Eran presa de las epidemias

[irmamar]

They were prey of the epidemics

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

They were prey of the epidemics

Possibly:- They were the prey of (the) epidemics

[poli]

I think this means: They were quarantined or sequestered because of epidemic.

[irmamar]

No, I mean that they could easily get infected with diseases (viral diseases, such as smallpox).

[poli]

Then I would use likely victims of epidemics
or vulnerable to epidemics

[irmamar]

Oh, thank you! That sounds much better. So you wouldn't use "to be a prey of something" (epidemic, trap, etc., even love).

[Perikles]

Can I just make the point that you didn't ask what the best way of expressing this was? The question seemed to ask whether what you said could be correct. Not quite the same thing.

[irmamar]

I've seen it written by a Spanish speaker (with much more knowledge of your language than mine), but after reading your answers I've begun to ask myself that maybe this construction is not common in English. Everything has a reason for being.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Everything has a reason for being.

Even potpourri ?

[irmamar]

Maybe I'm not able to express correctly my thought in another language. I'm sorry.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by Perikles

Even potpourri ?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Maybe I'm not able to express correctly my thought in another language. I'm sorry.

You are much better at it than I am.

[irmamar]

No le veo la gracia. En fin, a ver si alguien me lo explica. Y si es bueno, lo pasaremos al hilo de chistes.

[poli]

Easy prey is a term I hear a lot when describing a vulnerble group.

The very young and elderly are easy prey for the flu. Better yet: The elderly are easy prey for phone scams.

PS InEnglish,potpourri has come to mean dried flowers or things that look like dried flowers dyed with agressive perfume added to it. In reality there isn't a good reason for it.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by poli

PS InEnglish,potpourri has come to mean dried flowers or things that look like dried flowers dyed with agressive perfume added to it. In reality there isn't a good reason for it.

I just mentioned it as one the things which I see as having no purpose at all, at least not one that I see. Not especially funny, I suppose.

[poli]

I thought it was funny.
Somehow, I can't imagine why, I don't often think about potpourri.

[irmamar]

Muchas gracias, Poli.

En español popurrí es una mezcla de cosas, pueden ser flores secas u otra cosa como, por ejemplo, una mezcla de dos idiomas (como el Spanglish). Puedo traducir al inglés una frase directamente del español, sin aplicar reglas semánticas, sintácticas y/o gramaticales, y eso también es un popurrí. Como veo que mi inglés es un popurrí, a partir de ahora escribiré en español.

Sigue sin quedarme clara la pregunta que hice, pero no espero más respuestas. Muchas gracias a todos.

[poli]

Ahora estoy perdido. ¿Cual pregunta? Sabes que por lo que veo, no estamos burlando de ti y nadie desea desanimarte hablar inglés aquí.

[Perikles]

I am really sorry for a misunderstanding. When @irma said everything had a purpose, I just thought of potpourri as an example of something for which I see no point at all. I could well have said cushions, or bath salts. In English, it does not have the connotation of a mixture of languages , and that is most certainly not what I meant. I do apologize for any offence, which was certainly not intended.

[irmamar]

Bueno, no pasa nada. Son cosas que suceden en entornos bilingües.