A snake!
af Hyperboreus, 29. aug. 2012
Meddelelser: 23
Sprog: English
Hyperboreus (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 03.08.30
antoniomoya (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 05.07.04
"Johano vidis serpenton apud si"
Amike.
rakuten98le (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 08.30.35
The same thing goes to the esperanto translation: "Johano vidis serpenton apud si" is more accurate and it clearly states that the snake is near John
Vestitor (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 09.34.50
Simon Pure (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 09.46.22
Hyperboreus:I cannot say whether it is grammatically correct, but it is a sentence I would expect an English speaker to use. Adding self clarifies that 'him' refers to John and not another person.
a) Would "?John saw a snake near himself." also be correct?
N.B. English speakers will vary, greatly. (I don't wan't to start a debate over British/American English differences.)
sudanglo (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 10.42.17
Within the rules of Esperanto there really is no choice if you want to avoid confusion as to whether the snake was near him or someone else.
Strict application of those rules means that there is an ambiguity in, for example, John and his friend went for a walk - Johano kaj lia amiko iris promeni. But you can avoid that by saying Johano promenis kun sia amiko.
Hyperboreus (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 15.14.27
sudanglo (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 17.52.21
John saw the ghost near her himself would be Johano mem vidis la fantomon apud ŝi.
Hyperboreus (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 18.52.04
darkweasel (Vise profilen) 29. aug. 2012 19.03.21
Hyperboreus:yes.
Am I also correct with this assumption:
"John saw a snake near him." (the snake being near John and not near somebody else)
would be in Esperanto
"Johano vidis serpenton apud si."