Translation Exercise • 103

Sei in grado tu di rendere la frase di oggi in inglese?

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:

La vacanza in famiglia, che non era iniziata affatto bene, si è complicata ancora di più con l’arrivo del fratello maggiore di Bob.

Buon divertimento!

Puoi esercitarti quanto vuoiQUI.

Your comments are always very welcome.

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.

47 thoughts on “Translation Exercise • 103”

  1. The family holiday, which hadn’t started in a good mood, got even more complicated with the elder brother Bob’s coming

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    1. A good effort, Luca. Just a couple of things that need sorting:

      1. in a good mood ➝ well at all
      2. with the elder brother Bob’s coming ➝ with the arrival of Bob’s elder brother.

      🙂

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  2. Tony, I can’t reply in time……

    The Family holiday, that  hadn’t started well at all, got even more complicated with the arrival of bob’s older brother

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    1. Hi Giovanna. Your translation is spot on again, but you shouldn’t say, “I can’t reply in time“. I think what you mean is, “I couldn’t reply earlier.” Right? 🙂

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      1. I meant in “a short time” as I did before (immediately, as soon as possible, at most in an hour). Unfortunately, I work on Fridays now, and I can’t.😭

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        1. Well, the timing is not really a problem, is it? You can consider it something to look forward to when you finish work! 😉

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  3. The family holiday, which didn’t start well at all, got further complicated at the arriving of Bob’s older brother.

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    1. Dani, you really need a ‘past perfect’ for that first verb: “which hadn’t started well at all”. Also, rather than “further”, I would use “even more”. Lastly, instead of “at the arriving” you should say “with the arrival”. 🙂

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      1. Well, just one mistake! 😅

        ( I thought about it too much! I had done much better on my first attempt 😕)

        The family holiday, which hadn’t started well at all, got even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.

        Thanks 1000 🙏🏻. Have a nice weekend 😊

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        1. Overthinking can be a problem. Perhaps an idea would be to do a spontaneous translation without thinking, and make a not of it. Then analyse it and see if there are any obvious problems and perhaps write a second version. Then, when you’ve checked it with me, you can see which version was better and why. Just an idea.

          Have a great weekend. 🙂

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  4. La vacanza in famiglia, che non era iniziata affatto bene, si è complicata ancora di più con l’arrivo del fratello maggiore di Bob.

    The family holiday, that hadn’t  started well at all, was getting even more complicated with arrival of Bob’s elder brother! 

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    1. Very good, Claudio, but I’m not totally convinced by that ‘past continuous’. Otherwise the Italian should really be “si stava complicando ancora di più”. I don’t think it’s so much a descriptive format here as a ‘factual’ one, consequently I would use the ‘past simple’ narrative tense: “…got even more complicated…”

      N.B. “the arrival”

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      1. Thanks Tony, and what do you think about Elder vs Older here?
        Which is a the more appropriate when we are talking about relatives or family members?

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        1. Well, technically ‘elder’ is more correct with people, but ‘older’ is fine and far more common in everyday speech than ‘elder’.

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  5. The family holiday that hadn’t started good at all, turned to be harder with Bob’s older borther come.

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    1. There are a number of imprecisions in your version, Nadia, that make it a little difficult to understand, especially towards the end:

      1. good ➝ well (avverbio)
      2. turned to be ➝ became
      3. harder ➝ even more complicated
      4. with Bob’s older brother come ➝ with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.

      🙂

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      1. The family holiday that hadn’t started well at all, became even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older borther…..Thanks a lot teacher for your advise and corrections.

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  6. La vacanza in famiglia, che non era iniziata affatto bene, si è complicata ancora di più con l’arrivo del fratello maggiore di Bob.

    hi😊

    the family holiday,which hadn’t started well at all,got even more complicated when Bob ‘s older Brother arrived.

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  7. Good afternoon Tony. I try to give you two versions of this sentence:

    1. The holiday in family, which hadn’t begun well at all, was even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.
    2. The family holiday, which hadn’t begun well at all, continued to get even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.

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      1. Yes, Tony. In the second sentence, I actually tried to think like an Englishman, using a way of emphasising an ongoing situation👋

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  8. Hi prof

    The family holiday had not started well at all and got complicated by the arrival of Bob’s older brother

    Thank you

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    1. You’ve lost the ‘inciso’ a bit with your version and I think you need the expression ‘even more complicated’, but otherwise it’s all good. 🙂

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  9. La vacanza in famiglia, che non era iniziata affatto bene, si è complicata ancora di più con l’arrivo del fratello maggiore di Bob.

    The family holiday, which had not started that well, became much more complicated when Bob’s older brother arrived.

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    1. A very acceptable version, Paolo. Not exactly what I had in mind, but equally effective. 🙂

      P.S. Perhaps “even more complicated”.

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      1. Thanks Tony.

        I think Dino wrote the best one.

        The family holiday, which had not started well at all, became even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.

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        1. Dino’s version is what I had in mind, but there is very often more than one way to say the same thing and it is then not really a question of better or worse, just different. 🙂

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  10. La vacanza in famiglia, che non era iniziata affatto bene, si è complicata ancora di più con l’arrivo del fratello maggiore di Bob.

    The family holiday, which had not started well at all, became even more complicated with the arrival of Bob’s older brother

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  11. I’m glad I made some mistakes, so I Iearnt something new, thank to you, in a blink of an eye! Yesterday’s task was quite simple as for listening, but a little tricky as for its significance.

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    1. Making mistakes must always be seen as a positive thing and not negative. It’s part of the learning process in every field.

      As regards yesterday’s listening, yes, the story is not complicated, but it’s nice. I think the meaning has to do with the importance of giving without expecting anything in return: basically the essence of love! 😉

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  12. hi tony!

    the holiday with the family,which hadn’t started well at all,got more and more complicated with bob oldest brother’s arrival

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    1. A very good effort, Davide. There are just a couple of things that could be improved:

      1. the holiday with the family ➝ the family holiday
      2. bob ➝ Bob’s

      P.S. Take note of my observation to Loreta below regarding the use of the ‘double Saxon genitive’.

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  13. The family holiday, which hadn’t started well at all, became even more complicated with Bob’s older brother’s arrive.

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    1. Very good, Loreta! And it wasn’t easy. 🙂

      Let me just make one observation: it’s often better to avoid a ‘double Saxon genitive’ as they tend to make comprehension less immediate. Another reason, in this case, for avoiding the ‘double Saxon genitive’ is that it is the ‘arrival’ that really needs to be in the spotlight: …with the arrival of Bob’s older brother.

      N.B. the noun is ‘arrival’ 🙂

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