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- Topic: Spanish >
- "Ellos tienen una escalera."
63 Comments
I agree, stairway should be acceptable. I'm a native English speaker and it's what came to mind, because I grew up listening to Stairway to Heaven.
I was marked wrong for using stairway. Is stairway slang? I always say stairway.
Stairway is not slang. Stairway is standard English. This is a mistake on Duolingo's part.
1833
I have reported this " una escalera=a stairway" problem to DL. It appeared also in the timed practice I just did. I answered with a stairway and it was counted wrong. We'll see what they do.
Stairway is more grandiose isnt it? More Scarlet o'hara. deep south, big skirts? is it not slightly more american?
It's more grandiose than that "stairway to heaven?" better stick to staircase from now on.
I will see if Jimmy is willing to write..'staircase to heaven'..nah..i simply mean that to me...stairway..sounds grander than staircase..n'est ce pas??
- 1833
Thank you! I have taken to reporting alternative words, translations and other issues that I feel sure about to Report a Problem. Then let duolingo hash them out! Can't remember if I did this one or not.
Context.
It's a matter of what's been being talked about. This informative context content we do not see.
- 284
I've heard ladder said as "escalera de mano" literally meaning "hand stair" idk if that is something commonly said though
- 2033
Yep, escalator it seems is escalera mecánica or escalera eléctrica (Collins dictionary)
Or they have a staircase. 'Staircase' is one of the translations that duolingo provides for 'escalera'. hrmphh!
They have a staircase seems like it should be correct. I'd report that one and see what they say.
They have stairs would make sense, but it wouldn't work for this sentence because of una.
I said ladder como: "...Sí, escalera, sube en el presente, peldaño tras peldaño..." (Yes, a ladder: rise out of the moment step by step...) Neruda, "Ode to the Present" (trans. Ken Krabbenhoft).
Many people use both 'stairway' and 'staircase'. Both are correct, but in Spanish, the literal meaning of 'escalera' is 'ladder'.
I wrote "stairwell". I'm wondering why that came to mind before staircase and stairway. Is there a difference here, too?
stairwell: a space in a building where stairs are located, a vertical shaft in which stairs are located
It says stepladder is a translation of the word but if you put it in, you are marked wrong. What gives?
I think duolingo need more flexibility on this answer. A stair, a stairway, stairs, all mean the same thing.
Always confuse tiene for want instead of have. Any tips from native user ?
I'm not a native speaker, but I have two tips for you: 1) if you're American, you may have seen the "Yo quiero Taco Bell" ads with the chihuahua. This may help you remember the translation for the verb to want. 2) I see that you are also a French speaker/learner. The verb tenir in French meaning to hold is similar to the verb tener in Spanish for to have, especially in certain conjugations. To have and to hold are much more similar than to want.
Even if I am constantly having to stop myself from translating tiene as hold, this similarity may help you.
Where I come from in the U.S. we say "stairwell" and "stairway" interchangeably, but here it said that I should use "stairway" or "ladder" and that "stairwell" was wrong. Is there another term for "stairwell" that I just don't know about in Spanish or is this an error in the program?
- 619
No, it's not an error. This was discussed over a year ago, see hudsodm's comment above, as well. A "stairwell" is the vertical shaft in a building where the staircase is built. It's called " un hueco de escalera" in Spanish. "Hueco" can mean a "hole, cavity, hollow..."
You know, studies show that keeping a ladder in the house is ten times more dangerous than a loaded gun. That's why I own ten guns, in case someone maniac tries to sneak in with a ladder.
I translate it:" They have a stairs". But it is wrong :-( Why Duolingo, why, why, why???
This program is getting frustrating! Usually it will see that you have the sentence correct even if you mispell or leave a letter out of one of the words. Other times, for example, I write escalara instead of escalera and the entire response, although otherwise correct, is marked as wrong! Argh!
