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am / an der

English translation: on [context]

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:am / an der
English translation:on [context]
Entered by: FSI (X)

19:25 Apr 6, 2005
German to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Linguistics
German term or phrase: am / an der
Ich habe hier ein Problem mit einer Präposition.
...Stehbundkragen (zum Beispiel AM Hemd oder AN der Jacke).
Übersetze ich das mit "on" a shirt or jacket?
N. Krechting
on
Explanation:
on the t-shirt
Selected response from:

FSI (X)
Germany
Local time: 18:39
Grading comment
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4on
FSI (X)
4 +3of
Britta Anion (X)
4 +1not for points
rangepost
3use possessive?
Armorel Young
4 -5at
trautlady


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
Präposition
on


Explanation:
on the t-shirt

FSI (X)
Germany
Local time: 18:39
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  TransWolf: Probably but we need a whole sentence
11 mins
agree  Maureen Millington-Brodie
23 mins
agree  Armorel Young: Now that I've seen the detailed context you describe, I would definitely go for on (and scrap my alternative answer below)
13 hrs
agree  Ian M-H (X)
13 hrs
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4 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
Präposition
of


Explanation:
z.B.: the "collar of your shirt is dirty...

Britta Anion (X)
Local time: 18:39
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  TransWolf: Sorry any native speaker would say "your shirt collar is dirty" // OK the point here is the use of basic prepositions in English. // Sorry this perhaps just a bad example. IMO, it may be grammatically correct, but I find Germans overuse "of".
9 mins
  -> right! or simply: your collar is dirty; but that is not the point here, is it? I just used that phrase for an example - the text doesn't have anything to do with dirty collars!
agree  Trudy Peters
13 mins
  -> thanks
agree  rangepost
15 mins
  -> thanks
agree  Erik Macki: In fact native speakers would use either "of" or "on." There is a slight semantic difference: cf. "that's a nice collar on that shirt" (collar considered separate from shirt) v. "check the tag inside the collar of your shirt" (collar and shirt as a unit).
3 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot, Erik!
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15 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Präposition
use possessive?


Explanation:
I don't know whether this would be appropriate to the context, but have you considered saying e.g. "the jacket's stand-up collar..."?

Otherwise I would favour "of" - although it would be helpful to see the full sentence.

Armorel Young
Local time: 17:39
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 20
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -5
Präposition
at


Explanation:
how about that?

trautlady
United States
Local time: 09:39
Native speaker of: Native in GermanGerman

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  TransWolf: Oh yes, and you live in the US? You must be an excellent translater. Or do you want to use "at" so it rhymes?
9 mins
disagree  Colin Newberry: Never
15 mins
disagree  Erik Macki: ...
3 hrs
neutral  Lancashireman: This certainly makes me wonder about several occasions when you have awarded ‘agree’ to answers supplied by other peers…
3 hrs
disagree  Francis Lee (X): me too, Andrew
13 hrs
disagree  Ian M-H (X): No, definitely not the preposition a native speaker would use here.
13 hrs
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46 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
Präposition
not for points


Explanation:
The collar OF your shirt(or jacket)is dirty.
There is a spot ON your collar.
The collar of the shirt is a button down style.

rangepost
Local time: 09:39
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Erik Macki: Exactly; see my comment above under Britta's suggestion.
2 hrs
  -> Thanks
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