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- Topic: Spanish >
- "Leo el capítulo siete."
38 Comments
Loads of sentences make little sense, but this isn't proper English grammar. It would be either "I read chapter seven" or "I read the seventh chapter." The former is a better translation because it used "siete" and not "septimo" in Spanish. The confusion came from the fact that English doesn't require an article here while Spanish does need it.
El problema es, in addition to not having much money of course, that DL is spotty in accepting the English present progressive as a translation of the Spanish present tense. After a few too many hearts lost, we dumb it down beyond any sense.
I don't really understand why "I read the chapter seven" can't be said in English (yes, I know it's not proper English grammar), but can someone explain why it's not proper English grammar? (explaning the logics behind it if it's possible)
I read the chapter seven = it's a definite chapter, or maybe English considers "chapter seven" as a block, as name.
Hi - in English there are many situations where the is not used :)
One of those situations is NOUN + NUMBER. So :
Children, please turn to page 23
Good Morning Sir, you will be staying in Room 316
I am reading Chapter 7
To me, it is almost as if these Noun + Number combinations are proper nouns - they are a bit like "titles" I guess. They are the name of the page, or the platform, or the room. Being a "name", they cannot be used with the.
The capitilaisation of these nouns is another matter and there is a lot of disagreement. Personally, I like to capitalise most of them, but others argue it is archaic. On the other hand, I don't think I would capitalise "page" :)
The following link is an excellent summary of when to NOT use the
http://www.englishteachermelanie.com/grammar-when-not-to-use-the-definite-article/
"I am reading chapter seven" Come on DL, we are translating into ENGLISH, not Spanish with English words.
This tense (simple present) has the same problems En-Sp as in En-Fr.
Both the simple present (I read) and the present continuous (I am reading) can be expressed using the simple present in Spanish (Leo) and French (je lis).
BUT in English - the tenses are NOT interchangeable and the simple present is used when something occurs regularly or is a habit.
So as an isolated phrase, I read chapter 7 sounds absurd in English, unless the read is interpreted as past tense.
Did you read chapter 3
No I read chapter 7 PAST TENSE.
But if it is a present tense exercise, and the word is read, it needs to be :
I read chapter 7 every night before I go to bed - I love it. My husband thinks I'm crazy.
I read a book to the children once a week at school.
So I read chapter 7 could only be said (with present tense in mind) in answer to a question like:
*What chapter to you read to the students (every year) to introduce the book?"
*I read chapter 7 - it's my favourite."
The link below has twelve excellent exercises and then a trio of tests - on the first page there is a great explanation. They get a bit harder as you go along. You can do exercise after exercise, formats are sentence and question (since it is important to be able to ask and answer in the correct tense). You fill in the missing word and check your score.
http://www.ego4u.com/en/cram-up/grammar/simpre-prepro#exercises
In English we use both terms since we don't differentiate between the two. Apparently the difference is made in other languages (eg Chinese) In those languages, the difference lies in the difference between the continuing state of the subject (continuous) and the continuing action (progressive). Both are used in English to mean a continuing action. You will see both continuous and progressive used in English language courses to refer to the same tense.
Apparently in US, progressive is about twice as common and in BE both used equally.
Different tenses sometimes have multiple names depending on where you learned it. For example, the past perfect tense is also known as the pluperfect tense. I agree though, I more commonly hear "present progressive".
I may be wrong but "I read chapter 7" may be ok when you are doling out assignments, but if someone were to ask, "What chapter do you read?" And the other person said "I read chapter 7." I would know that they are not native Am. English speakers. I think it would be more natural to say "What chapter are you reading?" "I am reading chapter 7." I'm not saying that "I read Chap 7." is wrong, I just think that "I am reading chap 7" should be an acceptable translation.
Actually because leo is a verb in the present indicative mood, the sentence can also mean I am reading chapter seven. Leo can mean three thing 1. I read 2. I do read 3. I am reading
Why doesn't 'I read the 7th chapter' work? It's the same as 'I read the seventh chapter'...
408
Creo que la traducción correcta es la que dicen aquí, sin embargo a mi me la dan como no correcta y me pone que lo correcto es I read the seventh chapter.......¡no lo entiendo!
- 1880
Hmm. "Capitulo" also means "episode," as in "Episode Seven of Lost." Not accepted as of 2 May 14. Though in fairness I suppose in this usage one would "watch" and not "read" an episode.
Capítulo = Chapter, and episode = episodio. Yes you can say:
"Saga XXX, Chapter Y"
to mean it's an episode, as well you can say:
"Saga XXX, Capítulo Y
to mean it's an episodio. But It doesn't mean "capítulo" is really a synonym for "episode" in itself. If we apply it, we can take synonym of synonyms, and it's not a good thing. When we have the precise words, it's better to use them. (Though thesaurus give "episodio" and "capítulo" with close meaning)
- 1880
Thanks. I've also heard "episodio" in this context and you're correct, of course: more precision is usually better. Cheers.
I saw in another sentence on Duo, since I wrote this reply, "chapter" (isolated word, not in a sentence), translated as "episodio" by Duolingo (In other suggested correction). So, it confuses me. Because sometimes people suggest sometimes close words but not exact words, and it get accepted.
My impression is that many words have multiple uses, but how they are "split" across the language is different for different languages. For, example, we use "free" to mean free of charge and "free from restraint" but in Spanish, "gratis" means free of charge, and "libre" means free from restraint. (I believe.) But there was an example in DL where both translations were accepted, but the sentence then had different meanings.
I can't check right now but the answer shown is I read the seventh chapter but I believe seventh is septimo not siete.
The answer I see is "I read chapter seven". You're correct though, "seventh"=séptimo.
- 74
I don't know which is correct. But with dates, English ordinal numbers are translated into Spanish with cardinal numbers. March 7 is read March the seventh, but translated into Spanish as siete de marzo.
Am I the teacher telling you what to read or am I telling you what I am going to read. We need a hint here. Some direction is helpful.
