[math-fun] "Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen?"
What does the title "Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen?" mean? I've seen it translated as "What are numbers and what should they be?". But I've also seen it translated as "What are numbers and what are they good for?", which is very different. (I only took one semester of German, but wouldn't "should be" be "sollen sein", rather than "sollen"?) Jim Propp
* James Propp <jamespropp@gmail.com> [Feb 07. 2018 08:59]:
What does the title "Was sind und was sollen die Zahlen?" mean?
I've seen it translated as "What are numbers
OK up to here.
and what should they be?".
Rather nope. It's not unambiguous... "what is their purpose?" "what do they mean?" "what are they good/useful for?" Best regards, jj
But I've also seen it translated as "What are numbers and what are they good for?", which is very different.
(I only took one semester of German, but wouldn't "should be" be "sollen sein", rather than "sollen"?)
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