An "OD" question.

Discussion in 'Grammar & Pronunciation' started by Calvario, May 10, 2007.

  1. Calvario

    Calvario Well-Known Member

    In response to an invite to someone house. i read the following.

    Děkuju, to je od vás milé.

    Thank you, it is a mile from you.

    Is this the correct translation? If not, what is? Also, if milé is "mile" why is there an accent over the E. Od is in the genitive and so I understand if there is an E at the end, but why the accent? Of course this question is predicated upon the supposition that "milé" actually means mile here.

    Thanks ,
    Calvario
     
  2. Ani

    Ani Well-Known Member

    it's the adjective mily,(carka on the y) meaning dear, kind. So the sentence means, it's very kind of you:)
     
  3. Zeisig

    Zeisig Well-Known Member

    A nice example how important is the vowel quantity in Czech.

    milý, milá, milé = nice, lovely, kind, ...
    míle = mile, league

    Děkuji, to je od vás milé. = Thank you, it is nice/kind from/of you. (Jste milí. = You are nice.)

    Děkuji, je to míli od vás. = Thank you, it is a mile from you.
     
  4. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    On other hand, why would Czech measured distance in miles? ;))
    But there are many other examples, I know :)
     
  5. vturchi

    vturchi Well-Known Member

    Hi Brandon (Calvario),

    btw I'm sure you know the meaning of the word "calvario" in italian........

    so I'm very curios.....if I'm not too indiscreet, why do you use this name?? :wink:
     
  6. Calvario

    Calvario Well-Known Member

    I kept seeing that word "milý" in the dictionary and I thinking maybe that could be it also. I had distance on the brain. I suppose your right Eso, why would anyone in Europe measure distance in miles-you guys are still waaay behind-haha j/k.

    I suspect that Calvario means the same thing in italian as Spanish. I use it because.....

    Thanks guys,
    Calvario
     
  7. dzurisova

    dzurisova Well-Known Member

    Ok, freetranslation.com says it mean "ordeal" in Italian or "Calvary" in Spanish.

    So, tell us, why do you use it?
     
  8. Eleshar

    Eleshar Well-Known Member

    Because it is "cool", is it not :wink: Or at least hi thinks it is :D
     
  9. Calvario

    Calvario Well-Known Member

    What if we re-wrote the sentence diffferently.

    1 Děkuju, to je milý.
    Thank you, that is nice.

    2 Děkuju, to je milé od vás. Is it ok to place milý ahead of od or does it have to be placed AFTER od because it is declined bz od in the genitive. If you can is it STILL declined or is it left undeclined??

    Syntax is one of the most difficult hurdles to overcome. subject-verb-direct object is for the most part what we English speakers are accustomed to. I know you can switch word order in Czech S-V-DO or DO-S-V or S-DO-V . I just don't recollect if this applies to a preposition.

    Here's an idea. Write the sentence in Czech in all applicable forms. That will help clarify the issue.

    It's all IN the name.... :D

    Thanks,
    Calvario
     
  10. Zeisig

    Zeisig Well-Known Member

    1.

    Děkuji, to je milé. (milé - neuter gender)

    2.

    To je od vás milé.
    Je to od vás milé.
    To je milé od vás.
    Je to milé od vás.
    Od vás to je milé.
    Od vás je to milé.
    Milé to je od vás.
    Milé je to od vás.
    Milé je od vás to, co ... ("to" is at the end as it is followed by the subordinate clause)
    Milé je od vás toto. ("to" emphasized - This is the thing which is nice of you.)

    ... and so on

    These sentences are not equivalent. For example "Milé je to od vás." (od vás is stressed) can be translated "You are the men, of whom it is nice.

    We have a discussion about the Czech word order some months ago.
     
  11. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    Right form is Děkuji, to je milé.
    Děkuju and milý are colloquial

    Form of adjective milý change with gender of noun.

    (On) je milý.
    (Ona) je milá.
    (Ono/to) je milé.

    (Oni) jsou milí
    (Ony) jsou milé
    (Ona/ta) jsou milá

    To je od vás milé. - common form
    To je milé od vás. - not so common, but I think usable

    To je milé, od vás. - with pause after milé - it means stress on "od vás" - it means that from that person it's nice
    Od vás to je milé. - like previous

    Examples:
    To je milé, od vás. Ale od Petra by to byla urážka.
    Od vás je to milé, ale od Petra by to byla urážka.


    Je to milé, ale... It's nice, but... - meaning with stress on IT'S
    Milé to je, ale... It's nice, but... - meaning with stress on NICE

    Examples:
    - Přivezl jsem vám naši slivovici.
    - Je to od vás milé, ale jsem tu autem.

    - Není od něj milé, že ti přivezl slivovici?
    - Milé to je, ale já bych radši pivo.


    Or only - Milé.

    Example:
    - Hele, co ti přivezl.
    - Milé.

    There are maybe another forms, which I missed.
     
  12. Calvario

    Calvario Well-Known Member

    Eso

    That was exactly what i was looking for.

    One thing. Why is děkijU not ok to use? Now, I had always used děkujI before but recently I started using "Teach Yourself Czech". to change up my studies a but. Anyways, U is used a lot instead of I. If this is absolutley incorrect let me know. If it is not, then why do you say it is wrong, at least in this instance?

    Thanks,
    Calvario
     
  13. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    It's fine to use děkuju, only you should remember that the proper/textbook declension is děkuji. Děkuju is colloquial, as eso pointed out. On the street in conversation, you'll hear mostly děkuju.
     
  14. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    “Děkuji” was the only standard form not a long time ago, and “děkuju” was a colloquial/vernacular form. In most recent (Zeisig’s favourite :twisted:) versions of PČP the colloquial form was “promoted” to standard Czech. But the form “děkuju” is still considered less educated.

    And BTW, it is not a question ot this single verb, but of this whole verbal class (pracuji × pracuju, maluji × maluju…).
     
  15. Sova

    Sova Well-Known Member

    It's interesting to watch a language evolve. What'll be next? Standardizing the use of "Hele, ty vole" as a proper greeting? :roll: :x
     
  16. Eleshar

    Eleshar Well-Known Member

    Exactly on the contrary, the emphasised information is at the end :wink:
    e.g.:
    Petr tam byl (neutral or with emphasis on the fact the he was present)
    Byl tam Petr (with emphasis that it was Petr who was present)

    Je to milé, ale... It's nice, but.../It's NICE, but...
    Milé to je, ale... It IS nice, but...

    Well... I realised it is slightly more complicated.
    You are maybe right from some point of view. In the first example, there can be emphasis on "je" and vice versa if you put there an accent:

    JE to milé, ale... It IS nice, but...
    MILÉ to je, ale... It is NICE, but... (this option is not very natural, verb "je" is normally not accentuated, so if one puts accent to it, it sounds normal, but "milé" normally has its own accent, so there would be some overaccetuation and it sounds strange to me, not to tell that it is difficult to enhance the word stress)
     
  17. eso

    eso Well-Known Member

    Well, strange or not.
    I talk this way. :)
     
  18. wer

    wer Well-Known Member

    Eleshar is right that in the common order, so-called objective order, the theme is followed by the rheme (východisko je následováno jádrem výpovědi).
    But the reversed order, so-called subjective order, is also correct. It differs in intonation and possible pauses in speech.
    This is not marked in the written Czech, therefore the subjective order is not recommended there.
     
  19. Calvario

    Calvario Well-Known Member

    So,

    To je od vás milé. Ale od Petra by to byla uražka.

    That/it is nice of you. But from Petra it might/would be an insult.

    Is this a correct?

    Not to split hairs here with anyone but if děkuju is accepted colloquially then why mark it red as though it were wrong. Does is just sound ignorant and uneducated or is it just used among a certain crowd of people?

    Thanks,
    Calvario

    "To split hairs" means to be overly picky or technical in regards to a rule or subject or whatever.
     
  20. Karel_lerak

    Karel_lerak Well-Known Member

     

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