DavidMTY
Jul 4, 2002, 1:58 PM
Post #3 of 8
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Oops. You not tuteoing your Suegra, please adjust comments to Usted. (nmm)
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: Sounds to my like you unfortunately didn't consider the irony contained in the translation.<p>: The use of tener que is an obligation, and if you remove the irony, which apparently didn't translate, you're probably left with something like "No one forced you to come." "You weren't required to come." "It wasn't your obligation to come." "No one made you come."<p>: As you probably figured out quickly, especially considering the above examples, "You didn't have to come." qualifies as a modismo, such that it means something other than its exact definition. She probably thought: Why on earth do I do these things just to be told by this I don't need to be here? Hey this is supposed to be a family deal, the family is important, is he excluding me? When it is most important, why doesn't he want me here?<p>: Hopefully next time you won't need it in the hospital, unless she puts you there. And since she was so literal in interpreting you, the best thing with her is probably to be equally literal back to clear it up directly.<p>: Gracias!
: Qué gusto!
: Qué gusto me da verte conmigo en estos días!
: Aprecio mucho tu presencia.
: Me alivio más rápidamente sabiendo lo tanto que piensas en mí.
: Me haces fuerte, viniendo toda esa distancia por mí.
: Llevame a casa en una silla de ruedas si fuera necesario. Estar juntos es especial y vamos a festejar.
: Ay! No es así! no me entiendes bien, querida Suegra, no te dejo salir sin que me lleves contigo. Estoy feliz de la vida que viajaste tan lejos por tu preocupación y amor que tienes por mí.<p>: Best...David(MTY)<p>:
: : Recently when I was recovering from an operation and restricted to my bed, my fiancee had her mother over to take care of me while she went to work. My soon to be mother-in-law and I had not yet developed a close relationship. Upon her arrival, with the intention of trying to be kind, I said to her "No tenia que venir", trying to literally translate the English phrase "You didn't have to come all this way for me", with the intention of meaning "Thank you very much, you are so kind to go out of your way for doing me a favor, you didn't have to do that, etc."<p>: : I think she found my remark to be offending, or it at least caught her off guard, becasue she asked me if she should leave. This in turn, caught me off guard and I said, well if you want really want to... The whole thing was pretty disasterous and I had to do some explaining later. She really felt bad. Any advice on accepting favors?<p>: : P.S. This happened in Costa Rica but should be common to all spanish speaking countries, right? <p>
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