sentence)?
456
The only reason I knew I had to fill in that blank with "zu" is because of the "What Was That?" story where Martin öffnet die Tür und hört zu. Otherwise I would have absolutely no idea what to put here. I don't know why it's right, either. From other comments, it'll show up in a lesson eventually maybe.
958
I have never seen this word! Thanks for the tip. I did a quick search and in one case it said that "horchen" needs to be combined with something temporal for it to make sense. I hope you reported it and then it can be considered if it is correct or not.