38 Comments
869
I wonder how “forgive“ and “assign“ are related in the German word "vergeben“.
You've probably noticed that a lot of German verbs are actually made up of another + an inseparable prefix. Historically the prefixes had specific meanings that altered the meaning of the original verb to create new ones and this process is still to a large extent transparent: E.g., einladen 'to invite' is really just ein- 'in' (the prefix is not related to the indefinite article) + laden 'to load' = 'to load in, to invite' The meaning each individual prefix has is hard to predict, especially the most commonly used ones as they are usually abstract and can have multiple meanings but some are simpler and more consistent than others, like zer- which is almost always used to add a destructive nuance to a verb: E.g., zer- + stören 'to disturb' = zerstören 'to destroy' zer- + legen 'to lay' = zerlegen 'to disassemble' zer- + fallen 'to fall' = zerfallen 'to disintegrate' So getting back to vergeben. Hopefully you've noticed that vergeben is actually ver- + geben 'to give'. So in this sentence, you can imagine the three spots as things that are given and thus assigned; there is a specific direction in which the action of giving is occurring (whoever assigns the three spots --> the spots). Likewise, the same relationship/direction is present in the act of forgiving; when you say something like "I forgive you", 'I' occupies a position where it would make no sense for it to be the recipient or object of the action. And THERE is your connection, albeit it is a very abstract one.
Btw, I'm getting all this from just cross-referencing the Wikipedia article on German verbs and various Wiktionary entries. I don't claim to be a native speaker so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Your examples in the middle were super-confusing, since you changed the format of the examples midway through. Nonetheless, thanks for the explanation.
- 892
Although, the translation makes total sense, the German sentence is in present tense.
Morgen werden drei Plätze vergeben werden.
But grammatically "werden" isn't the english "will". It has its primary meaning of "become". Literary it could be translated as "tomorrow three spots are getting assigned".
Sorry if gave a wrong answer.
It is the english will, but only sometimes. You're right though, this is a present-passive construction, which werden is also used to signify. "Three seats ARE assigned" vs. "I assign three seats" And you can use the present here since there's a time marker--tomorrow.
I guess if it was really in the future, you would say: In drei Wochen werden drei Plätze vergeben werden.
Apparently saying three seats will be given away is wrong, because they wanted me to say three seats will be given out. I have taken German for fourteen years and was just playing with this app; I find things like this infuriating.
- 869
This is not really a course in German.This is a community working to improve the program. If something is wrong or could be improved, we report it. Errors eventually get corrected. In the meantime, we live with it. If you are fluent, you could choose to help make the program better. If you don't have that kind of patience, this probably isn't for you.
I do have that kind of patience, but when one is uncertain as to how to go about reporting an issue, then one can comment. I made a comment to inform the said community of an issue. I am the equivalent of a native speaker. My point there was that I do happen to know what I am talking about. I take this "course" in German to find the mistakes and attempt to make it a better application. I don't need the help: I am here to help.
Sometimes definitions are left out. The people who run the site do the best they can, but it happens. If you see it again, just report it.
I think the "official" translation is, though not wrong, not the best. I think places, positions or seats would be better.
These two sentences in English are very different:
- Tomorrow, three places will forgive.
- Tomorrow, three places will get assigned.
However, in German, both seem to be:
- Morgen werden drei Plätze vergeben.
That's really helpful, thank you. I was wondering if the right answer had other markers of it was just based on context.
- 1148
Please let me know if "Tomorrow three places will be taken" is a correct translation. Regards.
I translated as "Three places will be given tomorrow". But dl corrected it as "Three places will be given -null tomorrow". I donot understand why dl added the word "null" before tomorrow.what is the meaning for "null"? Somebody please explain.
- 1441
Tomorrow three places will be given. -- Not accepted-- but had I added "out" they said they'd have accepted it. That would be awkward, and additionally, "given" is perfectly acceptable English for "given out".
- 333
So if "werden" in this sentence is in the passive voice, what in this sentence makes it future tense?
If you read the info link that comes with these exercises (when you do it on a computer, that is), it tells you that werden has 3 uses: with a noun/adjective, it means to become; with the infinitive, it is the equivalent of the future tense in English; with the past participle, it represents the passive voice. I guess vergeben is the infinitive and the p/part, but I have not checked, I am simply using the info link for this lesson.
"Tomorrow, three places will be assigned" was marked incorrect. I don't understand why that is incorrect. DL gives the translation as "Tomorrow three places get assigned" "will be" in English, is gramatically correct.
Odd. I put "Three spots get assigned tomorrow" and it was not accepted, even tho that word order/syntax easily as common as "Tomorrow three spots get assigned". Will report.
Wow, Ich bin dumm wie ein Bohnenstroh, oder Deutsch ist mehr verrückt denn ich dachte!
