Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Gale
1. What is the implication of saying la ausencia? Is the young man (who is speaking to his father) saying something like, "Dad, since you're going to be dead one day, I would appreciate your telling me about XYZ"?
Why would it not be "su ausencia" if the absence he's talking about is his father's? Am I totally misreading this line? Is the absence referring to the absence of love in the lines below?
|
Translation isn't a case of word-for-word replacement. English and Spanish sometimes differ in whether or not you use an article (e.g.
I like apples but
me gustan las manzanas). Here they differ in whether to use a pronoun or an article. See also:
my head hurts vs
me duele la cabeza (literally
the head hurts me).
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Gale
2. I understand that the phrase "lo han dejado" means something like, "They have left it, they have quit it, they have stopped it, they have ceased it, they have made XYZ," but if the verb han refers to his father, why is it han and not ha? What does the "lo" refer to? Who or what is doing the action in this sentence?
|
Firstly, I'm not convinced that it's his father. But for the sake of argument, I'll grant that.
han refers to unnamed other people, and
lo refers to the father. Spanish often prefers
(unspecified) they did something where English prefers a passive. E.g.
I was robbed vs
me han robado.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Gale
3. Why "amar" and not "amor"?
|
dejar de + infinitive. It needs the verb, not the noun.
Putting it all together:
Sir,
In your experience
Tell me whether in your absence
People have ceased to love you