"She can produce a solution."

Translation: Ella puede producir una solución.

[FrediVallina]

at least in Spain, answers are not 'produced'. "Ella puede obtener una solución" is totally correct answer and a much common translation. What about other countries?

[rocko2012]

What if this is about chemistry? And she was producing a saline solution by adding salt to water.

[FrediVallina]

You are totally right :) that is a perfect example. I got to the same thought few moments after writing the post. I am not going to delete it, as the open question to other spanish speaking countries (with the meaning of solution as answer) is quite intriguing to me. (excuse my english)

[mitcorb]

That is the importance of this section of the website: open discussion of language issues. This has been discussed before, but even though we may post out of frustration or puzzlement it is the process of learning for you, me, and others who merely read this and do not comment. And another idea could be that the solution may be one of many answers to some mathematical puzzle.

[rocko2012]

I think of a "solution" as being something one "finds" or "discovers" and not "produces". Its an undeveloped creative thought. The person that makes that idea into a reality does the producing.

[Talca]

Fred, Your English is great. I am so happy to have a native seaker hanging around this screen. Gracias.

[JimVahl]

In English, solutions (to problems) are not produced either. I am a chemist, and it would also be very strange to say that a chemical solution was produced.

[FrediVallina]

Thanks Jim. So, as far as we know, except speaking in spanish about chemical solutions, this kind of sentence is almost useless if not wrong in both languages,

[rocko2012]

You can google "produce a solution" and clearly get results that suggest people are using it in a chemistry context. I actually took 3 years of chemistry in college myself nearly 20 years ago. I do not have any memory of using the phrase but it is perfectly logical.

[biolinguo]

In my opinion, the validity of "She can produce a solution" depends more on a philosophical point of view.

Let me explain myself:
Wich is the difference between "Discovery" and "Invention"?

• On one hand, seems to me that "to discover" is to find out a solution that was already there and we just take out the mystery that "covers" it (Dis-cover).
  Example: "Colon discovered America". America was already there but Colon found out that it was really there.

• On the other hand, "to invent" has a meaning of creation, of producing. "To invent" means to create something that wasn't there before. Example: "Nikola Tesla invented the alternating current". The alternating current was still not there until Nikola Tesla invented it.

In this last sense, you can "produce" or "invent" a solution. You can produce it because it wasn't there yet.

[mmeslip]

There should be a provision for various possible translations to address these issues.

[lphoenix]

I actually have heard "produce a solution" in English before, in much the same way as "produce results."

[trebujito]

That pharse does not have much sense to me. " Ella puede tener una solución" better
"producir"= to make

[RoarieG]

Hi! I'm from U.S. and this is a valid sentence. Ejemplo: She accidentally made two dates for the same day. She produced a solution by scheduling one for the morning and the other for later that night. A solved dilemma, she produced a solution for. LoL

[vrappo]

In portuguese, you can change the word "produce" for "create" and the translate that: "Ela pode criar uma solução."

There are many example in the article above:
http://capivalley.com.br/quando-voce-descobre-que-seus-fracassos-sao-seus-melhores-sucessos/

[bryan_j_gleeson]

Whether it be a valid sentance or not. Why is it "una solucion" and not "un solucion" seeing as solucion doesnt end in an A?

[Warrenbsmith]

Not all words that don't end in an a are masculine