21 Comments
222
I made the same mistake because I thought "bare" and "kun" were synonymous, but according to the exercise hint they are not in this case. However I do know that "I only eat pasta" is "Jeg spiser kun pasta". So I'm partly guessing here but now it sounds like the meaning in this example is something along the lines of "I'll just eat pasta then". Though, I have no idea why that would be so.
Here's hoping for the shedding of more light on this.
Three years, and still waiting for an answer to a very reasonable question. You are more patient than I would be, miacomet. Have a lingot from me!
It seems to me that "bare" minimizes the importance of something, along the lines of "merely". If a shop assistant asks if they can help you with anything, a possible reply is "Jeg kigger bare" (I'm just looking). "Kun", on the other hand, is more about limiting the number or amount of something, as in "Jeg har kun 10 kroner."
This is just ("bare") what I've been able to gather as a learner. Others may want to elaborate on this, or correct me if necessary.
- 495
The issue is not bare vs kun but only vs just in English. The two sentences are the same in English. If the person eats nothing but pasta, in English you can express this with "just" or "only." There may be subtle distinctions between the two Danish words, but "only" and "just" in this instance would be treated as synonymous expressions to mean that the person restricts their diet to pasta.
Why is here the correct answer "I will eat pasta"?! I wrote I only eat pasta and it said I am wrong.
Ya in danish bare and kun have different meanings but in english only and just can be used synonymously
So is this saying that he doesn't do anything but eat pasta, or that the only thing he eats is pasta?
- 495
Yes, thank you! This is what I wrote as a reply above to a discussion of bare and kun. Why does this program never adjust its answers? I've been doing this since 2016 and the same errors keep cropping up.
Shouldn't the correct translation be "I'm just eating pasta", as in "I am merely eating pasta"? As they have it translated now, it appears as though they are saying they only eat pasta, which is an incorrect translation of "bare".
after two years there is still the future tense " i will eat pasta " popping up - as the only correct answer. that should be easily remedied, guys...
- 14
It's one of several accepted translations, as far as I can see. The problem is the simple present tense of "spiser". Keeping the tense the same, translated to an English simple present tense makes the sentence rather absolute. "I just eat pasta." - "Since the very first bit of food my mother gave to me, nothing but pasta has ever passed my lips and nothing but pasta ever will. I just eat pasta." But that isn't a very likely situation: It's more likely that it's intended as a present continuous. "I'm just eating pasta." - "I wanted to eat potatoes and pasta today, but I didn't have any potatoes and the supermarket was already closed. I'm just eating pasta." However, present tenses are often used to represent the certain future as well So, when trying to avoid the absoluteness of "I just eat pasta.", one might end up speaking about the certain future. "I always eat pasta on my day off, and this is my day off, so what will I eat? I will eat pasta."
I think you're over-egging what you call the "absoluteness" of the simple present there, P. The simple present doesn't have to equate to "always without exception" ("Since the very first bit of food my mother gave me" etc.) ; it also refers to custom and habit -- the application of which may be at very widely spaced intervals. "Sometimes I have very complicated dishes; other times I just eat pasta."
- 495
With the issue of "just" vs "only" and given the other discussions here, I find a major issue with this program is the lack of context. It's hard to imagine all the possible translations of any one sentence, but if you create a context, the experience is more meaningful and certain options work better than others for translation.
