# Nasunugan



## AskLang

Hello again,

Can you help me please with the English equivalent of the following?

Nasunugan sila ng bahay.
Naputulan sila ng kuryente.
Nabalian siya ng bracket wire.

Thanks in advance for your help.


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## DotterKat

AskLang said:


> Nasunugan sila ng bahay.
> Naputulan sila ng kuryente.
> Nabalian siya ng bracket wire.



Their house burned down.
Their power got cut.
His/Her bracket wire broke/got broken.


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## AskLang

So, they are different from these equivalents?

Nanakawan sila kagabi.
They got robbed last night.


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## DotterKat

Not to trivialize the question, but the four sentences you have given are all obviously very different from each other.
I might be missing something, but I don't exactly understand what it is you are asking.

Anyway, your translation "Nanakawan sila kagabi -- They got robbed last night" is accurate.


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## AskLang

DotterKat said:


> Their house burned down.
> Their power got cut.
> His/Her bracket wire broke/got broken.


 
I mean, different in the sense that the first three sentences cannot be translated in the way
the last sentence is. In my view, these sentences' equivalent in Tagalog are:

Their house burned down. -- Nasunog ang bahay nila.
Their power got cut. -- Naputol ang kuryente nila.
His/Her bracket wire broke/got broken. -- Naputol ang bracket wires niya.


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## niernier

> Nasunugan sila ng bahay.
> Naputulan sila ng kuryente.
> Nabalian siya ng bracket wire.


These words are formed using the prefix na- and the suffix -an. The prefix na- denotes that the action is completed in the past. Together these two affixes explains a phenomenon or an event which occured to the subject of the sentence.

Nanakawan sila kagabi.(They got robbed last night.)
In this translation, the original sense is preserved. It explains that a robbery incident occured to the subject of the sentence.

AskLang, I agree that the first three sentences cannot be translated in the way the last sentence is.

The problem with these translations is the focus. The given Tagalog sentences focuses on the individuals to which the event occurred whereas when translated to English, the focus is on the objects, to which the event occurred. There is something lost in the translation but still the ones given by DotterKat is more likely the best we can come up with.


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## DotterKat

Thanks to both of you for clarifying the question.

If I understood it right, we are discussing the voices in sentences and attempting to preserve them in the English translations.
All of these Tagalog sentences are in the passive voice:

Nasunugan *sila* ng bahay.
 Naputulan *sila* ng kuryente.
 Nabalian *siya* ng bracket wire.
Nanakawan *sila* kagabi.

The prepositions sila and siya are the subject in each sentence and receive the action expressed by the verb (therefore, the sentence is in the passive voice).

Ask these questions to test the voice of the above sentences:
Sino ang nasunugan? : sila
Sino ang naputulan? : sila
Sino ang nabalian? : siya
Sino ang nanakawan? : sila

The English translations I offered for the first three and the one you gave for the fourth preserve the passive voice of the original Tagalog sentences.

Their house burned down.
 Their power got cut.
 His/Her bracket wire broke/got broken. 
They got robbed last night.

Again, ask these questions to test the voice:
What burned down? : their house ("their" being a possessive adjective)
What got cut? : their power 
What got broken? : his/her bracket wire ("his/her" also acting as possessive adjectives)
Who got robbed? : they (got robbed)

As you can see, though the voice of the sentence is preserved in the translation, sometimes the subject shifts for the sake of brevity or style.

Nasunugan *sila* ng bahay : sila is the subject
Their *house* burned down : house is the subject

Both of the above sentences are in the passive voice, but with differing subjects.

If you want to preserve the same subject (sila) and the same voice (passive), which I believe is at the heart of your question, then you can do it this way:

Nasunugan *sila* ng bahay.
*They* suffered a house fire.

Now, we have the same subject and same voice for both sentences.

Accordingly, the other sentences could be translated this way:

 Naputulan *sila* ng kuryente.
*They* experienced a power outage _or _*They* had the misfortune of a power shut-off.

Nabalian *siya* ng bracket wire.
*He/She* suffered a broken bracket wire.

[Your fourth sentence and translation (Nanakawan sila kagabi = They got robbed) already have the same subject and same voice.]

Though grammatically correct, the English translations that preserve the subject and voice are longer and sound a little archaic. As I have always maintained, sometimes you have to sacrifice verbatim translations for the sake of brevity and style.


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## AskLang

Thanks niernier and DotterKat 
I can sleep now 
Because I am clear on this now.


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## Chriszinho85

How would the following sentences be translated into English?  These are some examples that I have heard.

_Nasikipan ako sa flight.

Nagagandahan ako sa kaniya.
_


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## niernier

Chriszinho85 said:


> How would the following sentences be translated into English?  These are some examples that I have heard.
> 
> _Nasikipan ako sa flight.
> 
> Nagagandahan ako sa kaniya.
> _



*Nasikipan ako sa flight. =I felt crowded during the flight.*
*Nagagandahan ako sa kaniya. =I got captivated by her beauty.

*_If I understood DotterKat's explanation correctly, _the translation should be:

The flight was crowded.
Her beauty is captivating.

but I am not sure about that because the subject ako(I) is already removed in the translation.


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## Chriszinho85

Thanks Niernier for the explanation.


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## Jabberwock

niernier said:


> but I am not sure about that because the subject ako(I) is already removed in the translation.



Some translations are just that tough.  When direct translations due to grammar, it's always good to know you can translate the thought or feeling into different ways  

You could always say it as:
The flight was crowded.
I felt crowded on the flight.
I was crowded on the flight.


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