"V páté minutě už jsme prohrávali."
Translation:We were already trailing in the fifth minute.
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I think "in the fifth minute" is not something American speakers of English would say. More common would be "after five minutes".
I really do wonder where any speaker of any language would get the credentials to speak for apparently all speakers of that language. In sport commentary, these expressions are very common. Because your assertion was so far-sweeping, one reference should be enough: https://www.svvoice.com/bruins-salvage-point-in-wild-5-5-tie/
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Stephen900455: IN and AFTER are two different prepositions, describing two different situations. IN the fifth minute might mean: In the 30th second of the fifth minute, while AFTER the fifth minute might be: At any time after the end of the fifth minute. Many (but apparently not all) English speakers are aware of that distinction.
Thank you for your note. It is the 'already' that throws me. It implies that there is a usual range of passing time before some change happens and in this instance, the change happened sooner. 'After four days in the job, he already knew he would quit' is different from 'In the fifth day, he already knew he would quit'. In the latter, one would not usually include 'already'. If one changes 'in' to 'by', then the 'already' would be used although the sentence is fine and means the same without it. As for credentials, thank you for the chuckle. I doubt there is a single professional grammarian or linguist participating in this discussion. What you will find are well-meaning participants providing constructive feedback to improve the translations. The Duolingo staff are very smart but they do not claim to be perfect.
The statement uses past tense so presumably it is being made at some time later. At what precise time (how many seconds after four minutes) is not clear from the statement but it is not relevant. The main point I am making is that native English speakers, at least ones I know, would not say “in the fifth minute “. Instead they would say “after five minutes “ or, if technical correctness is your concern, “after four minutes “.
I tried to search the web and found a certain reasonable number of similar hits. I believe it is good to distinguish this from "po pěti minutách". It is not that common in general Czech speach either, it appears in sport commentaries and match descriptions.
yeah i was assuming this is sports lingo. sounds weird to me but i don't follow sports :).
už is also a part of the clitic cluster, they are in the second position together. Už can move within the cluster, it is quite flexible..
3 lose a competition [intransitive, transitive usually in progressive] to be losing in a game, competition, or election
The Democratic candidate is still trailing in the opinion polls.
trail (somebody) by something Manchester United were trailing by two goals to one.
trail in/home (=finish in a bad position) He trailed in last after a disastrous race.
I've never heard "trailing" used like that as an American. Maybe in other countries
I'm native AmE (East Coast/Mid-Atlantic) and it's perfectly normal to me (ETA: and I don't even follow sports).