Dec 11, 2010 20:46
13 yrs ago
7 viewers *
Spanish term
subjunctive mood
Spanish to English
Other
Other
a sentence in a textbook
Dame la bolsa menos pesada que tengas, no pueda levantar nada pesado.
I don't quite understand why 'tengas' is used here (subjuntivo), and not 'tienes' (indicativo).
I don't quite understand why 'tengas' is used here (subjuntivo), and not 'tienes' (indicativo).
Proposed translations
(English)
4 +4 | it is a non-specific reference | Jenni Lukac (X) |
4 +1 | Give me the lightest of your bags | schevallier |
Proposed translations
+4
18 mins
Selected
it is a non-specific reference
This is a tricky one. I'd say it falls into the "non-specific reference" category, making if equivalent to "whichever/whatever" Example: whichever traducción Ingles - Espanol : whichever a pron 1 (=no matter which) whichever of the methods you choose cualquiera de los métodos que escojas, ...
diccionario.reverso.net/ingles-espanol/whichever - Similares. Brian Steel gives an example in his book <<Translation from Spanish: An Introductory Course>> published by Sociedad General Española de Librería, including: Dame el aparato o como se llame (Give me the mahine or whatever you call it). The "que tengas" ("que" also often precipitates the use of the subjunctive) is the rough equivalent of "lo qur haya" or "lo que sea". I hope this helps!
diccionario.reverso.net/ingles-espanol/whichever - Similares. Brian Steel gives an example in his book <<Translation from Spanish: An Introductory Course>> published by Sociedad General Española de Librería, including: Dame el aparato o como se llame (Give me the mahine or whatever you call it). The "que tengas" ("que" also often precipitates the use of the subjunctive) is the rough equivalent of "lo qur haya" or "lo que sea". I hope this helps!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
neilmac
: yes, a sort of hypothesising nuance often hard to grasp
23 mins
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Thanks Neil. "Perchance" it is. I could be understood as "The lightest bag you might happen to have..."
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agree |
Jairo Payan
4 hrs
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Cheers and thanks, Jairo.
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agree |
Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
: Good!
11 hrs
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Thanks Beatriz, especially for mentioning the "pueda/puedo" error at the end.
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agree |
Charles Davis
: Yes; some grammarians explain it differently, but I think this is the essential issue: what they called "indefinite antecedent" when I was at school (some time ago!).
14 hrs
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Thanks Charles. "Indefinite antecedent" is another term for this "cajon de sastre" use of the subjuctive. What never ceases to amaze me is that native speakers, whatever their level of schooling, never make errors with the subjunctive.
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Muchas gracias por sus explicasiones. Ya todo está más o menos claro!"
+1
6 mins
Spanish term (edited):
Dame la bolsa menos pesada que tengas
Give me the lightest of your bags
...because I can't carry heavy loads
(secuencia de tiempos en ES)
:)
(secuencia de tiempos en ES)
:)
Peer comment(s):
agree |
neilmac
: "the lightest you might just perchance happen to have" :-)
35 mins
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Thanks neilmac!
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Discussion
http://babelnet.sbg.ac.at/carlitos/ayuda/presente_de_subjunt...