# wish



## louhevly

Greetings:

When the verb "wish" is followed by a subordinate clause (e.g., "I wish I was taller"), we can translate it into Catalan with a "tant de bo" expression as long as the subject is "I" or "we": "Tant de bo que fos més alt". But when the subject is in the third person (e.g., "He wishes he were/was taller"), I think we have to use the verb "desitjar": "Desitjaria que fos més alt" and this, to me, doesn't sound very idiomatic (on Google, only 31 hits for "desitjaria que fos", whereas "He wishes he were|was" gets 46,000).

Is there another more idiomatic way to express this idea in Catalan?

Two other related examples:
His parents wish he drove slower (but they are resigned to the fact that he drives fast).
His parents wish he would drive slower (closer to "They hope that he will drive slower").

It seems to me that both of the above sentences have to be translated thus:
Els seus pares desitjarien que conduís més a poc a poc.

Can you think of any other alternatives?
Many thanks to all.

Lou


----------



## betulina

Hi, Lou,

Tens raó, el verb "desitjar" no el fem servir gaire habitualment. En un cas com el que comentes, jo em sembla que faria servir "agradar". Per exemple:

His parents wish he would drive slower
Als seus pares els agradaria que conduís més a poc a poc

o bé "preferir":

Els seus pares preferirien que conduís més a poc a poc

A veure què hi diuen els altres.


----------



## louhevly

betulina said:


> Hi, Lou,
> 
> Tens raó, el verb "desitjar" no el fem servir gaire habitualment. En un cas com el que comentes, jo em sembla que faria servir "agradar". Per exemple:
> 
> <snip>




Thanks, Betulina, I think you've got it.

I suppose I hadn't thought of "agradar" because it doesn't translate back into English:

He wishes his wife were with him.
Desitjaria/Li agradaria que la seva dona fos amb ell.

However, not:
??He would like that his wife were with him.

But rather:
He would like his wife to be with him.

Still, there is a slight difference between "He wishes his wife were with him" and "He would like his wife to be with him". The former is more specific and refers to something going on right now, whereas the latter is more general and hypothetical. We can say:
"In that case, he would like his wife to be with him" 
but we can't say: 
??"In that case, he wishes his wife were with him".

Here is another case, where the "wish" clause is in the future:

When I die, they'll wish they had been nicer to me.
Quan em mori, desitjaran que haguessin estat més amable amb mi.

Is that how you would say it?

Thanks again.


----------



## TraductoraPobleSec

louhevly said:


> When I die, they'll wish they had been nicer to me.
> Quan em mori, desitjaran que haguessin estat més amable amb mi.
> 
> Is that how you would say it?


 
Ostres, Lou! That's a hard one! 

Here is two options:

A) "Quan em mori, *desitjaran haver* *estat* més amables amb mi"
B) "Quan em mori, *es penediran de no haver* *estat* més amables amb mi"

Option B sounds more natural to me: but, see, no "desitjar" here. And note that _amable_ should go in its plural form (since it's them)

Have a good day there in Manresa!


----------



## betulina

louhevly said:


> Still, there is a slight difference between "He wishes his wife were with him" and "He would like his wife to be with him". The former is more specific and refers to something going on right now, whereas the latter is more general and hypothetical. We can say:
> "In that case, he would like his wife to be with him"
> but we can't say:
> ??"In that case, he wishes his wife were with him".



Yes, you're right, I can see the nuance there... but I can't think of any different Catalan translation. I think we would say the same in both cases... a veure si algú hi sap trobar una altra manera d'expressar-ho.



> Here is another case, where the "wish" clause is in the future:
> 
> When I die, they'll wish they had been nicer to me.
> Quan em mori, desitjaran que haguessin estat més amable amb mi.
> 
> Is that how you would say it?



I agree with TPS. Her option B sounds more natural, but option A (with "desitjar") doesn't sound bad either. No "agradar" here, though.


----------



## louhevly

TraductoraPobleSec said:


> Ostres, Lou! That's a hard one!
> 
> Here is two options:



Well, we both made mistakes with singular/plural concordance: "Here is" should be "Here are" and my "amable" should be, as you point out, "amables".



TraductoraPobleSec said:


> A) "Quan em mori, *desitjaran haver* *estat* més amables amb mi"
> B) "Quan em mori, *es penediran de no haver* *estat* més amables amb mi"
> 
> Option B sounds more natural to me: but, see, no "desitjar" here. And note that _amable_ should go in its plural form (since it's them)
> 
> Have a good day there in Manresa!



M'agraden totes dues solucions teves.  Gràcies!

And may you have a good day too in Poble Sec!


----------



## TraductoraPobleSec

Lou, hi again.

I am thinking OPTION B could also be paraphrased as:

Quan em mori, *els sabrà greu de no haver estat* més amables amb mi.
Quan em mori, *sentiran no haver estat* més amables amb mi.

And thanks for the correction: my poor English is on the rocks! Too long since I last was in England or the States... Should do something about it


----------



## louhevly

TraductoraPobleSec said:


> Lou, hi again.
> 
> I am thinking OPTION B could also be paraphrased as:
> 
> Quan em mori, *els sabrà greu de no haver estat* més amables amb mi.
> Quan em mori, *sentiran no haver estat* més amables amb mi.



These are also good.  



TraductoraPobleSec said:


> And thanks for the correction: my poor English is on the rocks! Too long since I last was in England or the States... Should do something about it



(MOD EDIT: No commercials, thanks)

;-)


----------

