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I appreciate that duolingo requires fairly specific translations, it's making me have to really learn the details. But that's just me.
-dür is mainly used to state facts. To emphasize an unchangeable common piece of knowledge. "Bir ay otuz gündür" and that's that. Of course there's another fact, that "Bır ay otuz bir gündür" etc.
"Bugün cuma" is different, because you are emphasizing the fact by using the word "bugün", which practically means "this day" and no other is Friday.
I hope this helps. It is helping me.
Yes, but they're not interchangeable. It depends on the last vowel of the word:
- kedi + dir = kedidir
- yıl + dir = yıldır
- kum + dir = kumdur
- gül + dir = güldür
These were easy. You use the same vowel and bob's your uncle. But for the remaining four vowels, we use the closest ones:
- araba + dir = arabadır
- ev + dir = evdir
- kol + dir = koldur
- göl + dir = göldür
You have paraphrased the thing. It is not the exact translation anymore. In Turkish, that sentence would be: Bir ayda otuz gün vardır.
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I think that's the tricky thing about DuoLingo - "one month is thirty days" sounds rather odd in English; should we translate it directly, or give the natural equivalent?
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you should give a natural equivalent, but without too much interpretation. "there are thirty days in a month" is OK, as you know the course is very new and of course there are missing alternatives. Keep reporting
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Nitpicking a bit in the same vein as Jenkiz92, but more to clarify: -dir is also used for 'facts' that are only almost true?
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"One month is thirty days" does sound odd in English, but it is grammatically correct. I believe in providing natural equivalents for the most part, but when trying to learn a language, I don't think it is wise to stray too far from the literal meaning. Taken to extremes that could lead to serious communication problems! Has anyone ever played "The Telephone Game?" It is also known as "Chinese Whispers." If you haven't heard of it, you can read about it here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_whispers. Reference to that game may be considered a bit OT, but I add it here to make a case for the more literal translations we are given in this duolingo course.
Rhyme to remember number of days in each month: (English calendar)
30 days has September, April, June, and November. When short February's done. All the rest have 31. Thirty days hath September, April, June, and November, all the rest have thirty-one. February has twenty-eight, but leap year coming one in four February then has one day more.
"Bu aylar otuz gündür, Eylül, Nisan, Haziran ve Kasım." Translation: These months have thirty days, September, April, June & November.
"Bu aylar otuz gündür, Eylül, Nisan, Haziran ve Kasım." Translation: These months have thirty days, September, April, June & November.
