On Duolingo was asked to translate "I will not surrender."
So my answer was
Ich werde mich nicht aufgeben.
But the correct one is:
Ich werde nicht aufgeben.
Why my answer is wrong? and what is the difference between the two ?
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2Just so you know, Duo has it's own forum for questions relating to it's courses, with a separate thread for each exercise. (This is one of Duo's best features IMHO.) Not that you aren't welcome to ask here of course.– RDBurySep 6, 2021 at 19:35
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2I'm not entirely convinced that both answers shouldn't be accepted. The word "surrender" has several meanings in English; you can "surrender your passport", "surrender a battle", or "surrender yourself" to the police. (Wikitionary lists 7 meanings in all.) I don't think you can determine the exact meaning of "I will not surrender" without context. Without knowing the exact meaning, it's hard to determine the most appropriate translation.– RDBurySep 6, 2021 at 20:12
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Since there is no object, I doubt it is surrendering a passport. I went with the most obvious choice.– infinitezeroSep 7, 2021 at 6:04
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@RDBury: Note that at least among the examples you enumerate, none would be expressed as "mich aufgeben".– O. R. MapperSep 7, 2021 at 6:55
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1@RDBury: Are you referring to this page? It mentions reflexivity of "aufgeben" only once, and with a very specific meaning (the one outlined by Crystal Case. In general, "aufgeben" in the sense of "to give up", "to quit", etc. is not used reflexively. (Not to be confused with "sich ergeben", which absolutely means "to surrender" (in the context of a battle or other physical fight) and is reflexive.)– O. R. MapperSep 7, 2021 at 12:03
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2 Answers
In this case you can translate "I will not surrender" word by word -> "Ich werde nicht aufgeben". With "mich" you change the meaning by adding "myself". Your answer translates into "I will not surrender myself" or with better wording "I will not give up on myself".
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1
Ich werde mich nicht aufgeben.
Comes from jmdn. aufgeben, meaning to forsake sb.
Ich werde nicht aufgeben.
This comes from aufgeben meaning to surrender.
answered Sep 6, 2021 at 15:52
