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- "Her sons are in college."
"Her sons are in college."
Translation:Os filhos dela estão na faculdade.
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Could someone please explain the difference between faculdade and colégio. Both mean college. All I can think of is that faculdade must be referring to university level education whilst colégio refers to secondary or high school education. Duolingo should surely accept both answers when it asks us to translate the sentence: "her sons are in college" Or am I missing something very simple here?
faculdade = superior education in a specific area (similar to university) colégio = regular school. it's usually used when it refers to a private school.
Obrigado. Muito útil. Can I then assume that the term escola refers to (public) education below degree level.
yes, but just don't forget you can use escola for private schools too, but that's not so frequently used ;)
Why is na required before faculdade? I wrote "Os filhos dela estão em faculdade" and it was wrong. Wouldn't that mean 'her sons are in the college'?
In Portuguese, you should always use the definite article with school, college, university,...
Well, sort of... A college can stand alone or be part of a university. A college offers "undergraduate" degrees which often are Bachelor Degrees (typically 4 years of study) but also can be Associate Degrees (typically 2 years of study, often in a trade such as printing). For instance many towns and cites have Community Colleges which offer Associate Degrees but also preparatory classes for college (not just to get a GED – General Equivalency Diploma, if one did not graduate from high school – but also classes numbered below 100 such as Math 60/65, to get someone up to college level courses, which would begin with 100 series such as Writing 101/121 being freshman/first year writing while Writing 201/221 would be second year/sophomore level...). So a Community College can provide college level courses that transfer to 4-year colleges (even those within Universities) up to the first two years of study (meaning you could start at a state school in the 3rd year/Junior status). This can save people a ton of money not just in tuition but residence/food fees as not every town/city has a college/university (that further will accept them as students).
Some High Schools (typically 9th thru 12th grades/13 to 18 year-olds) can, especially with a Baccalaureate program also propel a student past the first year of college with college level courses and especially good language programs that satisfy the two-year requirements for some degrees in college. This too can not only save money, but time by allowing a student to finish a 4 year program in just 3 years.
However, the colleges that offer undergraduate degrees within universities tend to focus on bachelor degrees that will continue on to Masters and Ph.D degrees such as Pre-Med.
Just to add here, a university is where one gets advanced degrees such as a Masters or Ph.D (Doctorate), and also where educational studies are pursued (aka Post Doc) such as the cure for cancer, or string theory.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postdoctoral_researcher
All these past the high school level are referred to as Higher Education and also mark the end of free/state provided education (and often is a right of passage for the child who typically moves out of the family home).
However, I have noticed that the root for "college" (for instance, "colégia" for PT) in most of Europe actually refers to what those in the US would call a "high school". In Germany some types of "high schools" are also confusingly called, "gymnasiums".
"Estão" (infinitive = estar) is used for temporary states.
When someone is at a place, it is temporary, so you always use "estar" in this case.
"Her sons are in college" to my ears sounded that 1. they are not only currently in college, e.g. this morning (requiring estár) but 2. made their way to university education. If I am not mistaken, the second ex. requires "ser" instead. Paulenrique, could you please confirm.
Here in the US, universities are made up of many colleges. I graduated from Rockefeller College Of Public Affairs and Policy which is just one college of many of the State University of New York. I, too, am confused by Faculdade and colégio. I do not understand what Paulenrique means when he says "superior" education."
Colégio is commonly used to refer to privates schools in Portuguese.
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In UK English I think "her sons are AT college" is more usual. "In college" gives the idea that they are there right at this moment.
If the program[me] did not accept it, then be sure to report it as, "my answer should be accepted" so the Course Contributors can add it as an alternative answer.
However, as Duolingo is a US company it focuses on US English for most courses (the Gaelic and Welsh trees are exceptions). The idea for this particular phrase probably comes from, being enrolled in the school but, does not mean that they are currently inside the school. It is the same for the various levels. My child is in grade (grammar/elementary) school, or middle/junior, high, private/public school or even the specific grade as in, *my child is in second grade."
I really think in the US if "at" were used it would infer they are there at the moment.
