brochure

greetings translators, im translating (spanish to english) a brochure for a boichemestry company, and Im a little bit confused with the following sentences:


1) ESTAMOS DONDE TENEMOS QUE ESTAR

2) LLEGAMOS DONDE DEBEMOS LLEGAR

for number 1 I was thinking maybe " WE ARE WHERE WE HAVE TO BE" or...we are where we are supposed to be?? I don't even know if it is gramatically correct, and i've read it so many times it doesn't even make sense to me anymore :(

and for number 2 all I have is "we get to where we have to get to"...


help?

I agree with your interpretation.

1) ESTAMOS DONDE TENEMOS QUE ESTAR = we are where we are supposed to be

2) LLEGAMOS DONDE DEBEMOS LLEGAR = we get to where we have to get to

It would be nice to find some other sentences in English that would convey the meaning in a more natural way. Maybe some more context would help to give you a couple of ideas.

well, this is actually a relieve...although I agree it doesn't sound as natural as it does in spanish...the problem is there is not much of a context, it just talks about the history of the company and some of the catch phrases are those two and "X, 50 años haciendo el futuro posible" ("X, 50 years making the future possible").
Thanks for replying so promptly, by the way!

A couple of thoughts:
Estamos dónde tenemos que estar could be "we are where we are supposed to be" as you translated it, but it could also be (more literally) "we are where we have to be". The two translations have different meanings. With the first translation, it sounds like a goal of some sort was reached. With the second translation, the implication is that they have reached a necessary stopping point, but maybe did not reach the intended goal.

Llegamos dónde debemos llegar perhaps would be past tense: We got to where we should have gotten. We got to where we were supposed to have gotten.

Due to the context indicated by yerlem which is a brochure for a biochemestry company and the two phrases in question are catch phrases (positive), it seems to me that if you translate #1 literally "WE ARE WHERE WE HAVE TO BE", it does not fit the context because it is as if they were talking about their position in terms of their goals; whereas,

1) ESTAMOS DONDE TENEMOS QUE ESTAR = we are where we are supposed to be, suggests that they are where they are needed, in the right places or where good business opportunities are.

As for

>>Llegamos dónde debemos llegar perhaps would be past tense: We got to where we should have gotten. We got to where we were supposed to have gotten.<<

the present tense conjugation of the verb debemos in Spanish suggests future as opposed to past. So,

2) LLEGAMOS DONDE DEBEMOS LLEGAR = we get to where we have to get to, indicates an ongoing action, something that is expected of them at all times.

I agree completely, couldn't have used better words.

one more question, the phrase "X, 50 años haciendo el futuro posible", that I translated as "X, 50 years making the future possible", I was sure of this translation until my boyfriend (who is american) pointed out that it sounds better "X, 50 years of making the future possible". I disagree with this, but since he is a native speaker he is making me doubt my original translation..how would you translate it?

Yes, absolutely your bf is right...he has the native ear and nothing can beat that....by all means add of to your tranlsation. The first time I saw your sentence I thought there was something funny about it, but I didn't say anything because I couldn't pinpoint what it was. The preposition definitely makes the sentence smoother and more natural.

Don't tell you bf he was right, trust me, you'll never hear the end of it ;)

nooo! haha, he can never know ! thanks for the correction Cotty, I was sure I was right :(

ESTAMOS DONDE TENEMOS QUE ESTAR: what about...We are where we ought to be! Being part of a brochure I think we need to highlight the marketing power of the source affirmative statement (it is something to be proud of and needs to convey a sense of security to the stakeholders).
For the second one, I would need more context. I can't see a marketing driven statement declaring that a company have reached a finish line. Marketing advisors always have in mind the chance of progress and continuing improvement. They share a creative mindset, always seeking out new ideas (i.e. they are firm advocators of the Schumpeterian "creative destruction" concept).

Quote:

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We are where we ought to be!

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Love it! Great sentence for a brochure...super business-like.