Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: If X misgoverns

In Italian, these two sentences look quite different
1. "Se, come dici,  X governa male, allora perderà le prossime elezioni".
[X has already been in charge for some time]
2. "Se, come dici,  X governerà male, allora perderà le prossime elezioni".
[X has just been elected]
the former refers to how the government are doing in the present, while the
latter refers to how they might do in the future.
Can I translate those sentences with
1. "If, as you say,  X has been misgoverning, then he will lose next
elections."
2. "If, as you say,  X misgoverns, then he will lose next elections."
?
-- 
Enrico C  /testing Pimmy/
Reply to: enrico /dot/ c /at\ people \dot\ it

?
Li tradurrei come questo:
1) "If, as you say, X has been governing badly.
2) "If, as you say, X does govern badly.
Si dice usualmente: "the next election".

 2. "If, as you say,  X misgoverns, then he will lose next elections."
I would definitely use the second choice, since the present tense is also
used in conditional sentences about the future (1st conditional).
I would say "the next election", too.

 [X has already been in charge for some time]
I am afraid he has been alreadu re-elected.
P.
-- 
Prepariamo una agilità di corpi italiani adatti
ai leggerissimi treni di alluminio che sostituiranno
gli attuali pesanti di ferro legno acciaio.

 2. "If, as you say,  X misgoverns, then he will lose next elections."
As others have pointed out, "election" is usually singular. Not always,
but in this context, certainly so. Just as in Italian "elezioni"
usually appears as plural, but can in certain circumstances be
singular. O mi sbaglio?
"Misgoverning" is not the word  you want. "Governing badly" or "making
a mess of things" or some such. "Misgovernment" and associated words,
while perfectly good English, are rarely used in this context.
Grammatically etc your translations are perfect.
-- 
"The past resembles the future as water resembles water"  Ibn Khaldun
My .
mac.com
 address is a spam sink.
If you wish to email me, try atlothian at blueyonder dot co dot uk

I would say "the next election", too.
Ta! :)


Si dice usualmente: "the next election".
Thanks!
In Italian we often use "elezioni",plural, even when it's actually one
vote. Perhaps that's because we think as follows: there is a group of
representatives to be elected, in Parliament or in local councils, so there
are more "elezioni", not just one :-)



I understand, "parliamentary elections" is plural in English.

>gli attuali pesanti di ferro legno acciaio.
"Sostituire l'uso dei profumi con quello dei puzzi."
"Trasformare i funerali in cortei mascherati, predisposti e guidati da un
umorista..."
"Trasformare gli ospedali in ritrovi divertenti, mediante five o' clock
thea esilarantissimi, café-chantants, clowns"


say, X  is going to govern badly. It's all much of a muchness really.
What a nice expression it is!: much of a muchness = molto simile, quasi
uguale; they were all much of a muchness in appearance = in apparenza erano
tutti quasi uguali [Picchi]
In Italian one can also say "quasi lo stesso" or "Siamo lě".


 Ha, *that* one, not *this* one though :)
Henryco, for Bäccus, contain yourself! 
P.S. Let us hope he won't be. The professor needs only keep quite silent
and Bob's your uncle [1].
[1] 
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbobsyo.html
Bye, FB
-- 
"Suppose I say I'm not interested."
"Does five hundred dollars interest you?"
"Very much."
"Then bring it: it's an expensive restaurant".
(The Cheap Detective)

 P.S. Let us hope he won't be. The professor needs only keep quite silent
"need only..." ("only needs to keep...", I know, I know).
Bye, FB
-- 
"Enjoying yourself, Elfine?"
"It's going to be such fun!"
"No, it's going to be amusing or diverting, not such fun, darling."
(Cold Comfort Farm, the film)

 tutti quasi uguali [Picchi]
Un'espressione con lo stesso significato, ma più colloquiale, è "six of
one and half a dozen of the other".
-- 
Mary

[1] 
http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxbobsyo.html
I am not that sure Bob is my uncle. Who knows? 



That I learned from "The Prisoner", they said it to No. 6 all the time :-)


one and half a dozen of the other".
Visto che siamo in tema, "score" che diffusione ha, per indicare una
dozzina?
saluti,
Peltio
che ha il neurone di watchdog che cerca di dirgli che forse questa domanda
l'ha già fatta in passato...



Score indica la *ventina*.
(dovrebbe essere un residuo celtico, come in francese 
quatre-vingt per ottanta)
-- 
Today no, tomorrow yes.

 tutti quasi uguali [Picchi]
Unheard of over here.
-- 
This is my opinion of modern, colloquial, *conversational* American
English. 
If you feel the need to e-mail me, un-not my address first.

 That I learned from "The Prisoner", they said it to No. 6 all the time :-)
I just watched most of the episodes... still going for the remaining.


"ADPUF" ha scritto
*> Visto che siamo in tema, "score" che diffusione ha, per
*> indicare una dozzina?
*
*Score indica la *ventina*.
Ah, ecco perchè non lo vedevo mai usato per indicare la dozzina.
: )
saluti,
Peltio
che forse era quello che il neurone di guardia voleva fargli notare...

quatre-vingt per ottanta)
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=score&searchmode=none
'byd

I just watched most of the episodes... still going for the remaining.
Be seeing you!


.................................................
But not if you take away the 'as you say' ; e.g an exchange like this :-
A : Can we rely on Jack ?
B : Jack will do what he's told , don't worry.
A : Well ,if , as you say, Jack will do what he's told , etc.
might be possible , either because the last 'Jack will do what he's told' is 
heard as a sort of direct quotation , or because it's a colloquial version 
of 'If , as you say he will , Jack does what he's told' .
'If X will govern badly' on its own would just sound (and be) wrong (its 
only possible meaning would be 'If X is absolutely determined to govern 
badly' - unlikely , however much the evidence might seem to support the idea 
in the case of our current leaders) .
Mike