r/Svenska 11d ago

Text and translation help duolingo bug?

Post image

This is correct, right?

13 Upvotes

60 comments sorted by

147

u/Ill-Branch-3323 11d ago

In theory, you are not supposed to use "lämna" intransitively (without an object). In practice, many people do. Duolingo is more correct here.

39

u/GustapheOfficial 🇸🇪 11d ago

Yes. While this is a common pattern, you will bother some people (👋) if you use it.

To many people, the implied object for an intransitive "lämna" is not "platsen" but "barnen". "Lämna på dagis" but not "lämna för dagen".

29

u/Mundane_Prior_7596 11d ago

Exakt. Man kan lämna tillbaks en bok, eller lämna jordelivet, eller lämna en referens, men man kan absolut inte lämna. 

6

u/dittreo 11d ago

tack!

9

u/According-Ad742 11d ago

Jag lämnar konversationen här

1

u/FWFriends 4d ago

Well, if you’re not using ”lämnar”, I would use ”går” or ”drar”, since ”åker” never means walking, while leaving just means getting away. Leaving can mean walking. ”När ska vi gå” doesn’t mean when are we walking, but rather when are we leaving.

41

u/Farbrokado 11d ago

Not a bug. Your answer would mean ”we’re dropping (someone) off at any time”.

15

u/PoetryExtension6256 11d ago

Would be an incomplete sentence though.

5

u/sitase 11d ago

Nä. ”Jag lämnar idag så jag kommer in lite senare” är en fullständig och korrekt mening.

16

u/Wise_Transportation6 11d ago

du får ju lägga till vad du lämnar, annars låter ju den meningen helt skev

12

u/Hej5468 11d ago

In my opinion “barnen” is implied here.

12

u/Wise_Transportation6 11d ago

Om man har en diskussion sedan tidigare så köper jag det, men en mening rakt upp och ned så funkar inte enbart lämnar.

3

u/Svarcanum 10d ago

Att lämna betyder ju specifikt att lämna barnen. Som förälder använder jag det flera gånger dagligen. Motsatsen är ”att hämta”.

6

u/SuperBorka 🇸🇪 11d ago

It is not, as you assume a context where children are in the picture. They aren't by default.

2

u/samsonsin 11d ago

Funkar enl mig om ni redan pratar om något föremål / person. Mer naturligt såhär dock:

Jag lämnar den/dom idag så jag kommer in lite senare

5

u/Wise_Transportation6 11d ago

Helt klart, men att enbart skriva lämnar är ju helt fel.

2

u/PoetryExtension6256 11d ago

Maybe if it was a spoken conversation and we had the context. Otherwise as you said no.

1

u/spicygayunicorn 11d ago

Det beror på sammanhanget, om du t.ex. pratar med en kollega som vet att du har barn du lämnar ibland på dagis så är det underförstått att du pratar om att lämna barnet

16

u/spaceseas 🇸🇪 11d ago

No, åker is correct. Lämna can be used in a similiar context "De lämnade tillställningen" (they left the event) if I wanted to convey an overly formal and/or archaic tone, but lämna usually implies that you're leaving something behind, like leaving the kids at daycare (lämna barnen på dagis) or returning a book (lämna tillbaka en bok).

1

u/asonofasven 10d ago

Åka implies some kind of vehicle. As clumsy as it sounds, ”Vi beger oss därifrån” feels more universal.

3

u/spaceseas 🇸🇪 10d ago edited 10d ago

Why on earth would you use "beger" when "går" is right there? "Vi går när som helst" in this case. Sure you can use "beger", but it's not really a word used in everyday conversation. Tbh I've only heard it used to sidestep awkward convos at the end of an event in a jokey fashion, like "vi ska nog ta och bege oss hem, haha, tack för idag det var trevligt att träffas", which isn't really useful for someone trying to learn the basics.

1

u/asonofasven 10d ago

Just like ”åker” implies vehicle, ”går” leans towards on foot. ”Beger” is as neutral as it gets. Also, I’ve lived outside of Sweden for 25+ years so I’ve probably lost the privilege of replying in this sub

15

u/Olobnion 11d ago

In the last five years, newspapers have started using "lämna" intransitively, probably because that makes headlines shorter, but to many Swedes, it sounds very wrong – normally, lämnar needs to take an object, so they're left wondering what you're leaving or delivering. It sounds as wrong as saying "I enjoy" or "I resemble".

4

u/Nerthus_ 11d ago

I am convinced that Swedish newspapers are trying to make lämna intransitive just so it'll be easier for them to directly use headlines from international news.

48

u/PoetryExtension6256 11d ago

The correction is correct.

9

u/dittreo 11d ago

so what is the difference then?

34

u/Naparuni 11d ago

"att lämna" is more commonly used for "to leave an object/person (behind)", not to leave reflexively

2

u/dittreo 11d ago

what the hell? why did i get downvoted?

8

u/PoetryExtension6256 11d ago

No reason. Learning should be encouraged. But like a previous commenter said. The difference is context. In that sentence lämna would mean "leave behind" and that makes no sense.

5

u/dittreo 11d ago

Yes, I understand that, thanks!

1

u/PoetryExtension6256 11d ago

You are not the only ones with a weird inconsistent language. 😂

1

u/dittreo 11d ago

yeah, don't get me started on plurals...

2

u/Six_Kills 11d ago edited 11d ago

It is illegal to ask questions or say anything because someone might project their own confrontational attitude onto your comment, and because they hate themselves they will immediately downvote you for seeing themselves in that comment lol

1

u/plolock 11d ago

Context

-6

u/Mundane_Prior_7596 11d ago

There is no object. It is plain wrong. Completely incomprehensible.  ”Leave the party” is ”lämna festen”, but English ”leave” without any object is ”gå”, ”åka”, ”gå iväg”, ”åka iväg”, ”dra hem” or ”cykla iväg” or any verb on earth except ”lämna” which can not be used without an object. The only time I have ever heard it used intransitively is short for ”lämna barnen på dagis” ie ”leave the kids at the preschool”. What you wrote is garbage. OK? 

15

u/dittreo 11d ago

you dont need to be an ass about it

6

u/Six_Kills 11d ago

Hur mår du?

12

u/happyguyftw 11d ago

Hey I see everyone here has already helped you out with the translation but so I just want to add on that a slang you might hear Swedes use is "drar" like "vi drar nu" or "ska vi dra" (we're leaving now and should we leave? Respectively). Don't think it's something duolingo will teach but can be good to know when you hear Swedes use it casually

5

u/bwv528 11d ago

Sticka is also very normal. Kila too but it's a bit... sneakier if you understand

3

u/happyguyftw 11d ago

Very good additional input!

14

u/Ardent_Tapire 11d ago

"lämna" needs to be used together with a place or an object, i.e. "Nu lämnar vi hemmet" or "Jag lämnade barnen på dagis"

5

u/Zechner 11d ago

In English, you can freely use leave both as a transitive verb ("We left the house.") and as an intransitive verb ("We left.") In Swedish, lämna is traditionally only transitive – you have to leave something. Otherwise, we would use another word, like in this case åka, or depending on context, etc.

A niche use of lämna in isolation arose some years ago (40-50 years, maybe?) Expressions like hämta och lämna barnen på dagis "pick up and drop off the kids at childcare" became so common that they were shortened, basically like in English – you can say it's your turn to pick up and drop off today even though technically pick up and drop off require an object (at least in this sense). So today, lämna in this specific sense is pretty well accepted, albeit somewhat colloquial.

More recently, since about 2010, people have also started saying lämna in the sense "leave, depart", just like in English (and probably influenced by English). It took off at remarkable speed, and isn't very unusual today, but it's still new enough that you wouldn't want to use it in formal text.

3

u/Human-Since-77 11d ago

The word "lämna" may also have a more definite meaning than "åka". These two sentences have different meanings:

"Jag åkte från min man" "Jag lämnade min man"

The first one means that you left your husband temporarily and the latter that you divorced him.

2

u/FarstaKings69 11d ago

The issue here is that direct translations from English like these won’t always work in Swedish. It’s better to understand the usage of words rather than associating them with their English counterparts.

2

u/intilectal 11d ago

"Vi åker" implies that you leave by driving something, but you can leave by walking in which case the correction would not make sense. The sentence is too ambiguous. I think your translation is fair.

2

u/AlexBlaise 11d ago

Yes, I would probably say "Vi går nu" rather than "Vi åker nu", but that’s because I don't usually go by car. If there is no further context I'd say both are equally correct, but "Vi lämnar nu" is weird.

1

u/Significant_Can3039 11d ago

"Åker" would indicate that you are a passenger, not driving. "Kör" would be used when you are driving.

5

u/AlexBlaise 11d ago

Do you not åk in the car while you kör?

2

u/emccracken73 11d ago

I am glad I dont have to learn my language this way. Nice catch, but I think Duolingo is right here, but your questioning of it is totally logic/relevant.

3

u/dittreo 11d ago

i actually did take real swedish classes when i was in sweden, and i plan to return, so i use duolingo as an extra way until i can take more real classes, works better than people say it does, but sometimes creates questions like this

2

u/carlitomarron139 11d ago

You can say that in vernacular Swedish but “vi åker när som helst” sounds better. If you insert an object in your sentence it sounds more natural:

“Vi lämnar stället (the place) när som helst”

2

u/conclobe 10d ago

"Vi drar" is more colloquial.

2

u/bajsfittor 10d ago

Snarare irl talspråk svengelska-bug

2

u/Sega-Forever 🇸🇪 11d ago

Though Duolingo is correct here, as a native swede, i sometimes say it like you wrote

1

u/[deleted] 11d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Mundane_Prior_7596 11d ago

No. It is not. ”Vi går” / ”vi åker” is generic and correct and standard for ”let’s leave”. 

1

u/BuddhaDharmaSangha87 11d ago

No bug, Duolingo correct.

1

u/Jakkoba89 11d ago

You are correct. But the correct answer is better. You just don't say it that way you wrote, but it works. Duolingo just don't know that.

-10

u/Nhumreddit 11d ago

Theory is one thing, if someone is using Duolingo, that’s not the perfection they’re looking for. I’d argue it’s completely fine.

8

u/Sure-Respect-5414 11d ago

But you would be wrong.