# unterwegs



## j-Adore

Während du in Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ...


Hi. Does this "unterwegs" mean:

1. While you were *away in* Thalanan {you were already in Thalanan}

or:

2. While you were on your way to Thalanan {you hadn't reached Thalanan yet}


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## ayuda?

Während du in Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ...
*
My opinion:
1.) *While you were *away in* Thalanan {you were already in Thalanan}
*Similarly: *While you were* traveling in/ on the road in*/* out of town in Talinin*
**the difference in German ist that you are here in Talinin. [*location*]
*2.)* While you were *on your way to* Thalanan [you hadn't reached Thalanan yet}
Während du *nach *Thalanan *unterwegs *warst:
*traveling to/on your way to/ en route to/ along the way to X.*
** In this case you are traveling *to*/on your way to [nach] a place*: *[*motion towards* X]


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## anahiseri

While you were travelling *in* Thalanan ( which must be a region, not a town) or
*on your way in Thalanan *(can be a town)


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## JClaudeK

Während du *in* Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ...


j-Adore said:


> 1. While you were *away in* Thalanan {you were already in Thalanan}
> or:
> 2. While you were on your way to Thalanan {you hadn't reached Thalanan yet}





anahiseri said:


> *on your way in Thalanan *(can be a town)





ayuda? said:


> Während du *nach *Thalanan *unterwegs *warst:
> *traveling to/on your way to/ en route to/ along the way to X.*


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## j-Adore

@JClaudeK Hi.

"... erzählt – *wohin *er unterwegs ist?" {I assume the "on your way *to*" interpretation applies here?}

"Weil es *irgendwo *unterwegs vom Laster gefallen hat." {I assume the "*away *out there" interpretation applies here?}


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## JClaudeK

j-Adore said:


> "... erzählt – *wohin *er unterwegs ist?" {I assume the "on his way *to*" interpretation applies here?}





j-Adore said:


> "Weil es *irgendwo unterwegs *vom Laster gefallen hat." {I assume the "*away *out there" interpretation applies here?}


(c'est tombé du camion) quelque part pendant le trajet /  (it fell down from the truck) somewhere along the road (during transport)
Sorry, I don't know if "*away *out there" means the same thing.


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## Schlabberlatz

j-Adore said:


> vom Laster gefallen hat


„vom Laster gefallen *ist*“. Das korrekte Hilfsverb ist hier ›sein‹.

Aber wer von euch ohne Sünde ist, der werfe den ersten Stein:


Schlabberlatz said:


> elle a venu


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## JClaudeK

Schlabberlatz said:


> „vom Laster gefallen *ist*“.


Natürlich! Diesen Fehler hatte ich glatt übersehen.


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## anahiseri

anahiseri said: ↑
*on your way in Thalanan *(can be a town)

Was ist falsch und warum?


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## JClaudeK

"on your way" to go where?


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## anahiseri

JClaudeK said:


> "on your way" to go where?


Das wird nicht gesagt


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## anahiseri

Du warst unterwegs, du warst auf der Reise (wohin, wissen wir nicht)und in diesem Moment hielst du dich in Thalanan auf. Du warst in Thalanan auf der Durchreise.


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## elroy

"On your way in Thalanan" sagt man nicht. Es müsste "in Thalanan on your way somewhere" heißen.


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## Hutschi

So "unterwegs sein" is "to be on your your way somewhere".
Google gives "on road". Is this correct?
(While you are on road in Thalanan ...)


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## Frieder

elroy said:


> "On your way in Thalanan" sagt man nicht.


Wasn't there a famous song by Phil Carmen "On My Way In L.A."? Would you say that this is not acceptable except for lyrics/poems?


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## elroy

Hutschi said:


> Google gives "on road". Is this correct?
> (While you are on road in Thalanan ...)


 "On the road in Thalanan" sounds good to me.


Frieder said:


> Wasn't there a famous song by Phil Carmen "On My Way In L.A."? Would you say that this is not acceptable except for lyrics/poems?


 Possibly.  "On my way in L.A." sounds odd to me.  @Dan2, what do you think?


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## JClaudeK

ayuda? said:


> *My opinion:
> 1.) *While you were *away in* Thalanan {you were already in Thalanan } [*location*]





> While you were travelling *in* Thalanan ( which must be a region, not a town) or
> *on your way in Thalanan *(can be a town)


@anahiseri
I don't understand why you make a difference between "_in Thalanan" (*a region, not a town*) _and _in Thalanan (*can be a town*).

"unterwegs in Thalahan" = you *are already*  (walking/ ..../ or travelling) *in *Thalanan _(a region *or* a town)

P.S.


j-Adore said:


> Während du in Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ...


The past (_unterwegs* warst*_) makes it more likely that Thalahan is a region but doesn't exclude Thalahan to be a town.


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## Frieder

@elroy 

OK, I have to admit – after a little research – that Phil Carmen is the nom de plume of Herbert Hoffmann, a Swiss musician who was born in Montreal, Quebec, and who grew up in Franfurt, Germany. So you might have second thoughts about the idiomaticity of his English.


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## ayuda?

Aber doch!
* "On your way in Thalanan"*
Man kann das sagen.
*
Beispiel:*
[You are going to Berlin on business. Right now you are in Thalanan. The boss asks you what the situation is with you.]
*I’m on my way in Thalanan. *(I'll be there in 2 days.)
[You are in Thalanan. Right now you are *on your way in Thalanan*. [a little later, you will be in Berlin]
*
Explanation:*
To me, it is just like: 
He is *in Thalanin* at this moment.
That is, he is *on his way to* Berlin. So, he is [*on his way in/traveling in/on the road in Thalanan*], wrapping up some business and he is in the process of going to Berlin.

All of these are expressions (*on his way in/traveling in/on the road in Thalanan now ) are *quite valid.]


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## elroy

I might say "I'm in Thalanan, on my way" but not "I'm on my way in Thalanan."


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## anahiseri

with my translations into English i just wanted to help j-Adore understand the German sentence better, I didn't  think they would give rise to so much discussion. I tried to give the precise equivalent of the German meaning, I'm sorry if the English was not correct (according to some of you). if you're having fun with these discussions, great. Me, I'm leaving  the thread. Bye for now


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## ayuda?

▶Yes, the basic thing here is how this is used in German. (reason for my explanation in English)

Sometimes I also think that 1+1 =2 could end up being a 20-threader.
I stand by the point I made and supported and will let people decide for themselves.
I’m leaving this thread, too


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## Hutschi

Hi,
in German there are two very different meaning of "unterwegs".

(Compare also Ayuda? #2)

1. to be on the way/on the road to ... unterwegs sein nach ... - here it shows a destination, a goal.
2. to be on the way/on the road in ... here it does not have a destination, it may be for example, depending on context, just "I'm on travel" or "I'm going for a walk".

"Unterwegs sein" does not say anything about the kind of movement or the place.
It may be walking, driving, going by ship, flying, riding etc.
It may be on streat or on the sideway.

"Während du in Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ..." = Während du irgendwo in Thalanan spazieren warst/herumgefahren bist/ etc. 
can mean
"While you were walking/driving etc. through/across/in Thalanan." (I'm not sure what preposition is idiomatic in these cases. The essential thing is that it may be with or without destination. "To be on the road" does not say anything about the kind of movement, so it fits rather well.

It can be a trip, or just going for shopping or something else.
What it means is usually defined rather well by context.

But you did not give any context, so it is difficult to improve the translation.

A question: does "on the road" include sideways, ships etc.?

Sie ist in der Stadt unterwegs = Sie ist irgendwo in der Stadt. = She is somewhere downtown.


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## JClaudeK

anahiseri said:


> Du warst unterwegs, du warst auf der Reise (wohin, wissen wir nicht)und in diesem Moment hielst du dich in Thalanan auf. Du warst in Thalanan *auf der Durchreise*.


Eben nicht "auf der *Durch*reise" (das würde bedeuten, dass er danach auf jeden Fall in ein anderes Land reisen will, aber davon ist nirgends die Rede)  sondern "auf Reisen/ nach T. verreist und dort unterwegs" - (wenn T. ein Gebiet/ ein Land ist)



Hutschi said:


> Sie ist in der Stadt unterwegs = Sie ist *irgendwo* in der Stadt.


Während du in Thalanan *unterwegs *warst, ... = Während du *irgendwo*  in Thalanan (auf den Beinen) warst, ..... , (wenn T. eine Stadt ist)

Wie schon gesagt wurde, es fehlt der Kontext .


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