# Ricambiare con un sorriso



## susy

Hello hello! Can you please help?

Lui la ringraziò per il suo prezioso aiuto e lei *lo ricambiò con un sorriso*.

Would *repay* work in this context or is there anything more appropriate?

He thanked her for her precious help and she repaid him with a smile.

Does it sound like a transaction? I hope I managed to explain myself!


----------



## Matrap

Ciao

Io direi semplicemente: "She answered him with a smile".


----------



## Enigmista

Buona la versione di Matrap...in alternativa direi ".._and she thanked him with a smile"_


----------



## Matrap

Ciao Enigmista

La tua traduzione è ok però così c'è la ripetizione del verbo "to thank".


----------



## susy

Bellissimo! Thanks!


----------



## Enigmista

Matrap said:


> Ciao Enigmista
> 
> La tua traduzione è ok però così c'è la ripetizione del verbo "to thank".



Si chiaro Matrap...la ripetizione può essere noiosa...I agree


Forse è meglio..._*a**nd she returned with a smile*_ allora


----------



## london calling

Susy, yes, we _repay someone with a smile_, too, although that's more "ripagare con un sorriso" than "ricambiare con...".

We also have the verb "to smile back (at someone") - sorridere di rimando. Plus, you can say _she_ _replied with a smile,_ which means the same as _answer with a smile_, as Matrap suggests, Both expressions mean "rispondere con un sorriso", of course.

Enig, you can't say _she returned with a smile,_ but you can say_ she returned his smile_ (restituire il sorriso).


----------



## Enigmista

london calling said:


> Enig, you can't say _she returned with a smile,_ but you can say_ she returned his smile_ (restituire il sorriso).



Era proprio sbagliata allora  Grazie tante per la correzione London


----------



## johngiovanni

I like "she *reciprocated with a smile*".  Google it.


----------



## Enigmista

Hey john but isn't it nearly like "she returned with a smile" ??

Maybe it's a matter of verb..."to reciprocate" is fine I suppose


----------



## johngiovanni

It's just about the same. But how often do you get the chance to use the word "reciprocate"?


----------



## susy

Thank you all! 

Hum, john, does 'reciprocated' sound a bit serious or is it just me? What would be the corrected word for 'ricambiare' instead of 'ripagare', then?


----------



## johngiovanni

Perhaps it's a bit "literary".  The "returned with a smile" means the same, really.


----------



## london calling

johngiovanni said:


> Perhaps it's a bit "literary". The "returned with a smile" means the same, really.


I think it's wrong, as I said below.

_He said thank you and she returned with a smile_ (?).

Or is this another regional difference? 

I'd say _answered/replied with a smile_ means the same as _reciprocate with a smile_.


----------



## johngiovanni

"Answered", "replied", "responded" seem to me fine. In some cases "she rewarded him with a smile" might be OK too. "Her response was a smile", etc. also might work. Quote: "Siddhartha gave him a look, which *he returned with a smile*." "Hi," *he returned with a smile*, already pouring her a drink..."  In this thread, that which she was returning is given in the first part of the sentence, so we don't need a direct object after "returned".


----------



## You little ripper!

london calling said:


> you can say_ she returned his smile_ (restituire il sorriso).


You could also say, _she smiled in return_. 

_He thanked her for her precious help, and she smiled in return._


----------



## london calling

johngiovanni said:


> "Answered", "replied", "responded" seem to me fine. In some cases "she rewarded him with a smile" might be OK too. "Her response was a smile", etc. also might work. Agreed! Quote: "Siddhartha gave him a look, which *he returned with a smile*." That's fine, because it's part of a relative clause. "Hi," *he returned with a smile*, already pouring her a drink..." In this thread, that which she was returning is given in the first part of the sentence, so we don't need a direct object after "returned". Sorry, I'm not sure what you mean.


 
Your second example is interesting because apparently it's the same as our sentence but in reality it isn't, in my opinion.

The return here is a _verbal _return: he says "hi" in return (presumably) to her greeting. _He says "hi" and smiles_ is what the sentence means: one subject, two verbs and "returned with a smile" works fine.

"Our" sentence is different. There is no _verbal_ return on the girl's part - he says thank you and she replies with a smile. Two verbs and two subjects: _he said thank you for your precious gift and she returned with a smile_ sounds wrong to me.

Let's see what our fellow natives think (otherwise we can beg to differ!).

Edit: Nice one Charles!


----------



## johngiovanni

Hi, London! We may have to beg to differ. I don't think the difference in verbs matters. We understand that she returned his "positive", "kind", etc. act with a similar positive, kind, etc. act. "To return" can mean "to answer", "to act in response to".


----------



## You little ripper!

Jo, I don't have a problem with _she returned with a smile_.

According to Dictionary.com (definition 6) 'return' can mean _to send or give back in reciprocation_. You could just as easily say, _She came back with a smile.

_There are plenty of Google listings for it in this context:

she returned with a smile
he returned with a smile

__


----------



## johngiovanni

Sorry, Charles - my edit crossed with your post. Hey, you used "reciprocation"!


----------



## cirolemiro

london calling said:


> Susy, yes, we _repay someone with a smile_, too, although that's more "ripagare con un sorriso" than "ricambiare con...".
> 
> We also have the verb "to smile back (at someone") - sorridere di rimando. Plus, you can say _she_ _replied with a smile,_ which means the same as _answer with a smile_, as Matrap suggests, Both expressions mean "rispondere con un sorriso", of course.
> 
> Enig, you can't say _she returned with a smile,_ but you can say_ she returned his smile_ (restituire il sorriso).


 
London... but maybe he did not smile at her...


----------



## You little ripper!

johngiovanni said:


> Hey, you used "reciprocation"!


It's my 'word of the day', John!


----------



## effeundici

Can I say_: I  returned him with a smile ? _


----------



## johngiovanni

cirolemiro said:


> London... but maybe he did not smile at her...


I don't think it matters what either of them did - if we are talking about the use of "returned". He could have smiled, said thank you, given her a present, or whatever, and she could have returned with a smile, a thank you, a look of contempt, or whatever. The point is she responded, she answered. However, I think "reciprocated" suggests the idea that she "gave back in like kind" - not exactly the same action necessarily, but similar in nature.
Edit: No, you can't say "returned him" - he is not the "object" that she returned. (Although some people might say that, on second thoughts - using "him" like "to him", an indirect object.  But I think that is unusual.)


----------



## Enigmista

effeundici said:


> Can I say_: I  returned him with a smile ? _




Forse però puoi dire "_I returned with a smile to him"_


Grazie John per la precisazione


----------



## johngiovanni

Although in English we say "she answered him", we would not say "she responded him" and I think it is very unusual to say "she returned him with a smile". (Unless, of course, the "him" refers to another person who is the direct object - "She returned him (the baby) with a smile." (But that is a very different construction).


----------



## johngiovanni

Enigmista said:


> Forse però puoi dire "_I returned with a smile to him"_
> 
> 
> Grazie John per la precisazione


I wouldn't.  In the context, it's obvious to whom the smile is being returned.


----------



## Enigmista

johngiovanni said:


> I wouldn't.  In the context, it's obvious to whom the smile is being returned.



...Grazie John


----------



## johngiovanni

Another interesting day on the forum, Enigmista! Thanks to you! Buona notte!


----------



## effeundici

Ah ah, of course. *I returned him with a smile* sounds good only if you are giving back someone while smiling!!

_I kissed my newborn brother and returned him to my mother with a smile! _

Right?


----------



## cirolemiro

johngiovanni said:


> I don't think it matters what either of them did - if we are talking about the use of "returned". He could have smiled, said thank you, given her a present, or whatever, and she could have returned with a smile, a thank you, a look of contempt, or whatever. The point is she responded, she answered. However, I think "reciprocated" suggests the idea that she "gave back in like kind" - not exactly the same action necessarily, but similar in nature.
> Edit: No, you can't say "returned him" - he is not the "object" that she returned. (Although some people might say that, on second thoughts - using "him" like "to him", an indirect object. But I think that is unusual.)


 
I can agree on your point but I was telling to Londocalling that his suggestion "_she returned HIS smile_" means that he smiled at her and she returned. And this could be not the case...


----------



## You little ripper!

effeundici said:


> Ah ah, of course. *I returned him with a smile* sounds good only if you are giving back someone while smiling!!
> 
> _I kissed my newborn brother and returned him to my mother with a smile! _
> 
> Right?


----------



## Holymaloney

Hi !
I have a problem with _she returned with a smile too ._
To me _'she returned with a smile'_ means she went somewhere and came back with a smile on her face  and _'she returned *him* with a smile'_ means she is giving back somebody (a baby, as suggested) with a smile on her face .
But if you say *'she returned (his thanks) with a smile'* then returned here could work.
In this context ...she replied/reciprocated/answered (and any of the other suggestions) with a smile... all sound fine to me.
Cheers


----------



## johngiovanni

The English dictionary on the WR site gives: "feel, say, or do (the same feeling, action, etc.) in response" for "return".  As I said earlier, this feeling/ action does not have to be exactly the same verb.  Since what she was responding to is obvious in the sentence, why do we need to explain that in parentheses?


----------



## london calling

cirolemiro said:


> I can agree on your point but I was telling to Londocalling that his suggestion "_she returned HIS smile_" means that he smiled at her and she returned. And this could be not the case...


I made that difference clear at the beginning in my first post (see the various things I suggested and how I translated them). I wasn't suggesting it as a translation of the original sentence.

By the way Charles: I checked a few of those Google listings for "returned with a smile". Some were relative clauses (fine), others were verbal returns (fine), then we had "she returned with a smile" as in "she went home with a smile on her face (fine).

Dunno, probably just me!


----------



## Holymaloney

Hi !
My eyesight is bad enough as it is  so in order to avoid going up and done the posts like a yoyo, here is the original sentence posted by susy followed by all the suggestions we've thrown in:

Lui la ringraziò per il suo prezioso aiuto e lei *lo ricambiò con un sorriso*.

He thanked her for her precious help and she repaid him with a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and she replied with a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and she answered with a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and she smiled back.
He thanked her for her precious help and she reciprocated with a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and she rewarded him with a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and her response was a smile.
He thanked her for her precious help and she smiled in return
He thanked her for her precious help and she responded with a smile
He thanked her for her precious help and she returned with a smile

Right, I'm off to have a fag and a coffee  but I think all of them are correct (sorry JG I do see you point but the last one is the one I like less ) 
Cheers


----------



## susy

johngiovanni said:


> Sorry, Charles - my edit crossed with your post. Hey, you used "reciprocation"!



john, your footer is fabulous!


----------



## L'aura che tu respiri

C'è una certa costruzione che, temo, sia un italoamericanismo.  Per "to smile back," *sorridere indietro*.  Per "to call back," *chiamare indietro*. Si sente la gente, lasciando i messaggi sulle segreterie, dicendo, _"Uhè, Beppì, sono Gioà. Chiamami indietro."  _Ma è corretto questo?


----------



## london calling

L'aura che tu respiri said:


> C'è una certa costruzione che, temo, sia un italoamericanismo. Per "to smile back," *sorridere indietro*. Per "to call back," *chiamare indietro*. Si sente la gente, lasciando i messaggi sulle segreterie, dicendo, _"Uhè, Beppì, sono Gioà. Chiamami indietro." _Ma è corretto questo?


No, 'fraid not.


----------

