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Waiting and hoping? (esperar y esperar?)

 

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  #1
Old December 20, 2012, 12:49 PM
rstinejr rstinejr is offline
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Waiting and hoping? (esperar y esperar?)

The verb 'esperar' means both 'to wait' and 'to hope'. These words can have very different senses in English. I'm sure Spanish speakers are aware of the distinction, but when I have Google translate "I will wait but I dare not hope" I get:
Voy a esperar, pero no me atrevo a esperar.
That seems pretty confusing to me. How would a native speaker express this?

Gracias!
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  #2
Old December 20, 2012, 01:53 PM
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AngelicaDeAlquezar AngelicaDeAlquezar is offline
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When the context can't mark the different meanings of "esperar" --as to hope and to expect, alternative constructions must be chosen.

One possibility:
Voy a esperar, pero no me atrevo a tener esperanza.
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  #3
Old December 20, 2012, 04:16 PM
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JPablo JPablo is offline
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Otras opciones (algo más libres):

Yo esperaría, pero no me hago ninguna ilusión...

Esperaré, pero ni me atrevo a soñar[lo]...

Esperaré, pero no tengo ninguna expectativa real.

Espero, pero sé que es una utopía.

Esperaré, pero sé que es una esperanza vana.

Esperaré, pero mucho me temo que eso es mucho esperar.

Of course, all of my options have different nuances and may be more or less natural in Spanish. That's were "robot" translation is waaaaay behind a decent translator... You have to translate IN CONTEXT, as that determines the EXACT concept you want to convey...

Sometimes one could use the SAME word for effect, but when a "robot" does that, the "effect" is usually not very good.

And better than being in a "waiting-mode" it's better to be in a "acting-mode"

Y "el que espera desespera". Aunque "no por mucho madrugar, amanece más temprano".
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  #4
Old December 24, 2012, 04:48 AM
rstinejr rstinejr is offline
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Feliz navidad!

Este foro es el mejor! Gracias a todos. Feliz Navidad y un próspero año nuevo!
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  #5
Old December 26, 2012, 05:24 PM
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JPablo JPablo is offline
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¡Ole!
Gracias por el piropo...
De nada.
Felices fiestas navideñas para ti y para todos los foreros... ¡y un año nuevo lleno de aprendizaje eficaz!
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