# Ma se ora ti dicessi che non rimane molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra



## Theonewhoknocks93

Salve,
ho un dubbio con la seguente frase " *Ma se ora ti dicessi che non rimane molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi"*.

La mia traduzione è *"But if I told you now that it doesn't left a lot of time for saving the world you wouldn't probably have any difficult on believe me" *

E' una frase isolata, non ha un contesto specifico. Sono interessato alla migliore (priva di errori) traduzione a livello grammaticale! 

Grazie in anticipo!


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## sorry66

Il contesto?


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## Paulfromitaly

Salve,

di cosa si parla?

Linee guida integrali del forum italiano-inglese 
Regolamento integrale dei forum di WordReference 

*Come si effettua una ricerca nel forum? 
*
Come devo scegliere i *titoli delle discussioni*? (DUBBIO non è sicuramente un buon titolo..)

Cosa significa "*aggiungere il contesto*"?
*Come e in che forum creare - modificare - impostare correttamente una discussione*


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## Theonewhoknocks93

Paulfromitaly said:


> Salve,
> 
> di cosa si parla?
> 
> Linee guida integrali del forum italiano-inglese
> Regolamento integrale dei forum di WordReference
> 
> *Come si effettua una ricerca nel forum?
> *
> Come devo scegliere i *titoli delle discussioni*? (DUBBIO non è sicuramente un buon titolo..)
> 
> Cosa significa "*aggiungere il contesto*"?
> *Come e in che forum creare - modificare - impostare correttamente una discussione*



Dici che va bene così?


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## sorry66

*Ma se ora ti dicessi che non rimane molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi"*

But if I were to tell you that not a lot of time was left to save the planet Earth, most probably you wouldn't find it difficult believing me.


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## rrose17

Just as an alternative to sorry's, could be
_If I were to tell you that there wasn't a lot of time left to save the planet, you (most) probably wouldn't find it hard to believe._
I would probably say either _the planet_ or _Earth_, not both.


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## AlabamaBoy

I would use "weren't" in place of "wasn't" but otherwise the same as rrose.


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## bicontinental

Theonewhoknocks93 said:


> *Ma se ora ti dicessi che non rimane molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi"*.



Just another suggestion…

Since _rimane_ (present indicative) seems to indicate a fact as stated by the speaker, I’d use this tense also in the English translation, and juxtaposed with this I think the imperfetto del congiuntivo _dicessi_ can be translated using the simple past tense, as follows:

*But if I told you now that there isn’t much time left to save Planet Earth you probably/most likely wouldn’t have any problem believing me.*

(And I’d just use Planet Earth as a proper noun).

Bic.


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## sorry66

AlabamaBoy said:


> I would use *"weren't"* in place of "wasn't" but otherwise the same as rrose.


Really?!

I agree with rrose's version; in fact, I, initially had mine as ' that there wasn't a lot of time left' also, but saying 'that not a lot of time was left' makes it closer to the original (even if it's ever so slightly less natural)  and allows the speaker to put the stress on 'not'.

I'll improve my version in any case:

But if I were to tell you that not a lot of time was left to save Planet Earth, you, most likely, wouldn't have any trouble believing me.


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## AlabamaBoy

sorry66 said:


> Really?!


Yes, absolutely.



			
				wikipedia English subjunctive said:
			
		

> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive
> The main use of the past subjunctive form is in counterfactual _if_ clauses (see English conditional sentences: Second conditional):
> 
> 
> _If I *were* a badger, I would choose that color._
> _He would let us know if he *were* planning to arrive late._



That said, I recognize that many English speakers, particularly in the South of the USA, use "was" in place of "were" as the past subjunctive. However, it will get you bad marks on your papers at university.


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## sorry66

rrose17 said:


> If I were to tell you that there wasn't a lot of time left to save the planet,


Yes, but in this sentence, you wanted to replace the 'wasn't'; the subjunctive part is already written correctly.


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## AlabamaBoy

Let's agree to disagree. If you don't want the subjunctive, use the present tense. There is no justification to use the simple past tense - there is nothing past about it. Both clauses are in subjunctive mood. (See bicontinental post #8.) If I *were* to tell you that my professor *were*/*is* right, would you believe me? (I would personally never use the present tense in this case, but it is an option.)


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## sorry66

rrose17 said:


> If I *were *to tell you that there wasn't a lot of time left to save the planet, you (most) probably wouldn't find it hard to believe.



We (rrose and myself) *are* using the subjunctive - there is no need to explain it nor say that we're using something else.

The subjunctive is used correctly in rrose's sentence.


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## AlabamaBoy

We will have to disgree.


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## Einstein

bicontinental said:


> Since _rimane_ (present indicative) seems to indicate a fact as stated by the speaker, I’d use this tense also in the English translation, and juxtaposed with this I think the imperfetto del congiuntivo _dicessi_ can be translated using the simple past tense, as follows:
> 
> But if I _*told *_you now that there _*isn’t*_ much time left to save Planet Earth you probably/most likely wouldn’t have any problem believing me.


I agree on both counts. The hypothetical part is "if I told you"; "rimane", at least in the speaker's opinion, is an established fact.
I also think the subjunctive mood is expressed clearly by the use of the past tense to talk about a hypothetical present and we don't need to reinforce it with "If I were to tell you..." (which however can be used).


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## AlabamaBoy

It technically is not the past tense. It only is similar in appearance to past tense. To avoid the double subjunctive, present tense to indicate an established fact is acceptable. Whether present or subjunctive is used in the second part of the clause depends on how strongly you interpret that part of the clause to be an established fact.


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## sorry66

@AlabamaBoy 
Can't you just write the sentence that you think is correct? 
I cannot agree to disagree if I don't know what the cause of disagreement is!
If you replace the 'wasn't' in rrose's sentence with 'weren't', as you suggest, the result wouldn't be English.


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## bicontinental

Hi sorry66,

I realize you know this already, but for the sake of this discussion allow me to quote this Wikipedia source regarding the past subjunctive in the English language:



> The *past subjunctive* exists as a distinct form only for the verb _be_, which has the form _were_ throughout:
> 
> ·  Past indicative: _I *was*, you were, he/she/it *was*, we were, they were_
> 
> ·  Past subjunctive: _(if) I *were*, (if) you were, (if) he/she/it *were*, (if) we were, (if) they were_
> 
> [….] *Verbs other than be are described as lacking a past subjunctive, or possibly as having a past subjunctive identical in form to the past indicative*:_(if) I owned_; _(if) I did not own_.
> 
> (ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_subjunctive)



Let me add to this: _If I told you_ (se ti dicessi).


Of course we can always change this simple verbal form from
_I tell you (present indicative)/I told you (past indicative)/*if* I told you (“past subjunctive”-lacking its own distinct subjunctive form as per the above)_

to one that includes ‘to be’
_If I *were to* tell you_ (_a recognizable past subjunctive_), but I don’t think there’s any reason to think that _If I told you_ is a grammatically incorrect translation here.

Best,
Bic.


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## london calling

AlabamaBoy said:


> I would use "weren't" in place of "wasn't" but otherwise the same as rrose.


Bill, I'm missing something here: who suggested using "wasn't"?

In any case people, I think you're all basically saying the same thing. It's either "If you were to tell me" or "If you told me", both of which are forms of the past subjunctive (because this is an imaginary or conditional situation). This is something many people (I'm not saying you don't) don't appreciate, in my opinion, as the only English verb with an immediately recognisable subjunctive from is the verb 'to be', as Bic notes.


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## Pietruzzo

london calling said:


> Bill, I'm missing something here: who suggested using "wasn't"?
> 
> In any case people, I think you're all basically saying the same thing. It's either "If you were to tell me" or "If you told me", both of which are forms of the past subjunctive (because this is an imaginary or conditional situation). This is something many people (I'm not saying you don't) don't appreciate, in my opinion, as the only English verb with an immediately recognisable subjunctive from is the verb 'to be', as Bic notes.


If I'm not mistaken, the debate was all about the "*che non rimane molto tempo*" part. @AlabamaBoy  had suggested the subjunctive form "_that there weren't a lot of time left to save the planet" _in post #7. This might be the only case in which you use the subjunctive in English and the indicativo in Italian...


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## sorry66

Look at #7 LondonC. 
Hi bic, I don't understand why you're explaining this to me! I don't have a problem with your sentence or rrose's!
And I don't have a problem with the subjunctive!!!


Pietruzzo said:


> "_that there weren't a lot of time left to save the planet" _


 NO!


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## london calling

Pietruzzo said:


> If I'm not mistaken, the debate was all about the "*che non rimane molto tempo*" part. @AlabamaBoy  had suggested the subjunctive form "_that there weren't a lot of time left to save the planet" _in post #7. This might be the only case in which you use the subjunctive in English and the indicativo in Italian...



Oh, I see what you mean, thanks. I wouldn't use 'weren't' either, I'd use the indicative. I'd only use the subjunctive in the first part of the sentence, as sorry and the others have said, i.e.

_If you were to tell me/told me that there wasn't a lot of time left to save the planet...._


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## sorry66

bicontinental said:


> _If I *were to* tell you_ (_a recognizable past subjunctive_), but I don’t think there’s any reason to think that _If I told you_ is a grammatically incorrect translation here.



Yes, 'if I were to tell you' is what I used.
'If I told you' is good in my book, too.

Where is the problem?? We're all agreeing with each other. 
Are you advocating that we replace 'wasn't' with 'weren't' in rrose's sentence?

Edit: Thanks for the corroboration LC. I'm the one who offered up the first sentence with the subjunctive!
Very kind of everyone, but I'm not really sure why I'm being given lessons in the subjunctive. It's quite surreal!


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## AlabamaBoy

london calling said:


> _If you were to tell me/told me that there wasn't a lot of time left to save the planet...._


For the record, Grammar Girl agrees with you. Grammar Girl says there are two different past subjunctives, one using "were" and the other using "was." It is only the older textbooks I used in college that disagree, saying there is only one past subjunctive. Times evidently have changed. Peace.

If it weren't already too late to modify and/or delete posts above, I would do so, just to remove some of the confusion I may have introduced.


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## Pietruzzo

sorry66 said:


> Pietruzzo said:
> 
> 
> 
> "_that there weren't a lot of time left to save the planet"_
> 
> 
> 
> NO!
Click to expand...

The sentence in quotes was an @AlabamaBoy's suggestion, not mine. Anyway, you had suggested "not a lot of time was left.." which should be a subjunctive form as well. If you wanted to use the indicative I think you should say "that not a lot of time *is *left", since the original is "che non *rimane *molto tempo".


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## sorry66

@Pietruzzo

Alabamaboy has retracted some of his former statements - so let's not go there.

The point about 'rimane' (as present indicative)  has already been made repeatedly!!
'there isn't a lot of time left'  and 'not a  lot of time is left' would, indeed, be closer to the original. It's not a question of me wanting it or not.

The sentences offered by rrose and myself are looser translations and perfectly good examples of the use of the subjunctive in English (which was the point in contention)
The use  of  'wasn't/was' instead of 'isn't/is' makes perfect sense in the part that follows 'If I were to tell you'. 'Weren't' would not, as someone originally suggested.

I did the first translation (hastily done, not the finest, but with the correct use of the subjunctive ) - yet, somehow, along this thread, people got confused as to what I actually said in my posts (they accepted others' assumptions instead of just reading them)  and decided to start giving lessons in the subjunctive for my edification (#10 and 18). Then LC, justifiably, got confused as to who was suggesting 'weren't/'wasn't' and for what.
As I said earlier 'it's quite surreal'.


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## london calling

Pietruzzo said:


> The sentence in quotes was an @AlabamaBoy's suggestion, not mine. Anyway, you had suggested "not a lot of time was left.." which should be a subjunctive form as well. If you wanted to use the indicative I think you should say "that not a lot of time *is *left", since the original is "che non *rimane *molto tempo".


You have a point there.

Original sentence:

_Ma se ora ti dicessi che non *rimane* molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi_

Therefore:

_But if I told you/were to tell you that there* isn't* much time left to save the planet...._


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## King Crimson

london calling said:


> You have a point there.
> 
> Original sentence:
> 
> _Ma se ora ti dicessi che non *rimane* molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi_
> 
> Therefore:
> 
> _But if I told you/were to tell you that there* isn't* much time left to save the planet...._


 
Agree, this is the closest to the original in my opinion (maybe adding "now" after "if I told you"). I'm not saying that other looser translations don't work, they are just not so faithful to the OT.
Just a minor point, I see a slight difference translating:
If I told you = se ti dicessi
If I were to tell you = se ti dovessi dire

But perhaps in English this difference disappears.


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## sorry66

sorry66 said:


> 'there isn't a lot of time left' and 'not a lot of time is left' would, indeed, be closer to the original.


Ditto again!


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## london calling

Morning KC.

It wasn't until I read Pietruzzo's post that I realised that it said 'rimane' in Italian. That said, given that  "..non rimane molto tempo" is in fact reported speech, it wouldn't be wrong to backshift in English (i.e._ ..there wasn't much time left_): as a matter of fact it would be more usual and is what we tend to teach beginners. However, when reporting something that still holds valid as we speak, we don't backshift, as it gives more immediacy to the concept. I think that's the case here, so I prefer _isn't_ to _wasn't_, thinking about it.

And as you say, there really isn't any great difference in English between _If I told you _and _If I were to tell you:_ swings and roundabouts, rather like the direct Italian equivalents.


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## sorry66

bicontinental gave the most accurate translation (with an explanation) way back when in post #8!


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## LEOBOLL

ciao, scusate, ma sarebbe sbagliato dire  "SHOULD I TELL you now  there is no much time left ......"

era una domanda, grazie


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## sorry66

"SHOULD I TELL you now there is not much time left ...

And what would the rest of your sentence be?


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## LEOBOLL

"  SHOULD I tell tou now there is NO much time left,  you wouldn't find hard  to believe me"


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## LEOBOLL

scusate continuo a fare errori di battitura YOU non tou


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## london calling

LEOBOLL said:


> "  SHOULD I tell you now (*that)* there is NO *not* much time left,  you wouldn't find *it* hard  to believe me"


Perfectly grammatical but rather old-fashioned.


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## sorry66

That's what I thought too but I think it could be misunderstood nowadays so best avoided.


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## london calling

I don't think it would be misunderstood, sorry. The Brits aren't that ignorant (yet). I agree that it's best to avoid it, however, as it does sound terribly stilted to modern ears.


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## sorry66

london calling said:


> The Brits aren't that ignorant (yet)


Yes, but perhaps I am! In my hurry I couldn't think of how to explain why we would never use that construction nowadays so I'm afraid I fobbed Leoboll off! (But he has other choices in this thread)

On second thoughts, I think it might throw some Brits!


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## Einstein

I'm not quite convinced about this use of "should". I agree that it's old-fashioned and formal, but I sometimes use it when I'm translating a formal text. I associate it with a possible future. "Should this happen" means "If this happens", not "If this happened/were to happen".

So: "Should he tell me that the world is about to end, I will not believe him".
"Should it rain, we will be prepared because we've got an umbrella".
"Should he tell you it's forbidden, don't listen!"

My view, anyway!


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## london calling

Definitely formal, Jon. And old-fashioned, as I said, but not incomprehensible to a reasonably well-educated native speaker.


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## Einstein

london calling said:


> Definitely formal, Jon. And old-fashioned, as I said, but not incomprehensible to a reasonably well-educated native speaker.


But Jo, do you agree about the tenses? I don't consider the "should I..." construction appropriate here for the original sentence, which is more hypothetical.

Should Mr White be late, we'll begin the meeting without him.
If a dinosaur came into the house, what would you do?


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## sorry66

Einstein said:


> I associate it with a possible future.


Or a real possibility in the present.
'Should you feel hungry, there is a 24-hour mini-market next door.'

I don't think the construction is appropriate for the OP either, but looking back, Leoboll was only asking whether his sentence was correct or not.


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## Einstein

sorry66 said:


> Or a real possibility in the present.
> 'Should you feel hungry, there is a 24-hour mini-market next door.'
> 
> I don't think the construction is appropriate for the OP either, but looking back, Leoboll was only asking whether his sentence was correct or not.


Then we agree.


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## london calling

_SHOULD I tell you *now* (that) there *is not* much time left, you wouldn't find it hard to believe me._

I was talking about this sentence, John.. The sentence in the OP is:

_Ma se *ora* ti dicessi che *non rimane* molto tempo per salvare il pianeta Terra molto probabilmente non avresti alcuna difficoltà a credermi._

The tenses in the English sentence are fine. _Should I tell you now = if I were to tell you now,_ in my view.


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## Einstein

I understand, but I wouldn't use "Should I" in this case. It seems to express uncertainty about a future, rather than a hypothesis. I don't think "Should I tell you" means the same as "If I were to tell you". In fact I'd be unlikely to use this construction when talking about myself, except in a sentence like "Should I die, my lawyer will tell you what to do".
We'll have to agree to disagree...


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## sorry66

_Should I tell you  = If I (should) tell you _


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## rrose17

Einstein said:


> I understand, but I wouldn't use "Should I" in this case. It seems to express uncertainty about a future, rather than a hypothesis. I don't think "Should I tell you" means the same as "If I were to tell you". In fact I'd be unlikely to use this construction when talking about myself, except in a sentence like "Should I die, my lawyer will tell you what to do".
> We'll have to agree to disagree...


I was wondering myself and I found this. But more than old fashioned it sounds archaic to my ears.


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## sorry66

_Should I tell you = If I (should) tell you _(post # 47)_ 
= _either_ If I tell you _or_ If I should tell you/If I were to tell you_
So it means both (depending on the context).


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## london calling

sorry66 said:


> _Should I tell you = If I (should) tell you _(post # 47)_
> = _either_ If I tell you _or_ If I should tell you/If I were to tell you_
> So it means both (depending on the context).


Exactly.


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## LEOBOLL

thank you everybody
My English is of course old fashioned since it dates back to  my school time. So please correct me.


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## sorry66

" SHOULD I tell you now (*that)* there is *not* much time left, you wouldn't find *it* hard to believe me"

It's already been corrected by LC post #36.


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