# לא הית צריכה...אם



## cfu507

הי, כיצד תגרמו לאנגלית:
לא הית צריכה לדבר בטלפון כל-כך הרבה זמן אם רצית להכין שיעורים

תודה
​


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## elroy

_You shouldn't have spoken on the phone for so long if you wanted to do your homework._


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## BezierCurve

_Hi, I just wonder... Since it's translated as_

_



You shouldn't have spoken...

Click to expand...

 
... so, does it work the other way round too:

...לא הית צריכה

always mean "you shouldn't have?" I mean, how to say "You didn't have to..." in Hebrew?

Thanks.
_


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## lior

In hebrew you say "you shouldn't have..." or "you didn't have..." the same way.
Hebrew doesn't have parallel words for would, could or should.
It's a shame because I think that is one of the reasons why our culture is more aggressive.
Many Israelis who go abroad and do not speak english very are considered rude for saying things like "Can I" instead of "Could I" because they simply make a straight forward translation. 

The only polite alternative in hebrew is "הייתי רוצה" which means "I would like" in presente tense (and also may be taken as "I wanted" / "I would have want").


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## BezierCurve

Thanks a lot! That explains why I never could tell the difference in Hebrew. Just one more question: how would you translate 

* לא חייב*
?

Will it mean "don't have to" or "must not"?


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## lior

"don't have to"

"must not" would be "אסור" (forbidden) or "חייב שלא" (the latter doesn't sound so good in a sentence).

for example: "one must not drink and drive" - 
"אסור לשתות ולנהוג"


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## BezierCurve

Thanks! That really helped.


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## cfu507

BezierCurve said:


> _Hi, I just wonder... Since it's translated as_
> 
> 
> 
> _... so, does it work the other way round too:_
> 
> _...לא הית צריכה_
> 
> _always mean "you shouldn't have?" I mean, how to say "You didn't have to..." in Hebrew?_
> 
> _Thanks._


 
I don't think that it is correct to say: you didn't have to... (do something). I think you shoudn't have done... (something) is the only correct form, isn't it?


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## elroy

"You didn't have to" is correct.  It means "You weren't required to."

It's simply the past tense version of "You have to."

_I didn't go to the party because* I didn't have to*._
_I went to the party but I *shouldn't have*._


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## Aoyama

> *לא חייב*


literally means "I am not bound to (do something)", "I am not required to ..."
In the scale of obligations, in Hebrew : tsarikh, khayav, mukhrakh ... Sorry, no Hebrew letters.


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## cfu507

lior said:


> Hebrew doesn't have parallel words for would, could or should.


 
I don't think so. 
Could means אוכל/תוכל... for example: תוכל בבקשה להעביר ליאת המלח?
Should means היתי צריך / היה צריך...  for example: הית צריךלמסור לי את המלח כשביקשתי ממך
Would means היתי, היה, הית.... There is a song "would you go to bed with me?". I would  (אני היתי)  translate "would you" as  האם הית ....




> It's a shame because I think that is one of the reasons why our culture is more aggressive.


 
If one is less polite than Queen Elizabeth, it does not mean that he is aggressive. As far as I know, Americans say "can you give me..." or "can I go now”.
"Could you give me..." and "May I..." sound old-fashioned. One of my sources.

Most of the people say in Hebrew אתה יכול לעזור לי שניהinstead of תוכל לעזור לי שניה. I don’t consider it as rudeness, but maybe it is just me.





> The only polite alternative in hebrew is





> הייתי רוצה which means "I would like" in presente tense (and also may be taken as "I wanted" / "I would have want").


 
הייתי רוצה is not polite, in my opinion. היתי רוצה שתעביר לי את המלח sounds rudeness, as if you were a king.
I would like would be אשמח אם תוכל / אשמח לקבל  in the context of request. 
For example:אשמח אם תוכל להעביר לי את המלח, אודה לך אם תוכל להסביר לי את המשפט הזה שוב or  אשמח לקבל עוד כוס מים . That's what I think.

There are more polite ways to ask favors and requests, but this is for another thread.


למה זה עושה לי בלאגן בין העברית לאנגלית? נמאס לי כבר לתקן. מקווה שזה יצא קריא


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## cfu507

elroy said:


> "You didn't have to" is correct. It means "You weren't required to."
> 
> It's simply the past tense version of "You have to."
> 
> _I didn't go to the party because* I didn't have to*._
> _I went to the party but I *shouldn't have*._


 
1. If you wanted to say  תודה על העוגה, באמת שלא הית צריכה לטרוח  would you use the past tense? How would you translate it?

2. Are the following sentences correct too:
_I didn't go to the party becauseI *shouldn't have.*_
_I went to the party but I *didn't have to.*_

3. I think the past tense and the past perfect forms have different meaning.

Thanks


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## elroy

1. If you wanted to say  תודה על העוגה, באמת שלא הית צריכה לטרוח  would you use the past tense? How would you translate it?_Thank you for the cake, but you really *shouldn't have* gone through the trouble._​2. Are the following sentences correct too:
_I didn't go to the party because I *shouldn't have.  *_
_I went to the party but I *didn't have to. *_ = I went to the party, but I wasn't required to go (i.e. I went of my own volition).

3. I think the past tense and the past perfect forms have different meaning.Absolutely.​I shouldn't have = It would have been better if I had not (but I did)​I didn't have to = I was not required to (but I may or may not have)​


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