"My son is doing his homework."
Translation:Min son sitter och gör läxan.
60 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
Why does the swedish phrase include sitter? Does it add a certain meaning to the sentence? (Maybe reinforcing that he is not distracted and is working on his homework?)
Adding a verb like "Sitter", "Står" or "Går", etc, with the main verb is a way of emphasizing that the action is being done right now, instead of every now and then.
I wondered about this. In French we say "in the process of" to emphasise something happening now as opposed to a habitual action. Can we use these verbs with any actions to emphasise a current action, or do we need to learn 100 stock combinations?
I tried "Min son håller på att göra laxorna" and was told it's wrong — is that just because of "laxorna" (which I know should use an "ä"), or can I not use "att göra" this way, or is something else going on?
Edit: I've gotten the sentence a few times and tried feeding it variations to try and learn more about it. Based on the answers shown as correct, it seems like "Min son håller på och gör läxan" should be accepted, but it's not accepted either.
In short, I'm still not clear on what I'm getting wrong in the two examples I've given here.
So does it follow that more than one of these continuous forms may work to convey the “continuous” sense of the verb?
Yes, there are multiple options. Some are more idiomatic in some situations, and other options in other situations.
Thanks! It makes sense that there might be appropriate alternatives in some situations!
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It would mean that he's standing while he is doing his homework. Although this is possible, of course, it is fairly unlikely.
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No, I got the same thing with "min son sittar och gör sin läxor", though I'm realizing now that the tip suggested the plural and I didn't have "sina" so that might be the issue there.
why is the following: Min son står och gör läxan. not accepted along with the same sentence used with sitter? (multiple choice)
I automatically picked 'ligger' because I always used to do my homework in bed. Does the phrase always use 'sitter', even if the person is actually in another position while doing their homework?
No, it depends on the spatiality, as you say. But to be honest, I think you may be in the minority here, and ligger still probably shouldn't be accepted to avoid confusing people. :)
Similar question ... I tried Min son håller på med att göra läxorna. Is including med wrong?
Broadly speaking, you use håller på att [verb] and håller på med [noun]. There's also arguably håller på med att [verb], but I would consider that regional and much too colloquial to accept.
Is there anything wrong with "Han sitter och gör läxorna"? Can he only do one item of homework at a time?
Are we trying to stress that he is sitting to do the homework or could we use "håller på" in this case?
I simply put "Min son gör läxan.", and it counted it as correct. Is that also an acceptable translation?
Yes. The sitter och [verb] construction and its sibling variations are ways in Swedish of expressing continuous action. But since Swedish doesn't have a proper continuous, the line between the two is blurry at best, and both options work well.
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Why is "Min son håller på att gör läxorna." not correct? I have to use "göra" I think. Is it so?
Bit of both - you do need göra, but it wasn't accepted so you wouldn't have been marked right anyway. I've fixed that now.
Min son håller på med läxan. Why is this wrong? If I got it right, hålla på med and göra supposed to be synonimous.
There's a conjunction between the verbs, so each part functions as a main clause, though they share the same subject.
I think it's either sitter/står/... och or håller på att. Håller på med might also work but as far as I know it cannot be used with och.
Yes, that is correct. It's common colloquially to say håller på och, though - but it shouldn't be accepted.
Huh, I don't know who wrote that but that's definitely not advisable. I'll edit that. Thanks for letting me know.
South Slavic languages have a very similar/nearly the same phrase construction here. The act of sitting is not so important as a literal term there, it is used to depict the scene and put emphasis on the second verb. Same with "mamma står och sjünger framför tvn" - the woman could be as well dancing or standing or whatever but that is not a crucial aspect of the action, the singing is. A bit like in English one would stay "she was just standing there staring at me" - the standing part is not a crucial literal part of the action, but adding it to the phrase makes it more intense than just saying "she was staring at me"
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My son uses to lie on the floor doing his homework. I am a little sad it gets marked wrong when I write "ligger och gör ..." .
I can appreciate that, but I hope you understand why I can't really accept it... :)
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Wellll ... yes of course. But actually it would be right, right? As would be "min mor ligger och sjunger framför tv:n" ?
Sure, you could use that for virtually any continuous sentence in which the subject is lying down. Hence why we can't really accept it everywhere. There are so many places where it just doesn't make sense, even if technically possible. :)
Why isn't the English translation "my son is sitting and doing his homework"? Why are some translations shortened while others aren't accepted to be the correct answer as "my son is sleeping" instead of "my son is lying and sleeping"?
Why can it not be står? Many people stand and do their homework at a kitchen bench or just stand because they've been sitting for 6 hours are school. This shouldn't be incorrect!
