# But then I would say that .



## Silvmatias13

Hi, I don't quite understand what the character means by this sentence. Could someone explain to me the meaning of this sentence?

Context:
I suspect everyone reaches an age where they start to question what they’ve achieved in life. Whether the choices they’ve made were the right ones. But I also believe that what I do -telling stories- is important. Stories teach us about our past, enrich our present, and can predict our future. *But then I would say that.* The words I have written are all that will remain of me when I’m gone.

Thank you!


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## Masood

This person is a stroy-teller.
S/he is explaining the benefits of story-telling.
This comes as no surprise since this is his/her job.
The previous sentence is what is what by "But then I would say that".

Another example (a dentist)..."it's really important that we look after our teeth - they have to last us a lifetime. But then I would say that (I'm a dentist)".


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## Cenzontle

Put voice stress on "would" when you read it aloud.


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## gengo

I agree with the above replies.  Maybe something like "No es nada extraño que yo diga eso / tal cosa."


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## Seba W.

Es una frase hecha, o una estructura de frase hecha: _But then I/he/they/etc. would say/do that…_ A veces con el agregado de _again_: _But then again, she would say that…_

Más o menos equivalente a lo que dice gengo (_no es nada extraño/no es de extrañar que yo diga eso_). En el contexto de arriba, quizás: _Pero no debería sorprender a nadie que [yo diga eso] [sea yo el que diga eso] _


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## Richard Dick

gengo said:


> I agree with the above replies.  Maybe something like "No es nada extraño que yo diga eso / tal cosa."


Estás adivinando


gengo said:


> I agree with the above replies.  Maybe something like "No es nada extraño que yo diga eso / tal cosa."


No.

... y Entonces yo diría que,../ usa).


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## gengo

Richard Dick said:


> Estás adivinando





Richard Dick said:


> No.


That's not really helpful.  If you disagree with what I said, you should explain why.


Richard Dick said:


> ... y Entonces yo diría que,../ usa).


That is not the meaning of the English, which is explained clearly by Masood above.  Furthermore, there is no "..." in the English, that is, nothing comes after the phrase, nor is anything implied.  "That" here means "eso," not "que."


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## Bevj

Richard Dick said:


> ... y Entonces yo diría que,../ usa).


No.
_Would_ en este caso no es un simple  condicional.
Gengo tiene toda la razón.


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## elprofe

In Spanish, we would say:
_· pero, ¿qué voy a decir yo?
· pero, ¿qué voy a decir yo si no?
· ¿Qué otra cosa podría decir yo?_


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## Masood

Masood said:


> This person is a story-teller.
> S/he is explaining the benefits of *story-*telling.
> This comes as no surprise since this is his/her job.
> The previous sentence is what is *meant* by "But then I would say that".
> 
> Another example (a dentist)..."it's really important that we look after our teeth - they have to last us a lifetime. But then I would say that (I'm a dentist)".


Some typos corrected (timed-out on editing my previous post).


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## Richard Dick

Yo pienso que hay un error, en vez de punto, sería coma. 

...and can predict our future. But then I would say that, ...


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## gengo

Richard Dick said:


> Yo pienso que hay un error, en vez de punto, sería coma.
> 
> ...and can predict our future. But then I would say that, ...



No, that's not the case.  The original, with a period, makes perfect sense, and that usage is very common.  But then, as a native speaker, I would say that.


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## Richard Dick

gengo said:


> No, that's not the case.  The original, with a period, makes perfect sense, and that usage is very common.  But then, as a native speaker, I would say that.


Nobody knows.

*También me gusta aprender y saber escuchar.✌️


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## gato radioso

..._predicen nuestro futuro. !Pues estaría bueno! Las palabras que he escrito son todo lo que quedará cuando me haya ido._


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## gengo

Richard Dick said:


> Nobody knows.



Please trust me on this one.  Native speakers use this construction frequently.  Esta vez, sí lo sé.


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## Richard Dick

gengo said:


> Please trust me on this one.  Native speakers use this construction frequently.  Esta vez, sí lo sé.


Then i'm learning...👍


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## elroy

elprofe said:


> In Spanish, we would say:
> _· pero, ¿qué voy a decir yo?
> · pero, ¿qué voy a decir yo si no?
> · ¿Qué otra cosa podría decir yo?_


I feel like yours are saying this is the only thing I would be expected to say.  The idea is that it’s not surprising that I’m saying this, but there could be 100 other things that would be equally unsurprising coming from me.

What do you think of:

Pero claro, tiene sentido que diga yo eso.


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## elprofe

gato radioso said:


> ..._predicen nuestro futuro. !Pues estaría bueno! Las palabras que he escrito son todo lo que quedará cuando me haya ido._



hmm casi que es todo lo contrario a "pues estaría bueno". De hecho, "pues estaría bueno que no" sí que me gusta como traducción junto con las que propuse antes  



elroy said:


> I feel like yours are saying this is the only thing I would be expected to say.  The idea is that it’s not surprising that I’m saying this, but there could be 100 other things that would be equally unsurprising coming from me.
> 
> Good catch!
> 
> What do you think of: As far as I'm concerned, ya tenemos ganador!
> 
> Pero claro, tiene sentido que diga yo eso.
> Pero claro, tiene sentido que yo diga eso.
> Pero claro, tiene sentido que lo diga yo.
> Pero claro, tiene sentido que yo lo diga.


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## Richard Dick

elroy said:


> I feel like yours are saying this is the only thing I would be expected to say.  The idea is that it’s not surprising that I’m saying this, but there could be 100 other things that would be equally unsurprising coming from me.
> 
> What do you think of:
> 
> Pero claro, tiene sentido que diga yo eso.





gengo said:


> Please trust me on this one.  Native speakers use this construction frequently.  Esta vez, sí lo sé.


Esto es más por escrito y puede tener fallas de (puntos y comas), pero en el hablar estoy más de acuerdo.


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## gengo

Since this construction seems to be confusing to NSSs, let me give a couple more examples.

_The man who was arrested in possession of a kilo of cocaine said that it was not his.  But he would say that.
The used-car dealership said that the car was in like-new condition.  But then they would say that._

In this construction, as Cenzontle mentioned above, we always put heavy stress on the word "would."

Both of the above examples tell us that it is not at all surprising (= it is perfectly natural) that the person said this.


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## Richard Dick

gengo said:


> Since this construction seems to be confusing to NSSs, let me give a couple more examples.
> 
> _The man who was arrested in possession of a kilo of cocaine said that it was not his.  But he would say that.
> The used-car dealership said that the car was in like-new condition.  But then they would say that._
> 
> In this construction, as Cenzontle mentioned above, we always put heavy stress on the word "would."
> 
> Both of the above examples tell us that it is not at all surprising (= it is perfectly natural) that the person said this.


Pues el texto, es subjetivo y no podemos estar todos de acuerdo.✌️


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## gengo

Richard Dick said:


> Pues el texto, es subjetivo y no podemos estar todos de acuerdo.✌️



I think you are the only one who doesn't agree.  Four native English speakers have posted in this thread so far, and we are all in complete agreement about the meaning of the original.


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## Richard Dick

gengo said:


> I think you are the only one who doesn't agree.  Four native English speakers have posted in this thread so far, and we are all in complete agreement about the meaning of the original.


Pero eso no significa ser la verdad (objetivamente), siempre hay dudas y si son cuatro, tampoco quiere decir que es lo correcto.


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## Bevj

As gengo has said more than once, this is a construction which native English speakers are familiar with.   It is not ambiguous at all and there is no doubt as to the meaning.
Perhaps it's confusing to a non- native speaker but you must take our word for it.


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## elprofe

Los ejemplos que ha puesto Gengo son muy ilustrativos.

Lo que diría yo en esos ejemplos:
_· ¿Qué iba a decir si no?
· Obvio
· Pero claro, tiene sentido que diga eso
· Estaría gracioso que dijera lo contrario
· Estaría bueno que dijera que sí/no _(dependiendo del contexto usaríamos "sí" o "no")


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## Richard Dick

Bevj said:


> As gengo has said more than once, this is a construction which native English speakers are familiar with.   It is not ambiguous at all and there is no doubt as to the meaning.
> Perhaps it's confusing to a non- native speaker but you must take our word for it.


Bevj. En mi opinión sí es ambiguous (porque es un texto, no verificado), tampoco me voy a creer lo que dicen la mayoría. 

PD. Nunca quise/quiero molestar por molestar, pero es mi  opinión.


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## gengo

elprofe said:


> _· ¿Qué iba a decir si no?_



I don't know why, but I especially like that one.  That is, it seems to me to convey the nuance of the English very well.  Of course, you natives will know what sounds most natural to you in each specific situation.


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## elprofe

Richard Dick said:


> Bevj. En mi opinión sí es ambiguous (porque es un texto, no verificado), tampoco me voy a creer lo que dicen la mayoría.
> 
> PD. Nunca quise/quiero molestar por molestar, pero es mi  opinión.



Pero entonces, ¿Cómo propones traducir la oración? ¿Interpretas que hay un error en la puntuación y que "that" significa "que" en lugar de "eso"?


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## elroy

gengo said:


> let me give a couple more examples.
> 
> _The man who was arrested in possession of a kilo of cocaine said that it was not his. But he would say that.
> The used-car dealership said that the car was in like-new condition. But then they would say that._


Another example:

A: Bob just spent $300 on a sweater!
B: He would!

He would! = No surprises there!

In other words, B is not surprised because (at least in B’s assessment) this is typical Bob behavior (maybe because he’s spendthrift or has a tendency to make impulsive purchases).


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## Marsianitoh

gengo said:


> I don't know why, but I especially like that one.  That is, it seems to me to convey the nuance of the English very well.  Of course, you natives will know what sounds most natural to you in each specific situation.


In my opinión, that's the closest to the original. It's very common in Spanish too. There are other versions with slight differences: " ( Pero bueno, ) ¡qué otra cosa iba a decir yo!


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## elroy

As I said, 


elroy said:


> I feel like yours are saying this is the only thing I would be expected to say. The idea is that it’s not surprising that I’m saying this, but there could be 100 other things that would be equally unsurprising coming from me.



For example:

But I also believe that what I do -telling stories- is important. *Stories teach us about our past, enrich our present, and can predict our future.* But then I would say that. 

But I also believe that what I do -telling stories- is important. *Stories help foster a sense of community and closeness between people.* But then I would say that. 

But I also believe that what I do -telling stories- is important. *Stories are a vehicle of self-expression that help us transfer complex feelings and ideas. *But then I would say that. 

These are three different statements about stories, and they can all be followed by "But then I would say that" because they're all things you would expect a story-teller to say (they're positive things about stories).  There is no implication that any statement in particular is the only thing you would expect a story-teller to say.


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## Richard Dick

Suena literal, pero se usa en el español de México. "Pero entonces yo diría eso".

También:
"Pero entonces yo diría que,... ". Transmite lo dicho predecente.


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