Translation Exercise • 17

La traduzione, come metodo di esercizio nell’apprendimento di una lingua, farà sicuramente parte della vecchia scuola, però, inserita in un contesto più vario di apprendimento, soprattutto con feedback in tempo reale, può sempre essere un utile esercizio di allenamento.

Consiglio una partecipazione attiva e visibile postando la tua versione tra i commenti in fondo a questa pagina. In questo modo riceverai un mio commento o suggerimento in tempo più o meno reale. Ma per chi non se la sente, si può semplicemente annotare la propria versione e controllarla attraverso i miei commenti lasciati per gli altri.

Ecco la nuova frase:

Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.

Buon divertimento!

Puoi esercitarti quanto vuoiQUI


Your comments are always very welcome.


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Author: Tony

Born and raised in Malaysia between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Educated at Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, England. Living in the foothills of Mount Etna since 1982 and teaching English at Catania University since 1987.

38 thoughts on “Translation Exercise • 17”

  1. Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.
    I probably would have bought them, but Bob made me change my mind!

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  2. Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.
    Good morning dear prof…
    Probably I would have bought them but Bob made me change my mind.

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  3. Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.
    I probably would buy them but Bob made me change my mind

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      1. Thanks, teacher, but I will be never able to get used to the English rules of commas since they are different from Italian ones. I actually don’t understand the concept that underpins them

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        1. I’m not too sure about the rules myself to be honest. I tend to go by instinct. However, if you imagine you are reading the text, you should see the comma as a way of making a very slight break in your reading. If you think this is useful for the meaning and/or for the flow of the sentence then it’s probably best to use a comma at that point. It’s often a free choice and not really critical.
          If you look at your sentence, the adverb “probably” flows perfectly together with the rest of the verb and on pronouncing the sentence in a normal way, you would be very unlikely to pause before “probably” unless you really wanted to emphasise its importance in your statement.
          If, on the other hand, you look at my reply, it’s quite nice to isolate your name and make the statement more personal.
          There is some debate regarding the comma before “but” and “and”. In effect it’s not strictly necessary because the conjunctions already create a sort of break in the flow. However, they are often very effective and perfectly acceptable.
          I think on the whole it’s best only to use commas when you can see that they serve a real purpose.

          N.B. In your version it should be “would” and not “could” at the beginning! 😉

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          1. Thanks again for your explanations. I usually adopt exactly the technique suggested by you, but my online device often corrects me. You cited “but” and “and” with good reason since they follow different rules in Italian grammar: AND, being conjunction, can’t be disrupted by a comma, while BUT must always follow a comma. English grammar, conversely, doesn’t observe these rules

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  4. what a mess!☹
    I would have bought them probably, but Bob made me change my mind.
    Really thanks prof

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  5. Good afternoon prof,
    I would buy them probably, but Bob has made change my mind about them.

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    1. You need to push everything further back into the past, Nadia. This is “story-telling”. Also, “about them” is not necessary at the end.

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  6. Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.
    I would probably have bought them, but Bob made me change my mind.

    * I was in trouble with…
    I probably would have / I would
    probably have

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  7. Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.

    Maybe I whould have bought them, but Bob made me change my mind.

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    1. “Maybe” is not quite the same as “probabilmente”, Paolo, although it’s a close equivalent.
      The rest is perfect except for that invasive ‘h’ in “would” 🙂

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      1. Got it, Tony.
        Probabilmente li avrei comprati, ma Bob mi ha fatto cambiare idea.

        I would probably have bought them, but Bob made me change my mind.

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    1. The first part needs to be more in the past, Liliana, and “probably” needs to be between the two auxiliary verbs.
      For “far cambiare idea” you need a particular expression (cambiare la propria mente) 😉

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      1. Okeyyyy😅

        I would probably have bought them,but Bob made me change my mind.

        Thanks,prof.

        Like

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