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Hi, I'm trying to translate this phrase into English and I have lots of doubts about its tenses:
"Antes de que me diera cuenta, todo sobre mí ya le pertenecía a él"
mi intento es:
"before I noticed it, everything about me was already of his possession"
could you tell me if the tenses (specially the first part of the sentence) are alright?
I'm a native of Spanish, and I checked with an Australian translator. It sounds good!
Quote:
Originally Posted by rociot
thank you! Before siempre me confunde un poco
Mi intento: Before I realized it, he already knew everything there was to know about me.
Before I knew it, the whole of me* belonged to him.
*My entire self, everything about me...
If “todo sobre mí” can mean “my entire self”, then the common version would be “Without even knowing it, I became his and his alone”. But there’s something here I’m not quite getting. I guess that's not too unusual.
When you say the common version, you mean Without even knowing it, I became his and his alone is a saying?
Hola Blonda:
Aunque yo me dedico a traducir del inglés al español, también me gusta intentar de español a inglés. Aquí te dejo mi aportación y estaré al pendiente de los comentarios y sugerencias al respecto.
"Antes de que me diera cuenta, todo sobre mí ya le pertenecía a él"
"Before I knew it, all of me belonged to him."
Gracias... Xóchitl
Cotty, I just meant in love stories, that is a trite line. If "todo sobre mí" referred to knowledge about me, the other translation would also be a trite line, but in mystery novels. That's why I was perplexed. Those are very different things. Neither is a real saying, but people mimic them when acting dramatic.
But I can tell you I will be careful from now on when using the phrase "todo sobre". In English, "everything about me" is only information. In fact, one hears "He knew everything about me, but he did not know me".
Hi gernt, when you read that line in Spanish, the first thing that comes to mind is that it's definitely romantic or out of a love story.
Todo sobre mí involves my mind, my heart, my body, my life...todo being the key word here is everything/all that I am.
That's why I need you. That definition of sobre is in none of my dictionaries. It must be common in Spanish romantic novels, but I'm not inclined to read those.
Well, I need you too :) because your input always helps me a lot to see how you view and interpret things in Spanish.
Sobre is just about, I thought the problem was more with todo than sobre...
How about all about me? Does that also suggests only info or more?Quote:
>>... In English, "everything about me" is only information. In fact, one hears "He knew everything about me, but he did not know me".
here's another take:
Before I realized, every part of me was his.
...every part of me... suggests body parts, mainly the physical side of her.
You had it exactly right earlier with "my entire being". All about me or all about anything is basically just info. In romance novels they want you to be sure, so they really extend it such as: "I belonged completely to him, my body, my soul, my mind, my senses - everything about me, everything I am, everything I wanted to be" etc. until it gets sickening.
No, my problem is sobre. The usual translation of about really slaps a meaning of information apparently where it may be unwanted. All doesn't change that. It is very common for someone to say "tell me all about yourself". But "Give me all about yourself" or "I want all about you" doesn't really make any sense. It has to be "Give yourself to me" or "I want you and you alone".
LOL I agree with you!! I hate those...all lovey dovey...
I disagree. For me, it would be like saying that part in "you're part of me"is referring to a body part.Quote:
...every part of me... suggests body parts, mainly the physical side of her.
but then again, I'm not an English native so I may be wrong...
How did this ever get so complicated?
mvictoria is right. The word "part" is often understood as abstract in English. "She is a part of who I am". "Part of me wants to say 'yes' and part of me wants to run away". "There are parts of our relationship that I believe will become a problem down the road". It is so abstract that it is rare (but possible) for someone to use it in word play. One example would be:
"Part of me wants to go out with you".
"Which part"?
Quote:
I disagree. For me, it would be like saying that part in "you're part of me"is referring to a body part.
In the sentence you are a part of me the context is completely different from every part of me; therefore, the impression of part being a body part is not the same. It is like comparing apples and oranges.
Quote:
but then again, I'm not an English native so I may be wrong...
I am not an English native speaker either, but I work with both languages, so I feel very confident using either one, otherwise I would change jobs.
Hi gernt
I wouldn't say complicated, I'd say interesting instead.Quote:
How did this ever get so complicated?
Quote:
mvictoria is right.
Right in what sense? Who said she was wrong? Based on what is she right?
This is not a test, IMO we are just exchanging our points of view with the purpose of getting a clear understanding of what we are attempting to translate. I don’t believe there is a right or wrong way (unless you say that black is white, in which case I would directly say you are flat out wrong); however, there are better sentences than others in the sense that they convey the meaning of the original sentence in a more precise way.
I know perfectly what the word part means and how it is used. But as I said before, if you change the whole sentence, then the word in question takes another tone. I never said that part meant a physical part in every single case. I said that the phrase ...every part of me... right off the bat gave me the feeling of referring to the physical aspect. So to me there are better sentences than that one to translate the sentence in Spanish. Our aim should be to be as exact as possible and to convey the meaning of the original sentence without ambiguity.Quote:
The word "part" is often understood as abstract in English. "She is a part of who I am". "Part of me wants to say 'yes' and part of me wants to run away". "There are parts of our relationship that I believe will become a problem down the road". It is so abstract that it is rare (but possible) for someone to use it in word play...
I asked four colleagues of mine that work with me in the same institution, and all agreed that the first thing that comes to mind with Before I realized [it], every part of me was his, was the physical side of it. Of course it also referst to other parts, but there are better ways to express todo de mí than that.
You are certainly far more bilingual than me, and, moreover, I am influenced by regionalisms in my location. I agree 100% there is no right or wrong here. I really don't feel very confident in either language. So much hinges on tone and how the other person receives the message.
LOL!!!! That's a good one, Gernt!Quote:
Originally Posted by gernt
Más sabe el diablo por viejo que por diablo....lo poco que sé lo he aprendido porque a través de los años siempre he estado en disposición de aprender.
Hace muchos años que me quité el escudo defensivo porque me dí cuenta que nadie me estaba atacando.