# with her forgotten



## Julia Inés

Hola:

Leo en un cuento de Nadine Gordimer: "She began to be overcome by a strong reluctance to go through the gate, round the corner, down the road to The Mitre and the whistles and appreciative pinches which would greet her in her new flowered Bermudas, his black eyes following her all the way, although he´d be reading his papers *with her forgotten*"

El contexto es de dos jóvenes que acaban de tener un breve diálogo en el jardín de la casa que habitan.

No entiendo bien esa última frase "with her forgotten" ya que no me doy cuenta exactamente cómo es la función gramatical que cumple. A esto se suma el estilo de la autora y la aparente contradicción que implican las ideas expresadas. Quizás puedan orientarme un poco.

Gracias.


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## chileno

"olvidándose de ella", "sin estar pensado en ella" etc.


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## k-in-sc

It seems contradictory at first, but I guess his black eyes would only be following her in her imagination. He doesn't seem very interested in her.


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## Uriel-

Puedes decir en español, "con ella olvidada"?  _Forgotten_ es el participio de _forget_, nada más, y se puede usado como adjetivo.


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## k-in-sc

Uriel- said:


> Puedes decir en español, "con ella olvidada"?


That seemed like the (too?) obvious way to me too. I asked my translation partner and she said, "y ... poéticamente". We thought "con ella en el olvido" would be better, and more tanguero


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## Uriel-

Hey, I'm only learning Spanish -- it was as much a question as a suggestion!


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## k-in-sc

I had to ask too


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## Alma de cántaro

Uriel- said:


> Puedes decir en español, "con ella olvidada"?  _Forgotten_ es el participio de _forget_, nada más, y se puede usado como adjetivo.



Pues a pesar de que os pueda parecer extraño, a mí no me suena tan mal esta traducción. Quizá si le añadimos un pequeño componente temporal como "ya" para insistir en la idea de la contemporaneidad de la lectura de los papeles y el olvido de la amiga, la traducción ganaría en precisión:

although he´d be reading his papers *with her forgotten*">> aunque él hubiera estado*leyendo/_estaría leyendo_* sus papeles con ella *ya* olvidada

*(¿? Mi nivel de inglés aún no es muy bueno, me cuesta horrores traducir este tiempo verbal al español, no sé por qué -_he would be reading??-/he had been reading??-_)

Escribo _estaría leyendo_ en cursiva porque no me parece natural en español para este caso. Quizá alguien pueda ayudar con esto.

Saludos


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## k-in-sc

I think "he would be reading" would have to be "estaría leyendo."
"Hubiera estado leyendo" = "would have been reading."
Correct me if I'm wrong!


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## Alma de cántaro

k-in-sc said:


> I think "he would be reading" would have to be "estaría leyendo."
> "Hubiera estado leyendo" = "would have been reading."
> Correct me if I'm wrong!



De acuerdo, si esto es así, la frase, traducida literalmente al español sería:

although he´d be reading his papers *with her forgotten>>*aunque (él) estaría leyendo sus papeles con ella ya olvidada

No sé, no me suena muy español usar aquí el condicional, la frase no la veo nada natural. Es evidente que necesitamos a alguien que domine ambos idiomas para hacer una buena traducción.

Saludos.


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## k-in-sc

I think that's just the author's style, not a translation problem. It's a complicated sentence.
By the way, the "papeles" are diarios/periódicos ... would you ever call those "papeles"?


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## Alma de cántaro

k-in-sc said:


> I think that's just the author's style, not a translation problem. It's a complicated sentence.
> By the way, the "papeles" are diarios/periódicos ... would you ever call those "papeles"?



Aquí queda de nuevo demostrado mi deficiente nivel de inglés. Efectivamente "papeles" en español puede significar "documentos". Ésta última acepción es la que yo había entendido, pues "papers", según el diccionario WordReference se traduce como "periódicos" o como "documentos". 

Pero sí, por la situación narrada parece que más bien es lo que tú dices, "periódicos".


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## chileno

k-in-sc said:


> I think that's just the author's style, not a translation problem. It's a complicated sentence.
> By the way, the "papeles" are diarios/periódicos ... would you ever call those "papeles"?



...would be reading... = ...estaba leyendo...


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## k-in-sc

chileno said:


> ...would be reading... = ...estaba leyendo...


That's "was reading." This is "would be reading," conditional.


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## chileno

I meant that leería = would read (as in the past) = leía.

Right?


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## k-in-sc

Well, yeah, those are two different ways of expressing two different meanings of "would read."


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## chileno

And that's how I understand that whole paragraph, as happening in the past.


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## k-in-sc

Read it again then 
Yes, it's all in past tense, but the last part is conditional.


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## chileno

So it isn't "as *if* he was/were reading with her in his mind"?


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## k-in-sc

chileno said:


> So it isn't "as *if* he was/were reading with her in *on* his mind"?


If she decided to go to the pub, as she went down the road he would be reading his newspapers and would not be thinking of her at all, rather than watching her go. But she is inclined not to go.


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## chileno

Thank for correcting my typo.

Yes. Conditional indicating past.


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## k-in-sc

But not indicating repeated or habitual action, which is what I understood you to be suggesting.


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## chileno

k-in-sc said:


> But not indicating repeated or habitual action, which is what I understood you to be suggesting.



WOW. I am going to stop this exchange as it got very weird.

Thanks for your input.


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## k-in-sc

Fine, whatever. I just wouldn't want the OP (wherever she is) to get the wrong idea.


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## Julia Inés

Thanks for your answers. I think k-in-sc's suggestion "con ella en el olvido" is a good option as I understand it tries to respect the author's original style. I had also thought of "...él estaría leyendo sus periódicos olvidado de ella", but I am not sure if it is gramatically correct or if it is properly understood.


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## k-in-sc

Would you be afraid "olvidado de ella" might be read as "olvidado por ella"?


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