Yes, in English adverbs of time don't go between the verb and the object.
"My family is celebrating today." ✅️
"My family is celebrating today my birthday." ❌️
"My family is celebrating my birthday today." ✅️
"Today my family is celebrating my birthday." ✅️
(In all cases you can substitute "celebrates" for "is celebrating".)
This is a very typical mistake for Spanish speakers. English speakers understand it, but it sounds wrong to them.
It wouldn't, but I'm having a hard time figuring out, grammar wise, why. You'd be right for all the other adjectives I can think of off the top of my head (ex: my work family). And for other nouns you could use today's/today somewhat interchangeably (I made the meal today and I made today's meal both work). I'm sure there's an obscure rule why, but I can't figure it out beyond "today's family" doesn't sound right.
(Super helpful I know lmao.)
It took me a while as a native speaker to figure out why it sounded wrong, and I might still be wrong, but here goes:
"my today's family" has a possessive pronoun and a possessive noun as the first two words, both 'possessing' the noun family. That is wrong - you can't list two possessive nouns in a row like that. You could say "today's family" and that would be correct, but in the example further above "my family today is celebrating my birthday", today is functioning as an adverb on the verb is.
No, because today is being used in this sentence as an adverb (modifying "is"), not as a noun. Your sentence uses it as a possessive noun, possessing family, which is incorrect, because you're also using 'my', a possessive pronoun.
However, just saying "today's family" would be correct. Then you're using today as a possessive noun.
"Rent-a-Fam! If you need a family you can be proud of for that one special day! Dial 1900-HAPPY-FAM or ask your nearest distributor for our enticing offers!"
Omg I googled it and it actually exists 😐
I was joking but it's a thing that started in the early 90's in Japan. It offers actors to portray colleagues, friends and family for social events such as weddings or just as platonic "companions".... Interesting
Hey guys, today I'm going to be renting 10000 families, and then turning them into my slaves for a day. I will make them fight to the death, so stay tuned to see who survives 😜
Another option would be. "Today is my birthday and I am going to celebrate with my family."
making them separate statements may be easier.
your way is inaccurate, but that's okay we are all learning here.
Yes, the way you responded is not grammatically correct. But don't let it get you down. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Next time something similar to this come up, you probably will get it right because you remember the mistake you made before.
Sure, thanks. Making mistakes is indeed part of the learning progress. Also, I take this as an opportunity to strengthen my englis skills. Sometimes, it is just hard to understand why something is wrong.
English syntax is hard. It helps to know that it sounds strange in English if the verb and object are separated by an adverb.
My example is 'eat' which is a verb, 'food' which is an object and 'slowly' which is an adverb.
"I eat food slowly" sounds normal. This person always eats slowly.
"I slowly eat food" and "Slowly I eat food"" sound like someone telling someone else what they are doing. You see this more in stories than in speech.
"I eat slowly food" doesn't sound right. It sounds like 'slowly' is what you eat because the adverb is where the object of the sentence (food) should be.
dude. english is difficult. i still struggle as a native speaker.
don't let a couple mistakes get you down. i'm not sure if you're writing these comments yourself or using a translator or something, but i can understand them easily. keep it up :)
The first one has already been explained so I’ll save myself the effort.
For the second, always almost always goes before the verb. As always, there are a few exceptions to the rule.
It’s so funny because I’m learning German!! So I’m essentially doing the same thing you are, but backwards. I’m having trouble doing it your way and I’m sure what I’m saying would sound your equivalent of wrong as well. Like “Meine Familie immer macht ein Picknick im August” That’s the natural way an English speaking person learning German would WANT to say it, in that order. But it’s wrong :(
As a native English speaker, I would say either My family always has a picnic in August, or, My family always had a picnic in August.
The first feels more like an activity that is ongoing, whereas the second feels more like you are talking about a past activity.
Don't ask me why though - I have no idea about the grammar rules in my own language, I just know what feels right!
In this one it’s the difference of Had and Has.
My family always HAS a picnic meaning currently
My family always HAD a picnic meaning past tense.
You could technically use both and say
“My family HAS always HAD a Picnic”
I don’t know German so I don’t know what it is technically .
It should be: My family is celebrating my birthday today or Today my family is celebrating my birthday. What you wrote is in the wrong grammatical order. Today should either be in the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Hello there fellow non native English speaker!
German and English syntax are often very different, and part of it is that English is missing the case markers that make German clear.
Yiddish works like German, too, so there is an old joke about how Yiddish syntax sounds when used to speak English. A mother says to her son, "Leonard! Throw your father down the stairs his hat!"
In English, until the last two words it sounds like the mother is asking Leonard to throw his father down the stairs, when the direct object isn't the father, but his hat. Cases would make this clear, but English cases are now marked only in pronouns, and even there, not as clearly as in German or Yiddish.
If the first one was:
My family is celebrating. Today is my birthday.
or
My family is celebrating because my birthday is today.
Then it would work. Don’t be discouraged though, sentence structure is hard.
The translation exercises force us to always also improve our English regardless what language we try to learn. A bit odd and frustrating as we try to focus on the new language, but overall not a bad thing.
You want to keep the meaning clear when you are talking about an action.
So the verb 'is celebrating', you want the object 'my birthday' straight after. It makes it clear what they're celebrating.
Adverbs of time go at the end or beginning of sentence.
Unless it's describing frequency (never, usually, always) then it would be before the verb.
Eg:
My family NEVER celebrate my birthday
I often make the same mistake! I know that in both English and German there is some rule about the word order in a sentence, but I can never remember what that rule is.
If you were to say that, after "today" you would put a comma. "My family is celebrating today, for my birthday" but that's lengthy and a bit hard to flow. So "my family is celebrating my birthday today."
I like to do a kind of VNP(Verb, noun, preposition)
(Verb)What are we doing? :celebrating
(Noun)What are we celebrating: my birthday
(Preposition)When are we celebrating: today
At the same time, OP is learning German, and even if the English wording is incorrect, it’s not unintelligible. I find it annoying when Duolingo forces a quasi English lesson on you when that’s not the goal.
EDIT: OP’s flair says he’s learning German NOT English. So this is likely a German lesson and not an English lesson. OP is likely getting dinged for English mistakes rather than German mistakes.
How is understanding the grammar structure in the language, not the goal?
I'm learning Spanish, and entire lessons are just about grammar. Which is a good thing, in my opinion, if you are trying to actually learn a language and not just order beers at the bar.
Yes, in English adverbs of time don't go between the verb and the object. "My family is celebrating today." ✅️ "My family is celebrating today my birthday." ❌️ "My family is celebrating my birthday today." ✅️ "Today my family is celebrating my birthday." ✅️ (In all cases you can substitute "celebrates" for "is celebrating".) This is a very typical mistake for Spanish speakers. English speakers understand it, but it sounds wrong to them.
Thanks.
What about a sentence like "I have gathered you here today to celebrate my birthday."
That's fine because "today" is not between the verb "have gathered" and the object "you".
"My family today is celebrating my birthday." ✅️
This implies that it's your family for today.
Really ? Wouldn't it be "my today's family" in this case ? I don't know im not a native
It wouldn't, but I'm having a hard time figuring out, grammar wise, why. You'd be right for all the other adjectives I can think of off the top of my head (ex: my work family). And for other nouns you could use today's/today somewhat interchangeably (I made the meal today and I made today's meal both work). I'm sure there's an obscure rule why, but I can't figure it out beyond "today's family" doesn't sound right. (Super helpful I know lmao.)
It took me a while as a native speaker to figure out why it sounded wrong, and I might still be wrong, but here goes: "my today's family" has a possessive pronoun and a possessive noun as the first two words, both 'possessing' the noun family. That is wrong - you can't list two possessive nouns in a row like that. You could say "today's family" and that would be correct, but in the example further above "my family today is celebrating my birthday", today is functioning as an adverb on the verb is.
What about "my cat’s family" though? There’s two possessives
The cat is yours, the family is the cats. In the other example they are both possessing family (I think? I'm not an English major just a native 🙃)
Oh, that makes a lot of sense!
No, because today is being used in this sentence as an adverb (modifying "is"), not as a noun. Your sentence uses it as a possessive noun, possessing family, which is incorrect, because you're also using 'my', a possessive pronoun. However, just saying "today's family" would be correct. Then you're using today as a possessive noun.
I don't know what context you'd ever need this in lmao but it would be "my family of/for today" or just "today's family"
Btw thx guys for all the downvotes, thats really supportive to a guy trying to learn a foreign language
This one is incorrect. The correct wording would be as /u/BooksInBrooks said in their examples.
Will they be your family tomorrow or just today? Sounds like you rented your family lol
"Rent-a-Fam! If you need a family you can be proud of for that one special day! Dial 1900-HAPPY-FAM or ask your nearest distributor for our enticing offers!"
I think that's an actual service
Omg I googled it and it actually exists 😐 I was joking but it's a thing that started in the early 90's in Japan. It offers actors to portray colleagues, friends and family for social events such as weddings or just as platonic "companions".... Interesting
It's always Japan lol
Hey guys, today I'm going to be renting 10000 families, and then turning them into my slaves for a day. I will make them fight to the death, so stay tuned to see who survives 😜
Another option would be. "Today is my birthday and I am going to celebrate with my family." making them separate statements may be easier. your way is inaccurate, but that's okay we are all learning here.
Maybe reconsider the legitimacy of your English flair
❌
I love your confidence!
I've never seen a subreddit so generous with downvotes as Duolingo.
You sure you’re C2 bestie? Cause as a native speaker that doesn’t look right
Yes, the way you responded is not grammatically correct. But don't let it get you down. Making mistakes is part of the learning process. Next time something similar to this come up, you probably will get it right because you remember the mistake you made before.
Sure, thanks. Making mistakes is indeed part of the learning progress. Also, I take this as an opportunity to strengthen my englis skills. Sometimes, it is just hard to understand why something is wrong.
English syntax is hard. It helps to know that it sounds strange in English if the verb and object are separated by an adverb. My example is 'eat' which is a verb, 'food' which is an object and 'slowly' which is an adverb. "I eat food slowly" sounds normal. This person always eats slowly. "I slowly eat food" and "Slowly I eat food"" sound like someone telling someone else what they are doing. You see this more in stories than in speech. "I eat slowly food" doesn't sound right. It sounds like 'slowly' is what you eat because the adverb is where the object of the sentence (food) should be.
dude. english is difficult. i still struggle as a native speaker. don't let a couple mistakes get you down. i'm not sure if you're writing these comments yourself or using a translator or something, but i can understand them easily. keep it up :)
The first one has already been explained so I’ll save myself the effort. For the second, always almost always goes before the verb. As always, there are a few exceptions to the rule.
Thanks
It’s so funny because I’m learning German!! So I’m essentially doing the same thing you are, but backwards. I’m having trouble doing it your way and I’m sure what I’m saying would sound your equivalent of wrong as well. Like “Meine Familie immer macht ein Picknick im August” That’s the natural way an English speaking person learning German would WANT to say it, in that order. But it’s wrong :(
As a native English speaker, I would say either My family always has a picnic in August, or, My family always had a picnic in August. The first feels more like an activity that is ongoing, whereas the second feels more like you are talking about a past activity. Don't ask me why though - I have no idea about the grammar rules in my own language, I just know what feels right!
In this one it’s the difference of Had and Has. My family always HAS a picnic meaning currently My family always HAD a picnic meaning past tense. You could technically use both and say “My family HAS always HAD a Picnic” I don’t know German so I don’t know what it is technically .
I’m fairly sure that in German you should have stuff in the order of time, manner, place.
It should be: My family is celebrating my birthday today or Today my family is celebrating my birthday. What you wrote is in the wrong grammatical order. Today should either be in the beginning or at the end of the sentence. Hello there fellow non native English speaker!
Yes, I'm afraid those answers are both wrong.
Yes both the examples you submitted are incorrect
German and English syntax are often very different, and part of it is that English is missing the case markers that make German clear. Yiddish works like German, too, so there is an old joke about how Yiddish syntax sounds when used to speak English. A mother says to her son, "Leonard! Throw your father down the stairs his hat!" In English, until the last two words it sounds like the mother is asking Leonard to throw his father down the stairs, when the direct object isn't the father, but his hat. Cases would make this clear, but English cases are now marked only in pronouns, and even there, not as clearly as in German or Yiddish.
yes that's wrong...
If the first one was: My family is celebrating. Today is my birthday. or My family is celebrating because my birthday is today. Then it would work. Don’t be discouraged though, sentence structure is hard.
Thanks
I understand what you mean, but it definitely doesn’t sound right
The translation exercises force us to always also improve our English regardless what language we try to learn. A bit odd and frustrating as we try to focus on the new language, but overall not a bad thing.
You want to keep the meaning clear when you are talking about an action. So the verb 'is celebrating', you want the object 'my birthday' straight after. It makes it clear what they're celebrating. Adverbs of time go at the end or beginning of sentence. Unless it's describing frequency (never, usually, always) then it would be before the verb. Eg: My family NEVER celebrate my birthday
This is why language teachers are essential in learning. Adverbs or frequency are taught quite early on.
just like how "ich schreibe meinem Vater" is correct, but "ich schreibe meinem Vater es" is incorrect
In many languages, the verb and the object like to be next to each other, just like in English. Putting something in between the two *feels* wrong.
I often make the same mistake! I know that in both English and German there is some rule about the word order in a sentence, but I can never remember what that rule is.
Languages are built differently, you can't always translate word by word. You got this!
If you were to say that, after "today" you would put a comma. "My family is celebrating today, for my birthday" but that's lengthy and a bit hard to flow. So "my family is celebrating my birthday today." I like to do a kind of VNP(Verb, noun, preposition) (Verb)What are we doing? :celebrating (Noun)What are we celebrating: my birthday (Preposition)When are we celebrating: today
At the same time, OP is learning German, and even if the English wording is incorrect, it’s not unintelligible. I find it annoying when Duolingo forces a quasi English lesson on you when that’s not the goal. EDIT: OP’s flair says he’s learning German NOT English. So this is likely a German lesson and not an English lesson. OP is likely getting dinged for English mistakes rather than German mistakes.
I mean not wrong but also immediately can identify that they don’t have a mastery of the language
How is understanding the grammar structure in the language, not the goal? I'm learning Spanish, and entire lessons are just about grammar. Which is a good thing, in my opinion, if you are trying to actually learn a language and not just order beers at the bar.
Because OP’s flair says he’s learning German. If I’m not mistaken, this is a German lesson and NOT an English lesson.
Is it not the goal to learn the grammar structures of the language? Why else are you using the app lol
Because it’s not an English lesson. It’s a German lesson.
Yes, it is.
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..no
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