"Yes, we always do."
Translation:Ja, det gör vi alltid.
36 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Shouldn't the English sentence be: "Yes, we always do that."? The "that" is the counterpart of "det", and would be a useful didactic aid (in my opinion). As it stands now the "do" here in the English is just a modal verb without a complement rather than the full verb "to do", so translating it to "gör" probably isn't strictly accurate anyway, right?
The Swedish verb is a stand in for many possible verbs here. Läser ni tidningen på morgnarna? - Ja det gör vi alltid. ('Do you read the newspaper in the mornings? Yes we always do'), Äter du kyckling? - Ja det gör jag ('Do you eat chicken? Yes I do'). Bor du i Sverige? - Ja, det gör jag. ('Do you live in Sweden? - Yes I do').
So the Swedish sentence is not really about doing something, it is a sentence that confirms that the action takes place, if you see what I mean.
This is what frustrates me about Duolingo. "That" is not in the English sentence, but it is in the Swedish version. No explanation of when to use it. I simply get dinged for being wrong. Same with word order/sentence construction. There must be a rule. Duolingo's drawback is that these rules are never exposed. Examples and translations are nice, but sometimes a little more is called for.
I was using only the Android app on my phone for a lengthy time when one day I was sitting in front of my computer and decided to take a look at Duolingo. The website is much better, in my opinion. The site allows access to more information that I was unable find using my phone. At least I could not find it. Maybe someone else knows how.
2395
I've found that it doesn't count when starting with stuff like "yes" or "no". I guess those are considered entirely separate pieces or something?
846
It seems as if I still don't understand the syntactical regimen of the Swedish language, although I thought it was akin to the German language, due to the relationship of the two of them. I wrote: »Ja, vi gör det alltid.« but was rejected, with reference to the top answer, »Ja, det gör vi alltid.« I do not question the correctness of the top answer—how could I?—, but I think that mine does not sound necessarily incorrect, or even unnatural. But maybe I miss something. Assuming I do, what is it? Why is my answer uncorrect?
527
The Swedish here is more literally translated as "Yes, we always do that". The Swedish "det" is analagous to the "that":
Ja, det gör vi alltid
Yes, that do we always.
527
No, in Swedish adverbs do not always come right after the verb. (That is true of some adverbs, called clausal adverbials, which modify the entire clause. The adverb inte, for example. But other adverbs, called content adverbials, such as those that add information about time or place, usually come at the end of the sentence.)
Furthermore, in an ordinary declarative sentence, when a nonsubject element begins the sentence, the finite verb (conjugated verb) comes second, and the subject third:
Det gör vi.
That do we.
So, as you see, here the first three positions are spoken for. So the adverb's first chance to appear, so to speak, is in fourth position:
Det gör vi alltid.
527
Barbara, I fear you have not read the comments on this page, which explain why the translation into English without using "that" is perfectly valid.
So, no corrections necessary!
527
The Swedish construction needs an object ("det"); the English does not. See the comments on this page for more.
In every European language some verbs need objects, some don't; and verbs with the same meaning may differ in that respect from language to language.
Even within English verbs differ as to whether they need an object. Consider the following:
Q: Do you like it?
A1: Yes I like it.
A2: Yes I like.
A3: Yes I do.
In English A1 and A3 are typical, A2 would be odd.