English Help Translating 3 Sentences I'm Not Sure Of My Translations

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leobloom Thursday 19th of January 2006 08:07:41 PM
Help translating 3 sentences - hi!
I was looking thru PP 3rd lesson in the German forum and I saw something that i thought being wrong:

die erste Straße rechts – the first street to the right
die zweite Straße links – the second street to the left

I corrected that as: the first turning on the right
the second turning on the left.

But actually I'm not sure which one is the best and sounds more [i]natural[/i] to native English speakers.

3rd sentence, it 's taken from a song by Alanis Morrisette: "that I would be good". How can I translate this structure in a Romance language?
I first thought a sentence like "I hope" or "i think" was to be added but actually now I'm nearly sure it's a kind of structure that means an urging, a desire or something like that so it'd be better translated with a subjunctive form, right?

ex in French: que je sois bon.

ex in Italian: che io sia buono.

ex in Spanish: qué yo sea bueno.

ex in Portuguese: que eu sou bom.
I'm not even sure if I have chosen the right tense ... maybe the imperfect subjunctive would sound better, wouldn't it?

joziboy Thursday 19th of January 2006 08:56:24 PM
- Ciao leobloom :)

Well I can't speak a word of German, so I'm not sure about the translation aspect of it, but it definitely sounds better in English to say 'the first street to the right' or 'the second street to the left'.

As in giving directions? I would probably say 'the first street [i]on[/i] the right' but 'to the right' also sounds fine. I'm not sure what you mean by 'turning' - maybe 'corner'?

As for Alanis Morisette :D What's the context? What's the line before that? Wouldn't it be [i]che sarei buono[/i] in Italian?

leobloom Thursday 19th of January 2006 10:00:52 PM
- thanks joziboy for the naswer bout the directions =o) I'll tell PP it was my mistake to correct her=o)
btw, [i]che sarei buono[/i]= condizionale presente, che sia buono = congiuntivo presente... ;)

this is the song:

"That I Would Be Good"

that I would be good even if I did nothing
that I would be good even if I got the thumbs down
that I would be good if I got and stayed sick
that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds

that I would be fine even if I went bankrupt
that I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth
that I would be great if I was no longer queen
that I would be grand if I was not all knowing

that I would be loved even when I numb myself
that I would be good even when I am overwhelmed
that I would be loved even when I was fuming
that I would be good even if I was clingy

that I would be good even if I lost sanity
that I would be good
whether with or without you

as you see the whole song is built by repeating this structure so it's necessary to get exactly what it means if i want to translate it well=o)

zell Thursday 19th of January 2006 10:56:00 PM
Leo s phrase - Leo,could you translate for me your phrase "non parle quando ti incazza che si scombina la sitassi" if you don t want to post your answer, sould you send me a pm?

leobloom Friday 20th of January 2006 01:28:01 AM
- of course=o)

don't speak when you flip out (or, really get angry, incazzarsi is a vulgar way say it) coz your synthax gets blurred.

CliveN Friday 20th of January 2006 01:45:51 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by leobloom[/i]

hi!
I was looking thru PP 3rd lesson in the German forum and I saw something that i thought being wrong:

die erste Straße rechts – the first street to the right
die zweite Straße links – the second street to the left

I corrected that as: the first turning on the right
the second turning on the left.

But actually I'm not sure which one is the best and sounds more [i]natural[/i] to native English speakers.

3rd sentence, it 's taken from a song by Alanis Morrisette: "that I would be good". How can I translate this structure in a Romance language?
I first thought a sentence like "I hope" or "i think" was to be added but actually now I'm nearly sure it's a kind of structure that means an urging, a desire or something like that so it'd be better translated with a subjunctive form, right?

ex in French: que je sois bon.

ex in Italian: che io sia buono.

ex in Spanish: qué yo sea bueno.

ex in Portuguese: que eu sou bom.
I'm not even sure if I have chosen the right tense ... maybe the imperfect subjunctive would sound better, wouldn't it?[/quote]

"die erste Straße rechts" - "the first street on (or 'to') the right" or "first left"
"die zweite Straße links" - "the second street on (or 'to') the left" or "second right"

(In French:)
"que je sois bon" - "that I am good"
"que je serais bon" - "that I would be good"

Hope this helps :)

PS:
It doesn't have to be "street" in the 1st and 2nd sentences, you could also use "turning" or "road".

leobloom Friday 20th of January 2006 02:00:28 AM
- Hi=o)
thanks for help!!
so if i translate it as:
"que je serais bon" - "that I would be good"
it means it's no subjunctive , right? it's just a present conditional.
*still wondering about that strange song*

CliveN Friday 20th of January 2006 02:39:27 AM
- English doesn't have a subjunctive tense, and French doesn't have a subjunctive-conditional tense (as far as I know).

To me, that song doesn't really make sense. It would make sense if the lyrics were "[b]I know[/b] that I would be good...".

joziboy Friday 20th of January 2006 04:21:33 AM
- [quote][i]Originally posted by leobloom[/i]

btw, [i]che sarei buono[/i]= condizionale presente, che sia buono = congiuntivo presente... ;)

[/quote]

Sì, lo so. Ma penso che l’inglese non abbia il congiuntivo presente. but I could be wrong.

Yeah, as CliveN says, the lyrics don't really make sense so translating them would be pretty difficult! :) Alanis is taking serious artistic liberties with the language...

leobloom Friday 20th of January 2006 06:57:17 AM
- yep, i've also thought that maybe Alanis just "forgot" to put a principal verb in there...

@ Joziboy: as far as I know English does have a subjunctive mood but most of the times it's difficult to recognize it.

take a look here:
http://www.ceafinney.com/subjunctive/excerpts.html

Frecnh has both subkunctive mood and conditional one, the sentence
que je serais has no sense [i]per se[/i] but if you add a principal clause before it does=o)

eg. "Et puis si j'étais le bon Dieu
[b]Je crois que je serais pas fier[/b]
Je sais on fait ce qu'on peut
Mais il y a la manière."
(Jacques Brel / 1929-1978 / Fernand)

= ...I think I would not be proud...

joziboy Friday 20th of January 2006 08:39:48 PM
- Ah okay, yeah the [b]I wish I were[/b] tense. Yup, we do have that :) We don't use it for 'to think' though, like Italian does ([b]Penso[/b] che sia) - that's why I got confused. In English you'd just say 'I think I am/ you are etc'

Phrasebase Archive
	leobloom	Thursday 19th of January 2006 08:07:41 PM
	Help translating 3 sentences - hi! I was looking thru PP 3rd lesson in the German forum and I saw something that i thought being wrong: die erste Straße rechts – the first street to the right die zweite Straße links – the second street to the left I corrected that as: the first turning on the right the second turning on the left. But actually I'm not sure which one is the best and sounds more [i]natural[/i] to native English speakers. 3rd sentence, it 's taken from a song by Alanis Morrisette: "that I would be good". How can I translate this structure in a Romance language? I first thought a sentence like "I hope" or "i think" was to be added but actually now I'm nearly sure it's a kind of structure that means an urging, a desire or something like that so it'd be better translated with a subjunctive form, right? ex in French: que je sois bon. ex in Italian: che io sia buono. ex in Spanish: qué yo sea bueno. ex in Portuguese: que eu sou bom. I'm not even sure if I have chosen the right tense ... maybe the imperfect subjunctive would sound better, wouldn't it?
	joziboy	Thursday 19th of January 2006 08:56:24 PM
	- Ciao leobloom :) Well I can't speak a word of German, so I'm not sure about the translation aspect of it, but it definitely sounds better in English to say 'the first street to the right' or 'the second street to the left'. As in giving directions? I would probably say 'the first street [i]on[/i] the right' but 'to the right' also sounds fine. I'm not sure what you mean by 'turning' - maybe 'corner'? As for Alanis Morisette :D What's the context? What's the line before that? Wouldn't it be [i]che sarei buono[/i] in Italian?
	leobloom	Thursday 19th of January 2006 10:00:52 PM
	- thanks joziboy for the naswer bout the directions =o) I'll tell PP it was my mistake to correct her=o) btw, [i]che sarei buono[/i]= condizionale presente, che sia buono = congiuntivo presente... ;) this is the song: "That I Would Be Good" that I would be good even if I did nothing that I would be good even if I got the thumbs down that I would be good if I got and stayed sick that I would be good even if I gained ten pounds that I would be fine even if I went bankrupt that I would be good if I lost my hair and my youth that I would be great if I was no longer queen that I would be grand if I was not all knowing that I would be loved even when I numb myself that I would be good even when I am overwhelmed that I would be loved even when I was fuming that I would be good even if I was clingy that I would be good even if I lost sanity that I would be good whether with or without you as you see the whole song is built by repeating this structure so it's necessary to get exactly what it means if i want to translate it well=o)
	zell	Thursday 19th of January 2006 10:56:00 PM
	Leo s phrase - Leo,could you translate for me your phrase "non parle quando ti incazza che si scombina la sitassi" if you don t want to post your answer, sould you send me a pm?
	leobloom	Friday 20th of January 2006 01:28:01 AM
	- of course=o) don't speak when you flip out (or, really get angry, incazzarsi is a vulgar way say it) coz your synthax gets blurred.
	CliveN	Friday 20th of January 2006 01:45:51 AM
	- [quote][i]Originally posted by leobloom[/i] hi! I was looking thru PP 3rd lesson in the German forum and I saw something that i thought being wrong: die erste Straße rechts – the first street to the right die zweite Straße links – the second street to the left I corrected that as: the first turning on the right the second turning on the left. But actually I'm not sure which one is the best and sounds more [i]natural[/i] to native English speakers. 3rd sentence, it 's taken from a song by Alanis Morrisette: "that I would be good". How can I translate this structure in a Romance language? I first thought a sentence like "I hope" or "i think" was to be added but actually now I'm nearly sure it's a kind of structure that means an urging, a desire or something like that so it'd be better translated with a subjunctive form, right? ex in French: que je sois bon. ex in Italian: che io sia buono. ex in Spanish: qué yo sea bueno. ex in Portuguese: que eu sou bom. I'm not even sure if I have chosen the right tense ... maybe the imperfect subjunctive would sound better, wouldn't it?[/quote] "die erste Straße rechts" - "the first street on (or 'to') the right" or "first left" "die zweite Straße links" - "the second street on (or 'to') the left" or "second right" (In French:) "que je sois bon" - "that I am good" "que je serais bon" - "that I would be good" Hope this helps :) PS: It doesn't have to be "street" in the 1st and 2nd sentences, you could also use "turning" or "road".
	leobloom	Friday 20th of January 2006 02:00:28 AM
	- Hi=o) thanks for help!! so if i translate it as: "que je serais bon" - "that I would be good" it means it's no subjunctive , right? it's just a present conditional. still wondering about that strange song
	CliveN	Friday 20th of January 2006 02:39:27 AM
	- English doesn't have a subjunctive tense, and French doesn't have a subjunctive-conditional tense (as far as I know). To me, that song doesn't really make sense. It would make sense if the lyrics were "[b]I know[/b] that I would be good...".
	joziboy	Friday 20th of January 2006 04:21:33 AM
	- [quote][i]Originally posted by leobloom[/i] btw, [i]che sarei buono[/i]= condizionale presente, che sia buono = congiuntivo presente... ;) [/quote] Sì, lo so. Ma penso che l’inglese non abbia il congiuntivo presente. but I could be wrong. Yeah, as CliveN says, the lyrics don't really make sense so translating them would be pretty difficult! :) Alanis is taking serious artistic liberties with the language...
	leobloom	Friday 20th of January 2006 06:57:17 AM
	- yep, i've also thought that maybe Alanis just "forgot" to put a principal verb in there... @ Joziboy: as far as I know English does have a subjunctive mood but most of the times it's difficult to recognize it. take a look here: http://www.ceafinney.com/subjunctive/excerpts.html Frecnh has both subkunctive mood and conditional one, the sentence que je serais has no sense [i]per se[/i] but if you add a principal clause before it does=o) eg. "Et puis si j'étais le bon Dieu [b]Je crois que je serais pas fier[/b] Je sais on fait ce qu'on peut Mais il y a la manière." (Jacques Brel / 1929-1978 / Fernand) = ...I think I would not be proud...
	joziboy	Friday 20th of January 2006 08:39:48 PM
	- Ah okay, yeah the [b]I wish I were[/b] tense. Yup, we do have that :) We don't use it for 'to think' though, like Italian does ([b]Penso[/b] che sia) - that's why I got confused. In English you'd just say 'I think I am/ you are etc'