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Translation exercise 20-12Practice Spanish or English here. All replies to a thread should be in the same language as the first post. |
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Translation exercise 20-12
I won't type out the entire translation. I understand the grand majority of the mistakes I made. I just have four quick (I hope) questions....
1) English sentence: The three rooms are on the ground floor, which is convenient. My translation: Las tres salas están en el piso bajo, lo cual está cómodo. The book's answer: Las tres salas están en el piso bajo, lo cual es muy cómodo. My question: Although I know and tend to understand the basics of ser/estar, I still get stuck sometimes. I do not understand how this is "ser". Honestly..... 2) English sentence: On this list, you can see the names of our administrators, whom you can call at any time. My translation: En esta lista, Ud. puede ver los nombres de nuestros administradores, quienes Ud. puede llamar en cualquier momento. The book's answer: En esta lista, Ud. puede ver los nombres de nuestros administradores, a quienes Ud. puede llamar en cualquier momento. My question: Why the personal "a" there? 3) English sentence: There is a view of the lake. My translation: Hay una vista del lago. The book's answer: Hay una vista al lago. My question: Why "a" and not "de"? 4) English sentence: If you need me, call the extension that is on my card. My translation: Si me necesita, llame la extensión que es en mi tarjeta. The book's answer: Si me necesita, llame a la extensión que está en mi tarjeta. My questions: Again, why is the "a" there? And, again, why "estar" and not "ser"? Interesting, because in my first example above, I went with the idea of permanent condition (ser) vs. temporary (estar) and got it wrong (convenience is something that could change in a moment....), and in this example again (the number is permanently and forever on the card....). And I got both wrong. Ugh............ Thank you!!
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- Lou Ann, de Washington, DC, USA Específicamente quiero recibir ayuda con el español de latinoamerica. ¡Muchísimas gracias! |
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ser is used when the subject noun denotes an abstract idea: Tus ideas son muy extrañas I think the idea that 'this is very convenient' falls into this category. estar deries from the Latin stare to stand, to be situated. I think this meaning is always carried through in Spanish, so if something is situated somewhere, estar is used. This applies to a name situated on a card. |
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Seriously? Situated like print on a page? Amazing. I thought about estar/location was about physical places..... (sigh.....)
Thanks, Perikles! Do you see that the majority of my questions are still about prepositions? They're going to be the death of me..........
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- Lou Ann, de Washington, DC, USA Específicamente quiero recibir ayuda con el español de latinoamerica. ¡Muchísimas gracias! |
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Edit: it is a problem for the English speaker used to the verb to be as a catch-all verb with several meanings. Other languages avoid this - for example if a name is one a visiting card, German would use 'the name finds itself on the card' (sich befinden) Last edited by Perikles; January 27, 2011 at 08:23 AM. |
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Thanks, Malila. Prepositions are difficult. I always forget that "de" and "a" in Spanish have a directionality that are lacking from English's "of" and "to".
And, Perikles - that makes sense, too. Thanks! I have another etymological question for you ... I'll post it later when I have a little time....
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- Lou Ann, de Washington, DC, USA Específicamente quiero recibir ayuda con el español de latinoamerica. ¡Muchísimas gracias! |
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