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Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

 

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Old July 27, 2020, 11:26 AM
Tyrn Tyrn is offline
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Dr. Livingstone, I presume?

Hi,

How to say this in Spanish? I suppose, there is a choice of similar expressions, like Is it Mr. Livingstone?, etc.
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Old July 27, 2020, 12:16 PM
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I guess you could use the verb presumir, but suponer is certain. Señor Livingson, supongo.
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Old July 27, 2020, 12:50 PM
Tyrn Tyrn is offline
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Supongo, yes . En ese encuentro Stanley pronunció su famosa frase: «Doctor Livingstone, supongo».

There must be other ways to suggest the name of a person you never met before, I suppose.
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Old July 27, 2020, 01:28 PM
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The standard translation for this particular sentence is "El doctor, Livingstone, supongo."
But in all other cases, you do need the article, because you're asking as if this were a third person, and your title is not a part of your name...

- ¿Es usted la profesora López?
- Usted debe ser el señor Ramírez.
- Usted es la licenciada Hernández, ¿verdad?
- Me imagino que usted es el consejero Sánchez.
- (Buenas tardes), creo que usted es/debe ser la doctora Juárez.


...but if you're addressing the person directly, you don't need the article:

- Señora Martínez, qué gusto conocerla.
- Mucho gusto de conocerlo, capitán Pérez.
- Doctora Miranda, por fin nos conocemos.
- Es un placer conocerlo, maestro Lara.


Finally, if you don't use a title to address the person, you don't use an article:

- ¿Usted es Alejandro?
- Ana María, ¿verdad?
- Usted debe ser José Rodríguez.
- Me imagino que usted es Fátima Velázquez.
...
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