- Forum >
- Topic: Hindi >
- "यह मेरी बिल्ली की चाय है, ते…
25 Comments
1219
There's an argument that the structurally correct but semantically bizarre sentences are very helpful language-learning tools, and I'm inclined to agree with it. I have no objection to this sort of sentence - it's memorable and it teaches grammar divorced from meaning. I'm not trying to learn a phrase book after all.
I appreciate the added levity. Humour makes everything in life easier.
I agree that this should not be regarded as a phrase book, but a bit more realistic, please.
- 340
It teaches grammar without having to constantly introduce more vocabulary.
Once we know 'milk' or 'brush' Hindi mein we could substitute it in for 'tea' no problem and have a sensible sentence. But in this 'animals' section that's not what's being introduced.
I don't mind sentences with counterintuitive content. But I do wonder whether the ownership dispute of the tea is between my cat and you, or my cat and your cat. I'm inclined to think both are possible. In angrezi, it depends on where you put the accent... this is MY cat's tea, not yours vs. this is MY CAT's tea, not yours. I wonder if the same is true in Hindi.
From what i understood from another phrasr i this lesson, the meaning here is, contention between you (not your cat) and my cat
This sentence makes very little sense in English, so might mislead some learners who thought (like I did) that they heard the Hindi wrong. How about "This is my cat's food, not yours"?
I agree with you, I have seen this kind of ridiculous sentences in different languages from Duolingo. I cannot object the grammar but as a foreigner seriously trying to learn the language I question the utility of this. Even if I know the words or the structure my brain is saying "It is not possible".
Ambiguity. Does "not yours" here mean "not belonging to you" or "not belonging to your cat"?
I do not understand why "This is the tea of my cat, not yours" is incorrect. I learnt English as a foreign language and was taught that "'s" is to be used only with persons. So for all the Hindi learners that do not have English as a first language, I am of the opinion that this answer should be correct ;)
Grammatically, "This is the tea of my cat, not yours" is fine, although perhaps, as Sam362597 has said, somewhat stilted. However it implies that this tea belongs to my cat, not your cat, whereas "This is my cat's tea, not yours" implies that this is tea belongs to my cat, not to you. In spoken language, stress could deal with this, and the more usual pattern would be to talk about "my cat's tea", stressing "my cat". We (native speaker) use the possessive "'s" for all animate, and often inanimate objects quite freely.
- 1219
As a native speaker, it just sounds unnatural. I might use that construction for an inanimate object (the lid of my pen rather than my pen's lid, maybe), but not for an animal.
