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Laura
Menos mal que ... in English
How would you translate this sentences in English?
1. MENOS MAL (in an ironic way)
a) Menos mal que no ibas a comer chocolate: You said to me you were not going to it chocolate any more but you did. Could it be: so much for you not eating chocolate?
b) Menos mal que iba a llover: The forecast said it was going to rain but it is sunny. Could it be: so much for the forecast it said it was going to rain?
2. MENOS MAL (in a serious way)
a) Menos mal que estás bien: You had a car accident but you were not injured. Could it be: thankfully you are fine.
b) Menos mal que no suspendiste el examen: You sit a text and you didn't failed it. Could it be: lucky you, that you didn't fail the test?
How would you use MENOS MAL in the examples above in a natural way?
22 nov 2015 16:24
Risposte · 3
3
For (1) (irony), I really like your translation “so much for….” For number (2), your ideas are good, although I believe you may be over-thinking it — perhaps it would be more natural, and more in keeping with the everyday nature of “menos mal,” to simply say “it’s a good thing that….” This also preserves the grammatical structure of the Spanish, by using a subordinate clause instead of an adverb like “thankfully,” or an interjection like “lucky you.”
I believe there’s also a third possibility, between irony and seriousness, which I would translate as “It’s just as well….” You might also use this for a somewhat less ironic interpretation of “Menos mal que iba a llover” — “It’s just as well it didn’t rain.”
22 novembre 2015
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Laura
Competenze linguistiche
Catalano, Inglese, Spagnolo
Lingua di apprendimento
Inglese
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