"I am going to get the one that is less tight."
Translation:Je vais prendre celle qui est moins serrée.
36 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Maybe you could have written serrée with celui whereas it has to be masculine ( serré) with celui.....this could be the reason for the rejection..................Duo knows!
1821
No, I think Duo didn't like the fact that I put "obtenir" instead of "prendre". When I used prendre, celui was accepted.
Here is my translation "je vais chercher celui qui est moins serré". After seeing the translation provided, I get the sense that the subject is making a choice as in, I will take this one. At the time I wrote my transition, my thought was, the subject is going to collect something. It was rejected but I am not sure why.
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I agree, and have reported it. The English is ambiguous and could mean (if a sales assistant is speaking) 'I am going to fetch/bring...'. Larousse agrees that 'get' in that sense would be '(aller) chercher'. It gives the example: 'Va me chercher mon manteau' = Get me my coat.
Duo even offers "vais chercher" as a possible translation when clicking on the word "get". 13th oct 21 and still rejecting it.
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"obtenir", "aller chercher", "acheter", "trouver" and "recevoir" all work here but not accepted. The problem is "get" is a poor translation of the original "prendre", which should be "take" or "buy" in the English.
Je vais avoir celui ( celle) qui est le (la) moins serré(e) = I am going to have the one that is less tight.. je vais prendre celui ( celle) qui est moins serré(e)= I am going to take the one that is less tight.
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Yes, but the English sentence says 'get'. a) You haven't answered JimCassels' question b) What if the sentence was said at home or by a shop assistant? Personally I think obtenir is eminently acceptable.
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If one thinks of the phrase in English, "I am going to obtain the one that is less tight", one cringes! Unless one's name is Sheldon. :)
French needs a new verb: getter (regular, -ER). Je le gett.
I am trying to think of when I might use obtain and it never occurs to me that "I'm going to obtain the blue car".
How can I obtain that information for myself? Where did you obtain that? I just obtained the map to the family treasure!
Les billets de saison? Oui, je suis tellement content; je viens de les obtenir!
I can see this working in a more general sense for whatever might have just come into my possession. Mais, having said that, google dit "Je viens de recevoir..." as translation of "I just got my..."
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Google translate translates 'obtenir' as 'get'. Translate.com, 'obtenir' = 'get, Collins online dictionary translates 'obtenir as 'get', Linguee.com's first translation of 'obtenir' is 'get', Wordreference.com, 'obtenir' is 'get'. Yes obtenir can mean obtain because it's a synonym but just because it sounds like obtain does not mean that is it's most common usage. It seems that most of the other translation sites disagree with Duo in this instance.
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And then there's Larousse. It's unclear what 'get' in this English sentence means. Possible meanings: 'buy', 'bring or fetch', 'receive as a present', among others. Larousse online lists examples with a bewildering variety of French verbs or phrases to translate the extraordinary number of different ways 'get' is used in English.
If this English means 'I am going to buy', Larousse suggests either 'acheter' or 'prendre'.
If it means 'fetch or bring' Larousse suggests '(aller) chercher'.
Interestingly, the examples where Larousse uses 'obtenir' seem to be where you 'get' something by being officially or formally awarded it, like a licence, permission or a diploma.
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As a non-native just relying on the dictionaries, it doesn't look as if obtenir is a good fit for this sentence. 'Get' is used in so many different ways in English that there isn't a single French verb that covers it. Collins FR-EN translates 'obtenir' as 'to get' but EN-FR is a different story. My hard copy devotes nearly 2 full pages and 9 main sections to the different ways 'get' is used. The only instance where it translates it using 'obtenir' is in relation to 'getting a prize'.
It's the same with Larousse online. Lots of different French verbs to render different phrases using 'get' but it too only offers 'obtenir' in relation to things you are officially or formally awarded, like 'permission', 'licence' or 'diploma'.
For the most likely meanings of this English sentence (it's ambiguous) both dictionaries steer you towards 'prendre' (buy) or 'aller chercher' (fetch or bring). HTH!
- 14
Duo allowed me to get away with celui and serrée. At least I think it is "getting away" with it. But, Duo did not offer serré as an option. Is this just an error on her part? Would serrée not be matched-up with celle ci?
Yes, this is an error on Duo's part. "serrée" goes with "celle qui" (no need for "celle-ci") here, not with "celui qui".
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'Celle' refers to a feminine object and 'Celui' refers to a masculine object; e.g. 'This dog is the one that bit me' is 'Ce chien est celui qui m'a mordu.' I hope this helps.
"Je vais chercher celle qui est moins serrée" was marked wrong, and yet I hear "chercher" used in this fashion all the time where I am. I'm in France though, so maybe they speak a different kind of French here. :)
It's not chercher ("to search"), but aller chercher ("to fetch"), so it should be: Je vais aller chercher celle qui est moins serrée.
If the sentence has "serree" it has to be "celle"(and vice versa) -- both are feminine. "celui" goes with "serre" because both are masculine.
this is so frustrating when do you use qui versus que. Someone please respond. I have asked this question a couple of times
Qui is the subject of a verb (.... qui est moins serrée). Que is the object. (Eg J'ai donné la réponse que vous cherchait)
"get" translates as both "buy" and "take" (e.g. "can I get a beer?")
"Je vais chercher celle qui est moins serrée" If they offer the verb 'get', they should accept 'chercher' here, particularly since it's at the top of the pull-down list. In a shop it would be quite natural to say that you are going to find (look for, search for) a different article.
celui/celle - les pronoms démonstratifs simples
lequel/laquelle - les pronoms relatifs composés (they require prepositions, e.g. pour lequel/laquelle, sur lequel/laquelle, auquel/à laquelle, duquel/de laquelle)