<ol>
<li><p>If you want to express a present continuous tense, yes, a &quot;在&quot; is necessary, cause &quot;他们说不同的语言&quot; express a fact. They may be not speaking now.</p>
</li>
<li><p>The 他们说的是不同的语言 is not the exact translation. A better version for &quot;They're speaking a different language&quot; should be: 他们在说不同的语言，as yours. On the other hand, a better English translation of &quot;他们说的是不同的语言&quot; should be: They <em>were</em> speaking a different language, or &quot;What they were speaking is a different language&quot;. The second one is a bit strange, but can help you to understand the twice &quot;的&quot; and &quot;是&quot;。他们说的 ：&quot;What they were speaking&quot;， 是 ：is， 不同的语言： different language.</p>
</li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-13T15:19:43.820Z
That makes a lot of sense, 多谢! One other questions is in regard to the use of 正在 and 在 when speaking in continuous tense. Are they interchangeable?
Adrift
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-15T22:52:06.570Z
@Adrift Literally, the meaning of 正在 and 在 are 99% same (when express the continuous tense) and interchangeable. The only very small difference between them (in my opinion) is, compared with 在，正在 emphasized the current state more. For example, if A said : i had something needed to talk to B, you could say 他正在睡觉呢！to emphasize B's state (shouldn't be disturbed). But anyway, you can also use "在" here.
Havier
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-12T23:01:07.337Z
2023-01-12T23:01:07.337Z
Havier
<p>I've run this through Google translate, and received this: 他们说的是不同的语言</p>
<p><strong>Pinyin:</strong> Tāmen shuō de shì bùtóng de yǔyán</p>
<p>I would have expected it to be something like: 他们说不同的语言</p>
<p><strong>Pinyin:</strong> Tāmen shuō bu tóng de yǔyán</p>
<p>So my version, I guess it would equate to &quot;They speak different language&quot;</p>
<ul>
<li>Should I include 在 (zài) before the verb to indicate &quot;speaking&quot; vs &quot;speak&quot;?</li>
<li>Why in the first example does the 的 particle exist twice and what role does <strong>shì</strong> play?</li>
</ul>

<mandarin><sentence-structure>
Help translating this sentence: "They're speaking a different language"
# Help translating this sentence: "They're speaking a different language"

(Asked by: username_0 on 2023-01-12)

I've run this through Google translate, and received this: 他们说的是不同的语言

**Pinyin:** Tāmen shuō de shì bùtóng de yǔyán

I would have expected it to be something like: 他们说不同的语言

**Pinyin:** Tāmen shuō bu tóng de yǔyán

So my version, I guess it would equate to "They speak different language"

* Should I include 在 (zài) before the verb to indicate "speaking" vs "speak"?
* Why in the first example does the 的 particle exist twice and what role does **shì** play?

**Tags:** mandarin, sentence-structure


---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2023-01-12. Score: 2 | Accepted answer

1. If you want to express a present continuous tense, yes, a "在" is necessary, cause "他们说不同的语言" express a fact. They may be not speaking now.
2. The 他们说的是不同的语言 is not the exact translation. A better version for "They're speaking a different language" should be: 他们在说不同的语言，as yours. On the other hand, a better English translation of "他们说的是不同的语言" should be: They *were* speaking a different language, or "What they were speaking is a different language". The second one is a bit strange, but can help you to understand the twice "的" and "是"。他们说的 ："What they were speaking"， 是 ：is， 不同的语言： different language.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: That makes a lot of sense, 多谢! One other questions is in regard to the use of 正在 and 在 when speaking in continuous tense. Are they interchangeable?  
> **username_1**: @username_0 Literally, the meaning of 正在 and 在 are 99% same (when express the continuous tense) and interchangeable. The only very small difference between them (in my opinion) is, compared with 在，正在 emphasized the current state more. For example, if A said : i had something needed to talk to B, you could say 他正在睡觉呢！to emphasize B's state (shouldn't be disturbed). But anyway, you can also use "在" here.  

---

