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- Topic: Swedish >
- "Det finns bara på papperet."
42 Comments
1356
...except that 'This exists only in theory' is not accepted? Only 'That ...' is accepted.
There is a slight difference there.
1451
Yes, this means det här or detta whereas det can mean either it or that. (det där only means that).
Bit of a late comment, but 'This only exists in theory' is not always the same as 'This only exists on paper' in some dialects of English. At least here in the US Midwest, the 'in theory' version typically refers to something not being confirmed or to something that is only true in an idealized situation that ignores reality, while the 'on paper' version usually implies something has been designed but never implemented (for example, you have blueprints, but have never produced a prototype) but not necessarily that implementation is impossible (which is kind of implied by the 'in theory' version).
140
Because it is the definite form. The fact that this expression (on paper) uses a non-definite noun in English does not mean that every language has to work the same way.
I just got this question and it is in the definite form. But, the question just before it was the same statement in English, but the answer was in the indefinite form. So, the first time, it was papper the second time it was papperet. I came here looking for an explanation as to why it was acceptable in the definite and indefinite.
1451
We currently accept just in most combinations here, but not in It exists on paper only, where it seems just wouldn't work. What were you trying to write?
1451
No, because 'that' is treated as singular, it must be 'exists' with an 's'.
What you put could work as a subclause if there was something in front of it "They were talking about things that exist only on paper", (and it would be … som bara finns på papperet in Swedish) but it doesn't work on its own.
1451
(very late answer) That's supposed to be an accepted answer, I hope this was just a glitch.
477
Why is it not possible to translate: "There is only on paper"? (reported)
Also "It is only on the paper" was not accepted.
477
Thank you, my first sentence lacked a "that". Would be "there is that only on paper" better and acceptable?
I do not like the verb "exists" in the given translation. Why is it not possible to translate: "It is only on paper" or "It is just on paper" without the definite article instead of the given English standard solution?
1394
For an expression like this suggested sentence to work in English, you would need a predicate nominative: "There is SOMETHING only on the paper," like coffee spilled and landed only on the paper. However, "det finns" can sometimes mean "it exists," and this lesson is about an imaginative idea, so "It exists only on paper." I have frequently heard this idea expressed as "It exists just on paper."