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- Topic: Portuguese >
- "As batatas são boas."
28 Comments
It should have accepted potatos as a misspelling. I got the rest right, and clearly I know what the Portuguese saying. I shouldn't get punished for forgetting a silent "e" in the ENGLISH side....
Possibly it's just that no-one thought to add that as a valid translation.
It's equally possible that it's not a good translation. In English when we describe potatoes as 'good' it can mean one of two things: Either they are good potatoes meaning they are undamaged, of a good size or condition; Or we mean they taste or look good (or nice).
The dictionary definition of Nice is "Giving pleasure or satisfaction; pleasant or attractive". In other words nice does not always mean good. The potatoes can be in a good condition without giving pleasure or being attractive.
Some languages would instead use two different words, or as I think might be the case in Portuguese you need to specifically say they 'taste good' or 'look good' if that's what you meant.
Not exactly, they mean the same thing but one compliments male nouns, the other female.
O vinho è bom.
Os vinhos são bons.
A gatta è boa.
As gattas são boas.
Boa = feminine singular / Boas = Feminine plural ---- Bom = male singular / Bons = Male plural
Qualquer dúvida, entre em contato. Bons estudos.
Isn't the verb "ser" permanent, shouldn't "estar" be used because it is impermanent?
it's not all about permanence. The goodness of the potatoes is inherent to the potatoes, so ser makes sense. Then again, I'm coming from a more Spanish background than Portuguese.
And if you mean "somos", and not "som":
- somos = nós somos = we are
- são = eles/elas são = they are
Yes, there are three different etymologies of "são":
- (sane) sānus -> sano -> são
- (saint) sānctus -> santo -> são
- (they are) sunt -> son -> são
You can find more information in some dictionaries like Wiktionary
I think somebody had a different answer to alexsolheim, but it was deleted later. Probably the original question was about the difference between these two words:
- são = "sound" as in "sane" (etymology 1 above)
- som = "sound" as in "noise"
"Sound" is just a homonym in English - there are two different etymologies of "sound" similarly to the case of "são". Actually there are more than two: Wiktionary
Thank you. It is confusing, but as you point out, English is the same. Slowly they are both unraveling all their mysteries. :)
These discussions help too. Appreciate your contributions. :)
Shouldn't fries also count for batatas? I know fries are batatas fritas, but many people in Brazil just call them batatas when they eat them.
But it's just a reduction, because in that specific situation, the rest is implied. We use reductions all the time, it would be a mess if Duolingo accepted all possible meanings, for all possible situations. Example?
Um suco de laranja, por favor = A jar/can/glass of orange juice, please
When complimenting a noun thats not gender specific how do we know whether to use bons or boas??
Actually, every noun has a specific gender. It'll be masculine or feminine.
