Newsgroup: it.cultura.linguistica.inglese
Titolo: Piccoli esercizi di traduzione 26

"Sostantivi numerabili/non numerabili, singolare/plurale" :
1)Mi servono due scatole di fiammiferi.
I need two boxes of matches.
2)I canarini mangiano pomodori?
Do canaries eat tomatoes?
3)John vuole comprare un pigiama e due paia di calzoni.
John want to buy a pair of pyjamas and two pair of trousers.
4)Vedo due case, tre uomini, due donne e delle pecore.
I see two houses, three men, two women and some sheep.
5)Molta gente gioca a tennis.
A lot of people play tennis.
6)Ha dei bambini Maria? Si, due bambine.
Does Maria have some children? Yes, she has two daughters.
7)La polizia sta cercando Jim Harris.
The police are looking for  Jim Harris.
8)C'era molta gente alla tua festa?
Were there  a lot of people at your party?
9)Che bel cavallo!
What a nice horse!
10)Mia sorella lavora in banca.
My sister works in a bank.
11)Non puoi andare alla festa senza giacca.
You can't go to the party without a jacket.
12)Traducete queste frasi.  Con o senza dizionario?
Translate these sentences. With or without a dictionary?
13)Per favore, compra due bottiglie di vino e del prosciutto.
Please, buy two bottle of wine and some ham.
14)Non abbiamo molta pasta, ma ci sono patate, riso e pane.
We don't have much pasta, but there are potatoes, rice and bread.
15)Quella č una bella musica. Che cos'č?
That is nice music. What is it?
16)Ci sono notizie sulla guerra?
Is there news on("about"?) the war?
17)Linda fa sempre i compiti con sua madre.
Linda always does homework with her mother.
18)Vorrei delle informazioni sul British Museum.
I'd like some information about British Museum.
19)Abbiamo dei bagagli. Dove possiamo metterli?
We have some luggage. Where can we put it?
20)John fa il designer. E' un lavoro interessante.
John is a designer. It is a job interesting.
21)Voglio comprare dei mobili nuovi. Dammi dei consigli.
I want to buy some new furniture. Give me some advice.
Ciao.

 John is a designer. It is a job interesting.
It is an interesting job.

John is a designer. It is a job interesting.
*an interesting job*
Sebastiano

Oppure pajamas e pants. (US).
E wants, pairs. Mi erano sfuggiti.
Sebastiano

 O anche "what a nice crotch!" se si parla di abbigliamento. ;)
E tu, cosa stai fumando?? :)
(Aside: btw, check your e-mail)
-- 
The foregoing is my opinion, and my opinion alone. It is intended to
demonstrate modern American English -- colloquial and spoken, (but well
spoken) for the most part; not literary American English. Ergo, caveat
lector. (No, not you, Hannibal)
Oh, if you feel the need to e-mail me, un-not my address first.

(Aside: btw, check your e-mail)
Done. Check your e-mail. :)
Sebastiano

 Aggiungerei "her" tra does e homework
In "Joey's Practical Ammerigan English Usage" * I read you may leave out
"her".
* Buy your own copy with the appendix "Ketzl: Proper Noun or
Interjection?".
Bye, FB
-- 
"Gli americani sono ignoranti per loro stessa natura"
that is "The Americans are naturally ignorant"
(Paolo Bonardi on it.cultura.linguistica)

 I see two houses, three men, two women and some sheep.
In GB "I can see two..." is probably commoner.
Bye, FB
-- 
"Nasalization is just a part of life"
(Joey DoWop Dee on it.cultura.linguistica.inglese)

 Interjection?".
Veddy proppah -- Regal, even -- noun. Hence the capital "K".
(But I can see where a mispronunciation of it could be taken as a sneeze.:)


 Bye, FB
Not sure about the Brits, but if an American says "...with mother"
he is speaking of his own mother.  Therefore leaving out "her"
would only be proper if the person speaking were Linda's brother
or sister.
-- 
Dale Erwin
Salamanca 116
Pueblo Libre
Lima 21 PERU
Tel. +51(1)461-3084
Cel. +51(1)9743-6439
DALE ERWIN'S OPERA FILES - 
http://www.geocities.com/dale_erwin

 or sister.
I meant the "her" between "does" and "homework". Isn't "with mother" a bit
old-fashioned, by the way?
Bye, FB
-- 
Mrs. Palmer, in her way, was equally angry. 'She was determined to drop his
acquaintance immediately, and she was very thankful that she had never been
acquainted with him at all'. (Jane Austen)

 old-fashioned, by the way?
yep


 yep
More or less than "with mama" (/ma'ma/, "mamà"). I heard it in "To Catch a
Thief" and perhaps in few other films.
Ciao, FB


 Ciao, FB
Was that meant to be a question? (More or less than "with mama"?) I'd hate
to answer a question you didn't ask. :)
But if it was, I'd say "with mama" is more old-fashioned than "with
mother". The latter could really be someone who is just a bit claessier
than I. Or BrEng. (wif muvva, if a Cockney :)
-- 
If you feel the need to e-mail me, un-not my address first.

 than I. Or BrEng. (wif muvva, if a Cockney :)
A Cockney speaker wouldn't say "with mother", I guess.
Bye, FB
-- 
L'importante è che risplenda tu, sola primadonna e immarcescibile leggenda
del tuo pianerottolo.
(Lucangel su it.cultura.libri)

 A Cockney speaker wouldn't say "with mother", I guess.
Prolly not. I'd guess "wif me muvva" or "wif me mum".


 Bye, FB
I don't think it's old-fashioned when talking about one's or someone's
mother, but possibly it is when addressing one's mother.  I presume
you mean as opposed to "with mom" (or "mum").  I feel the usage very
similar to the difference between "madre" and "mamma" in Italian.
How would you feel about saying "con la madre" as compared to saying
"con la mamma" in Italian.  To me it's more a question of formal versus
friendly than of being old-fashioned or not.


 
Since I am 70 years old, maybe it just doesn't sound old-fashioned
to me. :-)
Everything is relative you know.


 In GB "I can see two..." is probably commoner.
I'd have written "more common"



I don't say "with mother", but I DO say "commoner". (smiling face) I
couldn't write "more common": it sounds like "more big" to me.


 friendly than of being old-fashioned or not.
"Con mia madre" ("with my mother", infatti, mi sembra normale), ma non "con
madre" o "con la madre" (non sono formali, ma proprio sbagliati). 
By the way, I do address my mother as "madre" sometimes, but I'm not
serious when I do it.
Ciao, FB


 (But I can see where a mispronunciation of it could be taken as a sneeze.:)
Does no Italian interjection come to mind? (witty face)


 friendly than of being old-fashioned or not.
I think the distinction you're missing is that to say "doing her homework
with mother" sounds old-fashioned. Once you add "my" the context changes,
and no, of course it's not old-fashioned to say "doing homework with my/her
mother."


 Bye, FB
But "more common" is commoner than "commoner"; less common than "more
common" is "commoner". I mean, c'mon, isn't it obvious? :)


 O anche "what a nice crotch!" se si parla di abbigliamento. ;)
sperando che non sia il sarto a fare questo complimento, lol

 Sebastiano
Grazie a te e a Tony.

Cosě mi diventi peggio di FB! :-)
^_^
Sebastiano


Back to my original offering, do you think it old-fashioned or
otherwise improper, if I am talking to my sister and say:
"I was doing my homework with mother" especially if we both
customarily address our mother as "mother" ????  I don't see
any difference in that and "I was doing my homework with mom."


 any difference in that and "I was doing my homework with mom."
No, not at all old-fashioned or unusual in that context.


 wrote in message
news:_KRHc.44520$GQ3.1...@twister2.libero.it...

How would you translate the phrase, "Do you dress (to the) left or (to
the) right", which a tailor would ask when measuring a man for a suit?
Joe from Massachusetts


It's probably less common for a commoner to use more common, but the
less common a commoner becomes, the less common would be the use of
commoner, replaced by the commoner with the more common more common.
Joe from Massachusetts

the) right", which a tailor would ask when measuring a man for a suit?
Joey: That's how they do pants! First they go up one side, they move
it over; then the go up the other side and move it back, and then they
do the rear! 
Chandler: What?!?!
Joey: Ross, will you tell him: isn't that how a tailor measures pants?
Ross: Yes, yes it is.... in PRISON. 
Sebastiano

 wrote in message
news:h246f0pthvvfs2flv...@4ax.com...

Come si dice in italiano (o anche venessian)  "Do you dress (to the)
left or (to the) right"?
Or perhaps in Italy, the size is so insignificant that it just sits in
the middle?  :>)
Joe from Massachusetts

the middle?  :>)
In Italy what counts is *how*. A blind soldier with a bazooka is
dangerous and not efficient, while a sniper with a rifle can shoot the
right place. Bull's eye! ;)
Sebastiano


The phrase in English is probably unfamiliar to many people, since
most people have never been measured by a tailor for a custom-made
suit. I learned the phrase from an English tailor who represented
Burberry's at a military base in Italy, where I purchased a suit. I
had no idea what he meant when he asked me.
Joe from Massachusetts



Di che parlate?


had no idea what he meant when he asked me.
Oh, I see. 
Non ho idea di come dicano i sarti italiani. 
Sebastiano

Di che parlate?
Della frase "Do you dress to the left or to the right"?
Ovvero: Il "coso" lo tieni a destra o a sinistra? Domanda da sarti, o
da gente che vuol farsi i c... tuoi. :)
Sebastiano



E la cosa è rilevante dal punto di vista sartoriale? (faccina chettèmpi)
Ciao, FB
-- 
Mrs. Palmer, in her way, was equally angry. 'She was determined to drop his
acquaintance immediately, and she was very thankful that she had never been
acquainted with him at all'. (Jane Austen)

E la cosa è rilevante dal punto di vista sartoriale? (faccina chettèmpi)
Well, it depends. :)
Sebastiano

 commoner, replaced by the commoner with the more common more common.
I could not have said it better. I agree wholeheartedly. (At least I think
I do.)
