I have been studying german for five years
German translation: Ich lerne seit 5 Jahren Deutsch (note: wrong answer was chosen)
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| 12:43 Oct 28, 2001 |
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|  Selected response from: Thijs van Dorssen Local time: 08:50 | |||
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| 5 +1 | Ich lerne seit fünf Jahren Deutsch. |
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| 5 | Present Perfect Continuous in English vs. Present Tense in German |
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| 5 -1 | Ich habe fünf Jahre... |
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Answers
2 mins confidence: 
peer agreement (net): -1
peer agreement (net): -1Ich habe fünf Jahre... Explanation: Ich habe fünf Jahre Deutsch studiert... Aber nicht wirklich (sonst hätte ich die Anwort gewusst!) Cheers, and be generous with the ..... (points) Best regards |
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Grading comment
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3 mins confidence: peer agreement (net): +1
peer agreement (net): +1Ich lerne seit fünf Jahren Deutsch. Explanation: to study sth. - etw. lernen |
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9 mins confidence:
Present Perfect Continuous in English vs. Present Tense in German Explanation: In a sentence such as this one, "I have been studying for ...", the use of the Present Perfect Continuous indicates that this particular action was started in the past, but continues to this very day and (in all likelihood) beyond. In German, this concept must be rendered in Present Tense: Ich lerne seit ..... Strictly speaking, when using the Present Perfect in German (e.g., "I habe 5 Jahre Deutsch gelernt), it means that this action is over and done with now (in English, you would have to use Past Tense if you were to translate it back to English). So, watch your tenses and beware of linguistic interference! bilingual translator and English/German teacher |
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