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- "Wahrscheinlich gibt es Wein …
"Wahrscheinlich gibt es Wein zum Mittagessen."
Translation:There is probably wine with lunch.
36 Comments
Why does 'zum' now mean 'with' rather than 'to?' I feel as if all these german prepositions are just swapped out at random and am having a hard time figuring out how and why different words are used...
Think of it as "having wine to lunch"; where we might say we're having something at lunch or with lunch, the Germans say "to". Prepositions never translate well between languages, you just have to expect it and learn the differences.
I find it easiest to think of the word meaning the same thing, but being used differently.
Prepositions are like that in all languages, even (especially) English
Assuming that's what you wrote, the problem is probably just the future tense. It makes sense, but this phrase was written in the present. "Most likely" shouldn't be a problem.
What is the difference between (Wahrscheinlich), (anscheinend) and (vielleicht)?
170
wahrscheinlich = probably
anscheinend = seemingly
vielleicht = perhaps
The most interesting of these is "anscheinend".
It means you have some some reasons to believe things are like that, only you are not quite sure yet.
"There was a clinking of glasses. Anscheinend gibt es Wein zum Essen." (It seems there will be wine for lunch)
I have also seen a similar sentence but instead it was "... Wein beim Mittagessen" which I though meant that wine will be had with the lunch or as part of the lunch. How does using "zu" in this sentence change the meaning compared to using "bei"?
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This would never be said in this way in English as the future tense would always be preferred. Would this be a common way to express this in German or is it poorly phrased in both languages?
- 1286
The german is perfectly fine. We often describe events in the near future in present tense.
what's wrong with: "probably wine is given with the lunch" or "at the lunch"?
Because it's a really awkward translation, and in German, "gibt" is used much more loosely than "gives" is in English.
"Es gibt/gibt es" is really better translated as "there is" or "there are."
Why can't you say "Wine is probably given with lunch" since the verb "gibt" is used here?
'gibt es' is a common phrase that most often translates to "there is" rather than 'it gives.' Don't ask me why. That's just what I was taught.
I am not a native English speaker. Can you say "to the lunch" or "at lunch" as well? In that case those expressions should be added. Thanks in advance!
"To the lunch" is not proper english, however, "at lunch" would be acceptable as well as "with lunch".
I’m not sure of the exact reason but usually when the sentence starts with an adjective or adverb they swap the verb next to it. I’m sorry that probs made no sense. Aa
The verb must be in second position in a statement, so when you put an adverb in first position es gibt becomes gibt es after you put the verb second and the subject right after it. gibt es can also be used to start a question, since the verb goes in first position in a question like that.
I wrote "With lunch, there is probably wine" which was rejected on Sept 4th, 2020.
- 321
In other cases, Duo accepts or expects future tense with gibt es phrases. Why not here? It makes sense in English.
- 852
I tried "usually there is . . ." Rejected. But is that a possible translation of Wahrscheinlich?
