Introductions - Translating (Sp - Eng)

In your first week of class you start getting to know your new classmates. You will probably find out about their job, family, interests and experience learning English.

Here are some typical sentences which I'd like you to translate. (I hope I haven't made any mistakes)


A.
  1. ¿Cómo te llamas?
  2. ¿De dónde eres?
  3. Nací en (Galicia) pero me crie en (Madrid).
  4. Nos mudamos a (Madrid) cuando tenía (12 años).
  5. Originalmente soy de (Murcia) pero llevo viviendo en (Madrid) diez años.
  6. ¿Dónde vives?
  7. ¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?
 B.
  1. ¿Estás casado?
  2. Estoy casado con (María).
  3. Estoy divorciado.
  4. Estoy comprometido. Me casaré el año que viene.
  5. ¿Tienes novio/novia?
  6. ¿Cuánto tiempo os conocéis?
  7. ¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis saliendo?
  8. Me casé el año pasado.
  9. ¿Dónde os conocisteis?
  10. ¿Tienes hijos?
  11. Vienes de una familia grande?
  12. ¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?
  13. Soy hijo único.
 C.
  1. ¿Qué carrera estudiaste en la universidad?
  2. ¿Dónde hiciste los estudios?
  3. ¿Qué estudias?
  4. Estoy licenciado en (ingeniería).
  5. Estoy en el primer año de (arquitectura).
 D.
  1. ¿A qué te dedicas?
  2. Soy (médico).
  3. Estoy en el paro.
  4. No trabajo actualmente.
  5. Llevo seis meses en el paro.
  6. ¿Desde cuándo eres (profesor)?
  7. ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas trabajando como (abogado)?
  8. Desde hace cuanto tiempo trabajas allí?
  9. ¿Te gusta tu trabajo?
  10. ¿Qué te gustaría hacer cuando termines la carrera?
 E.
  1. ¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo estudias inglés?
  2. ¿Por qué quieres aprender inglés?
  3. Quiero mejorar mi inglés porque…
  4. Necesito inglés para mi trabajo.
 F.
  1. ¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre?
  2. Me encanta (ir al teatro).
  3. ¿Cada cuánto (vas)?
  4. ¿Desde cuándo te interesa (la fotografía)?



Comments

Nuria said…
Hi Graham!

I´ve read this post. I´m trying to translate all your questions!

Nuria.
Laura said…
Hello, I,m trying translate too...but, where we must put (or hang) our translate??? Here?? There are a lot of sentences for write its here!!
Nuria said…
Hi!

I leave you here my first group of translations. Enjoy my mistakes, my classmates!! ;)

A

What´s your name?

Where are you from?

I was born in Galicia, but I grew up in Madrid

We moved to Madrid when I was 12 (years old)

I´m from Murcia, but I live (have been living?) in Madrid for ten years

Where do you live?

How long have you lived here?

B

Are you married?

I´m married to María

I´m divorced

I´m engaged. I´m meeting married next year

Have you got a boyfriend? (Do you have a boyfriend?)

How long have you known (met?) each other?

How long have you been going out (been together)? In this kind of questions, I don´t understand how to distinguish whether the action is finished or not.

I got married last year

Where did you meet?

Have you got any children?

Do you come from a big family?

How many sisters or brothers do you have?

I´m only child


Laura said…
Hi!!
In the second of A I have written:
Where do you came from?
In the fifth: "...I have been living in Madrid..."
In the fourth of B: "...I am going to get marriage the next year".

D.
What is your profession?
I am (doctor).
I am unemployement.
I don´t work actually.
I am unemployement since 6 months.
How long has it been sice you are teacher?
How long have you been working like lawyer?
How long have you been working there?
Do you like your job?
What do you want to do when you will finish your degree?

E.
How long time have you study English?
Why do you want to learn English?
I want to improve my English because...
I need speak English for my job.

F.
What do you do in your free-time?
I love to go to the Theatre.
How often do you go to the...?
How long have you interested in photografhy?

Laura said…
Graham, today you told us that the expression "biological rest" is wrong.
Is "biological remains" the correct expression?
Thaks!!
Graham said…
Hi Nuria & Laura,

It's nice to see you making use of the blog.

Here are the corrections:

A:

2. Where are you from? / Where do you come from?


5. I´m from Murcia (originally), but I have lived / I have been living in Madrid for ten years.

(I live / I'm living in Madrid now.)

We can't use the present / present continous with for or since.


7. How long have you lived here? / How long have you been living here?



B:

4. I´m engaged. I´m getting married / I'm going to get married next year.

Be careful not to use "the" when referring to times eg last month, next Tuesday...


6. How long have you known each other?

See the post on the difference between know and meet:
http://madteachergraham2.blogspot.com.es/2011/03/meet-v-know.html


7. How long have you been going out / have you been together?

If they had broken up, it would be:
How long were they together?


13. I´m an only child.



D:

1. What's your job? / What do you do?


2. I am a doctor.


3. I am unemployed / I'm out of work.

Unemployment (n) eg There is a lot of unemployment in Spain.


4. I don't work / I'm not working at the moment.

Remember in class I mentioned "actually" isn't "actualmente".


5. I have been unemployed for 6 months.

We don't use Present with actions that have started in the past.

We use for with durations of time and since when the action started:

for two days, for a week, a long time...

since 1990, since I was at school, since last Tuesday ....


6. How long have you been a teacher?


7. How long have you been working / have you worked as a lawyer?

We use "as" not "like" with jobs.


10. What do you want / would you like to do when you finish / get your degree?


E:

1. How long have you been studying English?


4. I need to speak English for my job.


F:

2. I love to go / I love going / I really like going to the theatre.


4. How long have you been interested in photography?




Well done to both of you.

The whole point of this exercise is to demonstrate that you can't always translate literally.


Have a nice weekend.



Who is going to do C???


Graham said…
Laura,

I think the expression that we would use in the context of a crime is "evidence".

eg They found DNA / scientific evidence on the body.

or "bodily fluids"

eg They retrieved bodily fluids from her clothes.


I'm trying to translate them too.... but where must we put our transaltions?

There are too many sentences to write them all here.


Graham said…
Laura,

I've just thought of another expression:

"traces" eg They found traces of semen / blood at the crime scene.

"residue" would be from a gun.

"remains" would mean what is left of the body. eg They discovered the remains of a man in the forest.


I should be quicker with all these terms as I am a bit of a true-crime addict.
Anonymous said…
Hi, Graham. I'm Miguel, here are my answers

A.
¿Cómo te llamas?
What's your name?

¿De dónde eres?
Where are you from?

Nací en (Galicia) pero me crie en (Madrid).
Iwas born in Galicia, but I was raised in Madrid

Nos mudamos a (Madrid) cuando tenía (12 años).
We moved to Madrid when I was twelve.

Originalmente soy de (Murcia) pero llevo viviendo en (Madrid) diez años.
Originally I'm from Murcia, but I've been living in Madrid for ten years.

¿Dónde vives?
Where do you live?

¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?
Since when do you live here?

B.
¿Estás casado?
Are you married?

Estoy casado con (María).
I'm married with Maria

Estoy divorciado.
I'm divorced

Estoy comprometido. Me casaré el año que viene.
I'm engaged. I'll marry next year.

¿Tienes novio/novia?
Do you have boy/girlfriend?

¿Cuánto tiempo os conocéis?
How long do you know each other?

¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis saliendo?
How long have you been dating out?

Me casé el año pasado.
I married last year.

¿Dónde os conocisteis?
Where did you met?

¿Tienes hijos?
Do you have children?

Vienes de una familia grande?
Do you come from a big family?

¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?
How many siblings do you have?

Soy hijo único.
I'm an only child.

C.
¿Qué carrera estudiaste en la universidad?
What degree did you study at the university?

¿Dónde hiciste los estudios?
Where did you take the studies?

¿Qué estudias?
What do you study?

Estoy licenciado en (ingeniería).
I'm licensed in engineering.

Estoy en el primer año de (arquitectura).
I'm at first year of architecture.

D.
¿A qué te dedicas?
What do you do?

Soy (médico).
I'm a doctor.

Estoy en el paro.
I'm unemployed.

No trabajo actualmente.
I don't work now.

Llevo seis meses en el paro.
I've been six months unemployed.

¿Desde cuándo eres (profesor)?
Since when are you a teacher?

¿Cuánto tiempo llevas trabajando como (abogado)?
How long have you been working as a lawyer.

Desde hace cuanto tiempo trabajas allí?
Since when do you work here?

¿Te gusta tu trabajo?
Do you like your job?

¿Qué te gustaría hacer cuando termines la carrera?
What would you like to do when finish your degree?

E.
¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo estudias inglés?
Since when do you study English?

¿Por qué quieres aprender inglés?
Why do you want to learn English?

Quiero mejorar mi inglés porque…
Iwant to improve my English because...

Necesito inglés para mi trabajo.
I need English for my job.

F.
¿Qué haces en tu tiempo libre?
What do you do in your free-time?

Me encanta (ir al teatro).
I love going to the theatre.

¿Cada cuánto (vas)?
How often do you go?

¿Desde cuándo te interesa (la fotografía)?
Since when are you interested in photography?
Graham said…
Hi Miguel,

Translation is tough but you seem to have done a good job. Just be careful with the use of Present Perfect (Continuous).


A.
Nací en (Galicia) pero me crie en (Madrid).
I was born in Galicia, but I grew up / was raised / was brought up in Madrid.

Originalmente soy de (Murcia) pero llevo viviendo en (Madrid) diez años.
I'm from Murcia originally, but I've been living in Madrid for ten years.

¿Desde cuándo vives aquí?
How long have you been living here?


B.
Estoy casado con (María).
I'm married to Maria.

Estoy comprometido. Me casaré el año que viene.
I'm engaged. I am getting married next year.

¿Cuánto tiempo os conocéis?
How long have you known each other?

¿Cuánto tiempo lleváis saliendo?
How long have you been going out together / dating?

Me casé el año pasado.
I got married last year.

¿Dónde os conocisteis?
Where did you meet?

¿Cuántos hermanos tienes?
How many siblings / brothers and sisters do you have?


C.
¿Qué carrera estudiaste en la universidad?
What degree did you study at university?

¿Dónde hiciste los estudios?
Where did you study?

¿Qué estudias?
What are you studying?

Estoy licenciado en (ingeniería).
I have a degree in engineering.

Estoy en el primer año de (arquitectura).
I'm in my first year of my architecture degree.


D.
No trabajo actualmente.
I don't work / have a job (right) now.

Llevo seis meses en el paro.
I've been unemployed for six months.

¿Desde cuándo eres (profesor)?
How long have you been a teacher / teaching?

Desde hace cuanto tiempo trabajas allí?
How long have you worked there?

¿Desde hace cuánto tiempo estudias inglés?
How long have you been studying English?


F.
¿Desde cuándo te interesa (la fotografía)?
How long have you been interested in photography photography?


Anonymous said…
A
1. What is your name?
2. Where you from?
3. I was  born in Galicia but I grew up in Madrid
4. We moved to Madrid when i had 12 years ola
5. I'm originally from Murcia but I had been living in Madrid for 10 years.
6. Where do you live?
7. Since when do you live here?
B
1.Are you married?
2. I'm married with María
3. I'm divorced
4. I'm fiancee. I'll get married next year
5. Do you have boyfriend/girlfriend?
6. Hoy long have you know each other?
7. How long have you been together?
8. I got married last year.
9. Where did you know each other?
10. Do you have children?
11. Do you from a bien family?
12. How many siblings do you have?
13. I'm an only Child
C
1. What degree did you study at university?
2. Where did you study?
3. What do you study?
4. I have a degree in engineering
5. I'm in the first course of arquitecture
D
1. What do you do?
2. I'm a doctor
3. I'm unemployed
4. Actually I don't work
5. I have beensix mouth unemployed
6. How long have you be a teacher?
7. How long have you bien working as a lawyer?
8. How long have you bien working there?
9. Do you like your job?
10. What will you like to do when finished your degree?
E
1. How long have you bien studing english?
2. Why do you learn english?
3. I want to improve my english because...
4. I need english for my job.
F
1. What do you do in your free time?
2. I love go to theater
3. How many times do you go?
4. Since do you interested in photography?
Graham said…
Hello Paloma,

Good to see you giving the blog a try.

A
1. What is your name?
2. Where are you from?
3. I was born in Galicia but I was brought up in Madrid
4. We moved to Madrid when I was 12 (years old).
5. I'm originally from Murcia but I have been living in Madrid for (the last) 10 years.
6. Where do you live?
7. How long have you lived / been living here?

B
1. Are you married?
2. I'm married to María.
3. I'm divorced.
4. I'm engaged. I'm getting married next year.
5. Do you have a boyfriend/girlfriend?
6. How long have you known each other?
7. How long have you been together?
8. I got married last year.
9. Where did you meet (each other)?
10. Do you have children?
11. Do you come from a big family? / Are you from a big family?
12. How many siblings do you have? / How many brothers and sisters do you have?
13. I'm an only child.

C
1. What degree did you study at university?
2. Where did you study?
3. What are you studying?
4. I have a degree in engineering.
5. I'm in my first year of architecture.

D
1. What do you do?
2. I'm a doctor.
3. I'm unemployed.
4. I don't work at the moment.
5. I have been unemployed for the last six months.
6. How long have you been a teacher?
7. How long have you been working as a lawyer?
8. How long have you been working there?
9. Do you like your job?
10. What would you like to do when you finish your degree?

E
1. How long have you been studying English?
2. Why do you want to learn English?
3. I want to improve my English because ...
4. I need English for my job.

F
1. What do you do in your free time?
2. I love going to the theater/theatre.
3. How often do you go? / How many times in a year do you go?
4. How long have you been interested in photography?


Go through anything that you write and check for mistakes.