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This is confusing! Please help!

 

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  #1
Old January 15, 2015, 09:58 PM
rajmen rajmen is offline
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This is confusing! Please help!

There is a sentence which goes like this

" Deja de estar suspirando por lo que hubiera podido ser concentrate en lo que estas haciendo ahora.

Now one can translate "hubiera podido " as " had could" which does not make any sense. Google translate gives it as "might have been" . then should it not be written as "podido hubiera"?
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  #2
Old January 16, 2015, 07:48 AM
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poli poli is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rajmen View Post
There is a sentence which goes like this

" Deja de estar suspirando por lo que hubiera podido ser concentrate en lo que estas haciendo ahora.

Now one can translate "hubiera podido " as " had could" which does not make any sense. Google translate gives it as "might have been" . then should it not be written as "podido hubiera"?
The Spanish you wrote is wrong, but hubiera podido is perfect Spanish which roughly translates as might have done Podido hubiera is definitely wrong.
Although the sentence is written incorrectly, I know what it means:
Stop sighing and concentrate on what you are doing now.
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  #3
Old January 16, 2015, 09:01 AM
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Julvenzor Julvenzor is offline
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Deja de estar suspirando por lo que hubiera podido ser (=acontecer), concéntrate en lo que estás haciendo ahora.

Stop sighing for what could have happened and concentrate on what you are doing now.
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  #4
Old January 16, 2015, 12:33 PM
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poli poli is offline
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Originally Posted by Julvenzor View Post
Stop sighing for what could have happened and concentrate on what you are doing now.
Consider using sighing over in this case. Although sigh for and sigh over are similar, sigh for implies yearning, and sigh over implies remorse.

Example: In the 1920's women supposedly sighed for Rudolf Valentino, and sighed over him when he died.
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Last edited by poli; January 16, 2015 at 12:35 PM.
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  #5
Old January 16, 2015, 06:06 PM
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Julvenzor Julvenzor is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by poli View Post
Consider using sighing over in this case. Although sigh for and sigh over are similar, sigh for implies yearning, and sigh over implies remorse.

Example: In the 1920's women supposedly sighed for Rudolf Valentino, and sighed over him when he died.

Interesting! Thank you.
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  #6
Old January 18, 2015, 01:25 PM
reverser reverser is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rajmen View Post
There is a sentence which goes like this

" Deja de estar suspirando por lo que hubiera podido ser concentrate en lo que estas haciendo ahora.

Now one can translate "hubiera podido " as " had could" which does not make any sense. Google translate gives it as "might have been" . then should it not be written as "podido hubiera"?
Your phrase of interest is "hubiera podido ser" not merely "hubiera podido". Thus, "might have been able to be" or, with the "lo que" added in, that which could have been.

Last edited by reverser; January 18, 2015 at 01:29 PM.
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