"बड़े जानवर घास नहीं खाते ।"
Translation:Big animals do not eat grass.
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Some big animals (like hippos) do eat grass, that's why I'd particularly like to write this sentence as "THE big animals don't eat grass" because maybe we're at a zoo that's telling us about their animals
The translation is accurate, and you're overthinking it by bringing in context that's not there ;) There are of course ways to say specifically what you want about that hypothetical zoo, but I don't think (I'm not at the end yet!) this Dueling course gets that far, e.g. jo baRe jaanvar hai~ ve ghaas nahi~ khaate.
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Is that an inaccurate translation? I tried to try that but made a typo, and now I'm wondering if I still would have been marked off even if I hadn't made the typo...
If you want to dispute the veracity of the statement, rather than its translation, you will be very busy here! A lot of the sentences in these exercises are factually incorrect.
I put "large animals don't eat grass" and was marked incorrect. Apparently I was supposed to say "big animals". I think if you are allowing free-typed answers, you need to be more flexible in the accepted answer. "Large" means "big".
Vj9, I've been with Duolingo 5+ years... they're quite flexible but it takes a little time for them to go through all the suggestions. That's why this course is still considered "beta". Hope you won't let that discourage you! :)
Thank you, Kateykr. It is discouraging at times, but I still persevering!
No kidding! Hindi is clearly in Beta, especially the app, because there are significant technical issues that I have yet to see them address.
Why is there no "hothi" word here? I thought it was required for general truths.
"hotā" for general truth is contrasted with "hai." hotā is the "imperfect aspect" form of the verb "honā" (to be) -- in imprecise terms, it's like the "present tense conjugated form" (not exactly, but you get the picture.)
"khātā" (here, khāte) is the similar "imperfect aspect form" of its corresponding infinitive, khānā (to eat).
So, khāte already reflects the present tense, with the potential for making a general statement. And there doesn't exist anything like "hai" for other verbs (like khānā, for example).
To reiterate, the "general truths" distinction is just made between forms based on "honā"/ [to be]. It doesn't come into play when using other verbs.
It's more nuanced than what I'm saying (with some slightly incorrect grammatical explanation), but I hope this is enough to convey the rule.
I have no idea what you said. Can u please explain in a simpler way. Please.
Thank you! It's very kind of you to reply in such detail. Very clear now. :)
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Most, if not all, big animals eat grass. Even if it is grammatically correct, it isn't true.
Why don't they give sample sentences that causes less cognitive dissonance because they are more accurate? How about "people"? Humor is one thing, but often I wonder about their choices, like the one that says peacocks don't fly. Oy!
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That is the point. For now, you should not think, you should understand. There s a lot of nonsense in the world. Fake news and co. So, try not to judge the statements here and just go with them.
Also: If a question contains a wrong fact, you can't guess it, make a mistake and then learn from it.
Because Duolingo is teaching the basics, they aren't really worrying about the facts. It's like getting angry because you have to create sentences about your non-existent family members. Even if you're trying to teach someone English, a good sentence will often have a ridiculous meaning.
But जानवरों is correct for animals. The answer should be "Big animal does not eat grass".
