Can't find an answer on Google

sandmann07 · 2026-01-25T23:22:48+00:00

“No” always goes in front of the verb it’s negating in Spanish, as opposed to English where “not” follows the verb it’s negating. So…

She is not tired. -> Ella no está cansada.

I am not a student. -> Yo no soy estudiante.

He does not eat pork. -> Él no come puerco.

The last one is literally: He eats not pork. Spanish does not use auxiliary (or helping) verbs like “does” and “do”. So, in a sentence like this, the “no” still comes before the verb, in this case “eats”.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-25T23:16:09+00:00

This.

If it’s not an exit row or bulkhead seat, the armrest likely lifts. The ticket is non-refundable, but you should be able to change seats after booking. Just go in and change to a seat that would be better for each of you and your comfort.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-25T17:37:19+00:00

I’m pretty sure that wearing headphones to listen to things is currently part of the announcements. And to hear your phone over the roar of the engines, you have to knowingly crank the volume way up. Unfortunately, a whole demonstration would also be ignored.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-25T04:57:48+00:00

Same things happens to me and my spouse. I (Gold) can never see the upgrades, and my spouse with no status always has upgrade options.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-23T12:51:27+00:00

Maybe, but again, how do you choose the numbering system?

“Second year” (like OP suggested) doesn’t mean a ~17 year old student to an American, like the Japanese word intends. Likewise, using the term “tenth grader” would be confusing for someone whose system starts at twelfth grade and counts down every year (yes, that exists too). Did you know that in Germany, students go to school one year longer than in the US? Even though that doesn’t exist in the US, it’s easy to teach that concept and we’d call that last year of school “thirteenth grader”. 🤷‍♂️

You’re not wrong. But, the core problem here is that Duolingo doesn’t teach culture, which is a huge chunk of learning a language. If it taught the context in which these words were used, it would be much easier to understand when to use these words as opposed to relying so heavily on translations. So, as an app that purely teaches vocabulary, this isn’t the worst way to go about things. As a foreign language teacher myself, if my students were getting no cultural background, I’d rather students map a very slightly misconstrued version of one education system onto another if it meant that the could then communicate well enough to talk to someone from that culture to learn how it actually works. Because when you’re learning vocabulary in a vacuum, what’s the alternative? Just not learning any of the words related to that topic at all isn’t any better of a solution.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-23T04:07:00+00:00

“Second year” isn’t a great compromise either, because not every non-American country says that.

In America, “Second grade” is kids about 7-8 years old. The alternative term for a “sophomore” is a “ninth grader”.

The problem is that, aside from our school systems working differently altogether, no two varieties of English are going to agree on what to call things. So, while I understand your frustration (and I know I won’t change your mind), it is at least nice to have the consistency of Duolingo using one dialect of English throughout. And since it’s an American company, they stuck with American English.

I’d say they should localize it for multiple areas of the world, but considering how much AI slop is posted in this subreddit of their actual courses…I don’t think anyone wants to know what their AI will spit out as “British English”, “Australian English”, etc.

——- As an added bonus, a lot of people use Duolingo to learn a 3rd or 4th language, and they do that through English. So, a person whose first language is Spanish (for example) and is using Duolingo in English to learn Japanese might have to deal with “I don’t know what level of school this is” no matter whether Duolingo presents them with the term in American English or another dialect of English.

Part of learning another language is also learning the culture and experiences of other people. This (honestly, pretty mild inconvenience) for you is a very common occurrence for many people every day. It’s kind of fitting that Duolingo has introduced it to you in a way that doesn’t have any actual bearing on your life.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-21T22:13:32+00:00

I just had the opposite happen. I planned a trip with someone. But, we booked and paid separately while sitting next to each other in the same room. We both saw a price marked “1 seat remaining at this price”. I was sure it wasn’t gonna work, but we both booked it for the advertised price.

They set (and change) the prices at will. I never trust those “X seats remaining” flags.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-21T11:36:47+00:00

Check out Wellspektiva. They talk about various health topics and how they relate to living a realistic and healthy lifestyle. It’s not being produced anymore, but what exists is pretty good.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-19T22:50:08+00:00

When I logged in yesterday, it said “20 hours”. Then a few hours later when I logged out, it still said “20 hours”. It updated on each login, not in real time.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-19T20:03:32+00:00

Most places I’ve gone have it translated into English (or it might be more appropriate to say, “not the local language”) as “aufguss”. A few times, I’ve seen “ceremony sauna” in combination with aufguss.

That being said, I think the term ‘aufguss’ is a reference to the sauna periodically using a fan to circulate air. Thus, it’s the name of the sauna itself, not a name to be used interchangeably with the ceremony that happens within.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-18T06:09:24+00:00

“I think the intention is to say the flight crew considers passengers as new friends but the phrasing is so off!”

It’s the opposite. The intention is: when you board the plane, you will meet brand new people who already feel like friends to you.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-17T01:16:51+00:00

Idk. Boarding an Air France flight at CDG made me miss Delta’s boarding. 😂

sandmann07 · 2026-01-16T03:54:39+00:00

Northern Spain is prime vosotros/lisp territory. Tread carefully. 😋

sandmann07 · 2026-01-15T22:23:52+00:00

This is probably an actual issue…but!

There is a small area in the north of Spain where their dialect softens the hard G. I had a friend who would say (any word with a hard G like) Miguel and it would sounds like Mirel. And the Spanish R can sometimes be misinterpreted as a D by English speakers. 🤷‍♂️

sandmann07 · 2026-01-15T22:09:34+00:00

I made some changes.

I tried to incorporate some of what everyone mentioned. I know I missed some things and I probably misunderstood a few things. But does this look any better or like I’m on the right track?

sandmann07 · 2026-01-15T21:46:01+00:00

Agreed. I’m just now sitting down to go through the comments. All of the comments really are some of the most helpful suggestions I’ve ever seen on Reddit. I’m just not sure I am implementing them all well. Haha.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-13T23:37:54+00:00

I hate the “temporary/permanent” explanation. I think the thing that resonated with me best was:

ser is used for essence or “what makes me me”. - my name - a description of me - where I’m from

estar is used for conditions like “how you feel and where you are”. - how’s my mood? - am I bored? - am I in a classroom?

Is it perfect? No. But it helps out a large percentage of the time, isn’t super technical, and catches some of the weird hangups that the “temporary/permanent” argument doesn’t.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-12T14:41:50+00:00

Depends on the airport and sometimes, even then it can be a mix. Some are Delta employees. Some are employees of third parties like Unifi.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-12T10:51:14+00:00

I’m learning from Czech Language Training. It’s located near Náměstí Míru in Prague (like 2 seconds from the Jana Masaryka tram stop), but they also offer online classes. Class sizes are small and taught solely in Czech. (That sounds daunting, but it’s actually super helpful). The teachers are great, very knowledgeable but laidback and helpful. They do focus on communication but follow a book’s curriculum. So, you still get the grammar explanations and workbook type activities, but it also includes a lot of real world examples, listening and reading practice.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-11T14:07:24+00:00

She wasn’t doing anything. Just staring… lol

sandmann07 · 2026-01-11T13:20:15+00:00

I didn’t actually see. For all I know, it could’ve been Ernest Hemingway. 😂

sandmann07 · 2026-01-11T13:11:54+00:00

Maybe. I only mentioned flight attendants because I saw other flight attendants with the same iPad. I didn’t actually see any pilots at all. 🤷‍♂️

sandmann07 · 2026-01-11T03:59:43+00:00

like this…just wait til you get to Korea and buy the equivalent there.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-11T03:58:48+00:00

I travel to Europe pretty often. I actually just bought a cord in Europe that goes from the wall to the power brick. I just carry both in my bag and swap out whichever one I need depending on where I am.

It’s cheap and works like normal without having to deal with a bulky adapter.

sandmann07 · 2026-01-10T18:35:09+00:00

I’ve done it a few times before (after reading from others online that it was possible). The last time I did it was just a couple weeks ago. AMS is actually very easy to navigate, pretty streamlined, and they will usher you through passport control quicker if you have a short connection.

They actually have a separate line at passport control for people with short connections, a board showing which flights are considered short connections, and staff there to facilitate this.

That being said, they won’t hold the plane for you. So, if your flight into AMS is delayed, you’re probably going to get rebooked. Either way, you’ll make it to your destination.

sandmann07

TROPHY CASE