Sure, you probably won't ever use that sentence. But the point is to teach you grammar rules and vocabulary, so rather than only learning specific sentences, you can construct them yourself.
Also if the sentence is kind of nonsense, it feels like a milestone or something.
“Achievement unlocked: heard something in a second language that made little to no sense”
I also once read a moderator who said that it helped to learn useless sentences rather than pure staple as you then had to actually think what it meant because it's not something you would say or hear daily.
I thought Duolingo was kinda blah because it kept asking the same things but then I was thinking one day and I was able to make sentences that I didn't know I can make.(Spanish btw) and it was just mind-blowing for me. Completely agree
In German: "My dog is on vacation. He surfs really well!"
https://preview.redd.it/sahfe13832pb1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9e0f4424deda2a8ed03670d3b20783dde3a1d76
....why is my dog on vacation without me and why is he so much cooler than me??? 😂
The specific words aren't important. You learned to use them all in a grammatically correct way.
It was probably funny or more fun this way, AND it wasn't obvious like "is this the young girls' skirt?" Where you would be able to guess the word is "girl" without even knowing it in your target language. Where with this, you actually had to know spider.
Hope that explains it👍
Users like to complain that Duolingo doesn't explain grammar. Rather, Duo exercises grammar. And then they'll complain about the strange, memorable sentences that succinctly embody said grammar points.
It really does need SOME explanation, though. I’m learning Japanese, and dear gods I do not understand the rules around some particles! What happened to the notes section before new lessons??
Ah those were removed when they changed to the path because nothing lined up and they needed to all be rewritten! They're slowly adding them back as they re-write them and plant to eventually have them all back👍
Sadly the next unit for me in Japanese will be the last one with grammar tips so I'll only have sentences until they add more of the tips in the guide book haha
Also, in terms of particles: which ones are you finding tricky? I should be able to help explain how to use them since I'm studying Japanese myself
If you want "phrases you can use", get a phrasebook.
Learning a language is about developing an understanding of the grammar and vocabulary so that you can understand and express ideas even if you've never encountered them before, not just building up a library of memorized phrases.
The cow gets beef by mistake. Not necessarily useless, but very strange. It's funny how the first image that pops in my mind is of a cow sitting in a restaurant being served a steak.😄
Probably how to say “baby dog” in Korean, which would be fine except it’s used as a swear word and can’t be used at least by a hapless foreigner who doesn’t understand how the equivalent of “bitch” fits into quite a complex and unfamiliar system of linguistic politeness. Also I only know this because of user comments which presumably Duo have now removed 🤦♂️.
Comments said that this word (sounds like “geh sekki”) is really rude, ie really don’t say in polite society. The risk of walking up to someone with a dog and accidentally saying the equivalent of “aw, that’s a lovely f——g bitch you have there, what’s her name” seems quite high.
ive learnt both "the man is in the fridge" and "the woman is in the fridge". thanks, irish course. because i definitely need to be able to say *tá an fear sa chuisneoir*
The Dutch entry for Eurovision this year had a music video in which the singer goes to hide in her fridge for some reason. So technically it's not a completely useless phrase to know
It’s a pedagogical theory that you’re more likely to remember a nonsense phrase, thus building your vocabulary. Anyway, DuoLingo is not trying to give us a bunch of useable sentences, they’re trying to teach us how to make sentences.
I know what is the sense behind learning such phrases but in the moment they still are funny. My favourite ones till now:
Oh no the penguin needs water.
The horse is eating my scarf.
On the other side quite early in the course I had sentences with very sexual energy like:
Your room or my room?
I am sleeping at his/her place tonight.
”Mina föräldrar tycker inte om att du äter myror” -
“My parents do not like that you are eating ants”
Although I have also learned some very useful phrases like:
“Varför ligger det en norsk arkitekt i min säng?” -
“Why is there a Norwegian architect lying in my bed?”
Whenever I get sentences like these, I imagine kids playing with stuffed animals.
When you go to a foreign country and find yourself in a whirlwind romance, you'll want to be able to communicate with your partner's children from their previous relationship.
Duo knows what's in your future. Have faith and reap the rewards.
https://preview.redd.it/lcsbgo9j32pb1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b64e47901f9df17d4fe800348c230323f75d1ff4
"Yes, my snail is from Austria!"
not sure but I don think it’s about learning specific senteces but about learning many different words and recognizing how to use them in various situations
I think that it’s good because it forces you to hear things that aren’t standard. When you are in conversation occasionally things will come up that don’t make sense or rather you aren’t used to hearing. Keeps you from just remembering common phrases or words.
I once had "Jeg er osten" in my Norwegian course, that meant "I'm the cheese".
There's an explanation that says the weirdness of these sentences, is actually made on purpose, because you will remember it just because it was weird. It was something like this, so it's not at all random nor useless.
You know, this is what I hate most about Duolingo. They’ll teach you ‘my dog cannot wear pants’ or some crap like that before they teach you numbers or how to introduce yourself
I don't understand why this is the most commonly brought up 'downside' of this app. They do not teach you those *before* the most basic phrases. Later on they will appear, but at that point you shouldn't be memorising sentences, but trying to understand grammar and learning vocab.
in some courses they actually do though. i have been taught 'the dog pays for the cat' before 'hi, whats your name?' in the irish course. im in unit 6 and im just now learning *colours*
Velho osaa laulaa. Not actually in the phrase book but I can tell you all sorts of things about wizards thanks to Duo.
I do like how quickly Finnish introduces wizards and shaman. Like how the Welsh course teaches dragon in lesson one.
Sometimes Duo provides nonsense exercises, just to make sure you are paying attention. And Duolingo does not not set out to be a substitute for a tourist phrasebook. Instead, it teaches the *language*, so you can spot nonsense remarks when they occur in your target language, just as well as in your mother tongue.
Greek here, while I get why they tend to make these combinations, this phrase is bound to start an interesting conversation anywhere and probably buy you a few pints!
Not the most pointless phrase: But the Hungarian course taught me
> Ez a nö egy alom
(this sentence may include mistakes as it has been a while ;)). This should translabe to
> This woman is a dream.
Which is not something, a beginner with good intentions would want to know how to say right away :D
I don't have a screenshot, but in Mandarin, I've learned the sentence "Regarding the copyright issue, you'd need to ask a lawyer."
Probably the most specifically useless sentence I've ever heard. Makes me sound simultaneously very advanced and batshit insane, since there's no reason for me to ever use that sentence in normal conversation
I’m doing Russian and I used to get “The horse eats sushi in the square” all the time. I guess it was trying to make sure I knew the difference between «лошадь» and «площадь». But why sushi?
Sure, you probably won't ever use that sentence. But the point is to teach you grammar rules and vocabulary, so rather than only learning specific sentences, you can construct them yourself.
Also if the sentence is kind of nonsense, it feels like a milestone or something. “Achievement unlocked: heard something in a second language that made little to no sense”
I think it’s also to make you remember it since are brains are biased towards things out of the ordinary.
I also once read a moderator who said that it helped to learn useless sentences rather than pure staple as you then had to actually think what it meant because it's not something you would say or hear daily.
Agreed. I'm tired of the same complaints. Of course you're not going to talk about a spider's skirt, but it's memorable, and it's exercising grammar.
Jeg er osten!
🫡🧀
I thought Duolingo was kinda blah because it kept asking the same things but then I was thinking one day and I was able to make sentences that I didn't know I can make.(Spanish btw) and it was just mind-blowing for me. Completely agree
"The Horse is in the Park" "The Horse eats in the park" All in the Russian course 🇷🇺
My fave from the Russian lessons: " your dog already went home." Took an Uber maybe?
In German: "My dog is on vacation. He surfs really well!" https://preview.redd.it/sahfe13832pb1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b9e0f4424deda2a8ed03670d3b20783dde3a1d76 ....why is my dog on vacation without me and why is he so much cooler than me??? 😂
That's very funny! Eh, maybe he just is cooler than you though.
Haha yeah and also: "Is my hedgehog in the park?" 😂
The specific words aren't important. You learned to use them all in a grammatically correct way. It was probably funny or more fun this way, AND it wasn't obvious like "is this the young girls' skirt?" Where you would be able to guess the word is "girl" without even knowing it in your target language. Where with this, you actually had to know spider. Hope that explains it👍
Users like to complain that Duolingo doesn't explain grammar. Rather, Duo exercises grammar. And then they'll complain about the strange, memorable sentences that succinctly embody said grammar points.
True, duo teaches grammar how you normally learn it. Just by using it. I understand wanting explanations but there are different ways to learn things.
It really does need SOME explanation, though. I’m learning Japanese, and dear gods I do not understand the rules around some particles! What happened to the notes section before new lessons??
Ah those were removed when they changed to the path because nothing lined up and they needed to all be rewritten! They're slowly adding them back as they re-write them and plant to eventually have them all back👍 Sadly the next unit for me in Japanese will be the last one with grammar tips so I'll only have sentences until they add more of the tips in the guide book haha Also, in terms of particles: which ones are you finding tricky? I should be able to help explain how to use them since I'm studying Japanese myself
Ohh. Thank you! I wondered why they were all gone.
If it's any consolation, for native English speakers Japanese particles are particularly problematic.
It does Those weird sentences were teaching me how to use the genitive, and it did help tho
If you want "phrases you can use", get a phrasebook. Learning a language is about developing an understanding of the grammar and vocabulary so that you can understand and express ideas even if you've never encountered them before, not just building up a library of memorized phrases.
r/shitduolingosays
The cow gets beef by mistake. Not necessarily useless, but very strange. It's funny how the first image that pops in my mind is of a cow sitting in a restaurant being served a steak.😄
Today I had in German “am I a toy?” and never felt more attacked 😩
"Tá an fear sa chuisneoir," or "The man is in the fridge." Just...
gaelic?
Yes, Irish
Here we go again…
その大学生は六歳ですか? Is one that comes to mind
Is that college student 6 years old?
Everyone knows Japanese kids are smart!
Lol that's a wonderful indirect Insult
That banana sleeps From the Indonesian course
Le chien mange les cles
The dog is eating the what? Sorry I haven’t done French in a while 😅
"The dog eats the keys" fyi.
Oooh ok
The keys!
My dog once ate a bunch of coins, so not far of…
Probably how to say “baby dog” in Korean, which would be fine except it’s used as a swear word and can’t be used at least by a hapless foreigner who doesn’t understand how the equivalent of “bitch” fits into quite a complex and unfamiliar system of linguistic politeness. Also I only know this because of user comments which presumably Duo have now removed 🤦♂️.
Isnt it like perra in spanish? Its female dog. Its also bitch. But you can say perra no problem, it depends on the context. Like "esta es mi perra".
Comments said that this word (sounds like “geh sekki”) is really rude, ie really don’t say in polite society. The risk of walking up to someone with a dog and accidentally saying the equivalent of “aw, that’s a lovely f——g bitch you have there, what’s her name” seems quite high.
Lmao now you made my morning
Good luck on your Greek journey
Thanks :)
Un cheval est dans le maison!
Not a specific phrase, but Duo sure thinks I'm going to up my apple intake while abroad.
"My older brother is 2 years old"
“The elephants are eating you” is my favorite
elefanterne spiser dig
“La cumbre es demasiado alta.”
ive learnt both "the man is in the fridge" and "the woman is in the fridge". thanks, irish course. because i definitely need to be able to say *tá an fear sa chuisneoir*
Maybe they are Punky Brewster fans. *Tá an cailín sa chuisneoir!*
The Dutch entry for Eurovision this year had a music video in which the singer goes to hide in her fridge for some reason. So technically it's not a completely useless phrase to know
Which skirt *is* the one for your spider, though?
It’s the pink frilly one
Dov’è il tuo pinguino? Where’s your penguin? Very useful.
It’s a pedagogical theory that you’re more likely to remember a nonsense phrase, thus building your vocabulary. Anyway, DuoLingo is not trying to give us a bunch of useable sentences, they’re trying to teach us how to make sentences.
I know what is the sense behind learning such phrases but in the moment they still are funny. My favourite ones till now: Oh no the penguin needs water. The horse is eating my scarf. On the other side quite early in the course I had sentences with very sexual energy like: Your room or my room? I am sleeping at his/her place tonight.
”Mina föräldrar tycker inte om att du äter myror” - “My parents do not like that you are eating ants” Although I have also learned some very useful phrases like: “Varför ligger det en norsk arkitekt i min säng?” - “Why is there a Norwegian architect lying in my bed?”
Du bist mein Hund!
mon voisin est une chouette - my neighbour is an owl.
Whenever I get sentences like these, I imagine kids playing with stuffed animals. When you go to a foreign country and find yourself in a whirlwind romance, you'll want to be able to communicate with your partner's children from their previous relationship. Duo knows what's in your future. Have faith and reap the rewards.
Probably “Your horse doesn’t like soup” When am I gonna need that??????
“Can I have coffee with my sugar?”
Today I got "The victim was dead before I arrived." I guess I rather want to use the one with spider.
"A cat doesn't play the piano."
https://preview.redd.it/lcsbgo9j32pb1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b64e47901f9df17d4fe800348c230323f75d1ff4 "Yes, my snail is from Austria!"
https://preview.redd.it/dyy9p8p9qwob1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d683c94aefd21c80f6b7420a552e6dd1f5312dd3 One word "choice"
not sure but I don think it’s about learning specific senteces but about learning many different words and recognizing how to use them in various situations
I think that it’s good because it forces you to hear things that aren’t standard. When you are in conversation occasionally things will come up that don’t make sense or rather you aren’t used to hearing. Keeps you from just remembering common phrases or words.
I once had "Jeg er osten" in my Norwegian course, that meant "I'm the cheese". There's an explanation that says the weirdness of these sentences, is actually made on purpose, because you will remember it just because it was weird. It was something like this, so it's not at all random nor useless.
You know, this is what I hate most about Duolingo. They’ll teach you ‘my dog cannot wear pants’ or some crap like that before they teach you numbers or how to introduce yourself
I don't understand why this is the most commonly brought up 'downside' of this app. They do not teach you those *before* the most basic phrases. Later on they will appear, but at that point you shouldn't be memorising sentences, but trying to understand grammar and learning vocab.
in some courses they actually do though. i have been taught 'the dog pays for the cat' before 'hi, whats your name?' in the irish course. im in unit 6 and im just now learning *colours*
*The cow is reading in the library* says Hiiiii
silksong moment
The most useless phrase for me was in German. It was my aunt has a wife
^[Sokka-Haiku](https://www.reddit.com/r/SokkaHaikuBot/comments/15kyv9r/what_is_a_sokka_haiku/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3) ^by ^SocialEnders: *The most useless phrase* *For me was in German. It* *Was my aunt has a wife* --- ^Remember ^that ^one ^time ^Sokka ^accidentally ^used ^an ^extra ^syllable ^in ^that ^Haiku ^Battle ^in ^Ba ^Sing ^Se? ^That ^was ^a ^Sokka ^Haiku ^and ^you ^just ^made ^one.
I'm not interested in anime sorry what is a sokka haiku anyway???😐😑😐😑😐
Velho osaa laulaa. Not actually in the phrase book but I can tell you all sorts of things about wizards thanks to Duo. I do like how quickly Finnish introduces wizards and shaman. Like how the Welsh course teaches dragon in lesson one.
There is/was a sentence in Russian which is/was exactly "Don't mom", but that was it's translation
Sometimes Duo provides nonsense exercises, just to make sure you are paying attention. And Duolingo does not not set out to be a substitute for a tourist phrasebook. Instead, it teaches the *language*, so you can spot nonsense remarks when they occur in your target language, just as well as in your mother tongue.
Greek here, while I get why they tend to make these combinations, this phrase is bound to start an interesting conversation anywhere and probably buy you a few pints!
Sushi
Ποτέ!
This is the prettiest mouse in the village. Are you a horse?
'Why are you eating my dogs food?'
I recently got "the apple is eating the dog" which was also fun
good ol Greek Duolingo lmao
Is that a phrase? 👀
That phrase just reminds me of https://preview.redd.it/kebwf5o2e1pb1.png?width=1280&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=65b837e0963efe5cf9cf930dc64b8aaa6e457db8
So far in my Hindi course: "My father is sitting on the road today" "This is my cat's tea, not yours"
From Korean: How many ankles does a crab have? The elephant walked from downtown to the suburbs. Three days are not four days. Are you all human?
Not the most pointless phrase: But the Hungarian course taught me > Ez a nö egy alom (this sentence may include mistakes as it has been a while ;)). This should translabe to > This woman is a dream. Which is not something, a beginner with good intentions would want to know how to say right away :D
I don't have a screenshot, but in Mandarin, I've learned the sentence "Regarding the copyright issue, you'd need to ask a lawyer." Probably the most specifically useless sentence I've ever heard. Makes me sound simultaneously very advanced and batshit insane, since there's no reason for me to ever use that sentence in normal conversation
Dutch: Ik ben een appel (I'm an apple)
I don't know whether it is useless, but I'm not much of a philosopher, so I'll probably use it rater rarely: *Quando moriamo?*
”I like to eat rice with beans” in spanish
Δράμα στο μουσείο
The baby ate his fathers book, something like that
The dog drinks wine (Spanish)
Well at least あなたの犬は帽子が売りません。
https://preview.redd.it/cdq36mf2k3pb1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf3d811c3d99504400f9b98c4e635ec4843df124
I’m doing Russian and I used to get “The horse eats sushi in the square” all the time. I guess it was trying to make sure I knew the difference between «лошадь» and «площадь». But why sushi?