42 Comments
You don't need the apostrophe here if you construct your sentence with "of". It is either or:
- the boys' names (possessive case with 's)
- the names of the boys
he is not using it as an apostrophe. he is using it as a single quote, the same as "the names of some boys", to clarify it as the end of the sentence
The sentence uses des Des is de+les ( of the). So the meaning is the names of the boys and not some boys. Des garçons also means some boys but thw sentence can't mean 'the names some boys' (without of)
i was trying to say that sitesurf said you don't need an apostrophe after boys. but jinjamcunningham was not using it as an apostrophe, but as a single quote.
Sitesurf, I keep getting marked as incorrect by Duolingo when I type "The boys' names." It keeps telling me that the correct response is "The boys names" (without the possessive mark). It also marks me as incorrect on another sentence about animals' names (the names of several animals) and I try to report it but the options are: the audio does not sound correct; the dictionary hints on hover are wrong or missing; the French sentence is unnatural or has an error.
I know that the system has always had troubles with apostrophes, blaming users for a non-existing space or suggesting incorrect translations (like "the boys names"). This was duly reported but it has not been fixed yet. In addition, I am aware of the drastic limitations recently implemented in the reporting system, and I think it is only temporary.
Thank you, Sitesurf. I will keep that in mind and just go on my way.
It marked me as correct for the same answer in February 2018, but edited out the apostrophe at the bottom. There is no way to report an error like this when they mark you correct with a minor (non-existent) error.
"les noms de certains garçons" or "les noms de quelques garçons", because I would interpret the use of "some" as meaning "a number of", not just "boys"
I put "The boys' names" and it was marked as a typo and I was given "boys" as correct. As long as we are talking about the names belonging to a number of boys, it should be boys'.
It's really hard to differentiate plural and singular in cases like this.
No it shouldn't because the singular is "le nom du garçon". So you need to listen carefully to the articles : "le" vs "les" and "du" vs "des".
Yes the s's on the ends of the words are almost impossible to hear so you have to pay close attention to the articles. Le sounds like luh (uh like the oo in woods) Les sounds like lay Same goes for de (duh) and des (day)
Did anyone else have trouble recognizing "noms" in the sentence! It sounded like she was saying "non." Quite tricky!
They do sound very similar, yeah - you just have to get familiar with the context really. Non doesn't actually make sense there, plus with the les before it you know you're expecting a noun phrase to follow. At first you just need to twig that the word you thought you heard doesn't really fit, then you can actually have a think about what it should be. Eventually your mind will start to filter it automatically, and you'll 'hear' the right word.
Part of it's understanding enough to know what words to expect. Same goes for your first language - it's just a string of common sounds really, your brain has just developed the ability to spot patterns and order them quickly!
Duolingo said that the correct answer is "The boys names" when I wrote "The boys' names" (with an apostrophe); however the apostrophe is necessary to indicate ownership - without it, the sentence doesn't make sense. Can they change it?
I'm afraid the algorithm cannot properly deal with apostrophes, nor spaces sometimes.
"nom" means "name" in general.
"prénom" is first name
"nom de famille" is last name
Strange. My answer was "The boys' names," and though I still got the green check, it told me that my answer was "almost right," and that the correct response was "The boys names," (without the apostrophe). This has to be a glitch, right, or could "The boys names," somehow also work? Perhaps that translation could work if it were in reference to a book or list of baby names; one side/section has "The girls names," and one has "The boys names." Thoughts? 2/24/17
Please forget about "garçon" meaning waiter, it does not any more: their job is "serveur" and "serveuse" and we call them "Madame, mademoiselle, monsieur" nowadays.
The program stated I wrote "waiter" when in fact I wrote "children" which was wrong but something isn't right
Please forget about "garçon" meaning waiter, it does not any more: their job is "serveur" and "serveuse" and we call them "Madame, mademoiselle, monsieur" nowadays.
Boy = garçon
Boys = garçons
Child = enfant
Children = enfants
"The children's names" is not a good response? Come on! I believe it depends on what we're talking about. Doesn't it?
un nom = name (generic) and often first name + family name
family name/surname = un nom de famille
first name/forename = un prénom
nickname = un surnom
un pronom = pronoun
Ouch my English was correctly marked wrong (boy's instead of boys'). Although it is not unusual for Duo to let the odd spelling mistake slip through this error was highlighted. Guess I should be pleased since I'm usually an apostrophe pedant!
Three new boys are introduced to the classroom teacher. "What are the boys' names?" the teacher asks the school secretary. It depends on the context whether or not there should be an apostrophe. "The book of Boys Names" is a different context. Since no context is given in the exercise, both answers should be correct. Think of "the boy's shoe size"; "the boys' shoe sizes".
Using the apostrophe in "The boys' names" is arguably a bit pedantic in modern English, but it is correct. Duo lingo should not be "correcting" it to "The boys names", which is technically incorrect.
No, I do not have a typo. I wonder if Duo will be able get this apostrophe bug ironed out.
672
Apostrophe needed Before s singular possesive as in the name of the boy Or after s if more than one boy as names of the boys
I wrote exactly that what it is above as translation and it says that I have a typo; it is not "boys'" but "boys".
