# 要是该断的, 早就该断了



## nylg85

如何翻译“要是会断他早就断了”
我译会“If it would broke it will had breaks earlier”


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## Skatinginbc

中翻英得等你把中文句子解釋清楚了才能幫上忙.  至於修改英文倒是沒問題：
If it were going to break, it would have happened (= done so) by now.


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## nylg85

谢谢您的解析。
“要是该断的，早就该断了”
应该是如此表达才对。
我国家的中文水平并不高。
可能是多语国度，很多时候都用着类似我在标题上写的中文。(不完整中文)

其实情景是如此的: 
我家里的一个保温壶的柄就快断了，我母亲告示别握到易断之处。
我就打趣的说了句“要是会断的早就该断了”


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## solidtext

What does it use "他" instead of "它"? This makes it sound like it's about some relationship issues...


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## Martinmmm

認同 。
用"他"是指一些人際關係；
用"它"符合文中所意。


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## Zeming

Skatinginbc said:


> 中翻英得等你把中文句子解釋清楚了才能幫上忙.  至於修改英文倒是沒問題：
> If it were going to break, it would have happened (= done so) by now.


请问您的前半句是否可以改成，If it had been going to break... 我这么想是因为我觉得这个句子是个过去时态的虚拟假设，（所以您用了would have done）如果说If it were going to break的话，感觉像是现在时态的虚拟假设。 跟您讨论一下，请指教。


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## Skatinginbc

Zeming said:


> 我这么想是因为我觉得这个句子是个过去时态的虚拟假设。


A: 雙手捧著，別拎把手，萬一把手斷了就完了，裡頭裝的可都是易脆的物件.
B: 那把手要斷早就斷了...

「要斷」就好像「要下雨」(It is going to rain), 是 現在進行 表達 未來，把 "is" 改成 "were" 是來顯示與現狀不符的假設語氣.

「早就斷了」就好像「早就下雨了」, 指完成(過去已發生).

「要斷早斷了」==> 「要斷」 現在, 「早斷了」 完成 (過去已發生).


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## luckyer

其实情景是如此的: 
我家里的一个保温壶的柄就快断了，我母亲告示别握到易断之处。
我就打趣的说了句“要是会断的早就该断了”

说明它还是很耐用的。


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## nylg85

THANKS GUYS. 

I  think i will stick with this:

''If it were going to broken if would had break earlier.''

What do you think?


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## diegoclegane

以前和老外邮件交流时经常误解他们的 I would blablabla，以为他们会亲自做某事。到后来才发现原来他们是委婉地建议你去做某事，他们省略了if I were you

同理，是不是直接说 It would have broken就行了？


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## coolfool

Just give it a try.

要是会断他早就断了：
1. What was supposed to be broken would have been (done) (already) by him.
2. He would have broken (already) what was supposed to break.


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## nylg85

diegoclegane said:


> 以前和老外邮件交流时经常误解他们的 I would blablabla，以为他们会亲自做某事。到后来才发现原来他们是委婉地建议你去做某事，他们省略了if I were you
> 
> 同理，是不是直接说 It would have broken就行了？


 太好了， 谢谢你的帮助。 能够知道在该省略地方省略是很方便的。


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## AquisM

nylg85 said:


> ''If it were going to broken if would had break earlier.''





coolfool said:


> 1. What was supposed to be broken would have been (done) (already) by him.
> 2. He would have broken (already) what was supposed to break.


這幾句語法上都不對。



diegoclegane said:


> 同理，是不是直接說 It would have broken就行了？


這句雖然語法上沒問題，但這樣省略的話聽起來有點奇怪。我建議用 Skatinginbc 的句子 （其實就是這一句的完整版）：


Skatinginbc said:


> If it were going to break, it would have happened (= done so) by now.


很貼切，就用它吧。


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## coolfool

Claiming something are right, or wrong, are conclusions, right or wrong. They're cheap to some extent. One has yet to prove his point, or points. I'm all eyes. I may learn the ropes from the old hand.


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## AquisM

coolfool said:


> 要是会断他早就断了：
> 1. What was supposed to be broken would have been (done) (already) by him.
> 2. He would have broken (already) what was supposed to break.


Well, looking back, I realised you translated the OP's sentence verbatim, with the 他/它 confusion and all. One of the main errors of your sentences was using _he_ for the kettle in OP's context, but now I realise you didn't take that into account.

The other thing was that you failed to get the sense of 要是 in your translation. What you wrote would be closer to 該斷的，他都已經斷了 in Chinese. There has to be an _if_ in there, not only to accurately translate 要是, but also to grammatically complement the _would have_.


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## Skatinginbc

coolfool said:


> What was supposed to be broken would have been (done) (already) by him.


相當於中文： *該被打破的 (譬如, 惡習) 就會(已經)被他(做)了 ==> 不通.


coolfool said:


> He would have broken what was supposed to break.


相當於中文：*他就會打破預期該斷了的東西 ==> 能猜到大概意思，但聽起來彆扭不自然.

「要是會斷，他早就斷了」是什麼意思？
我想到的是：「他不會跟你斷了關係.  要是會斷，他早就斷了.」==> 斷了關係

或者：「他不會斷了這個念頭.  要是會斷，他早就斷了.」==> 斷了念頭

或者：「他肯定不會斷案，要是會斷，他早就斷了.」==> 斷了案

而不是：
「這東西要是會斷，他早就把它弄斷了.」

說他早就「斷了關係」「斷了念頭」「斷了案」，都通.  說「他早就斷了柄」(太監？)，就像「他早就斷了腿」一樣，彷彿「柄」如「腿」是身體的某部位.  若非身上的一部分，我會說「要是會斷，他早就弄斷了.」


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## coolfool

1. OP has many senses. The relevant one here is supposed to be, if I don't get it all wrong, an artistic work, a composition; esp. a musical composition or set of compositions as numbered among the works of a composer in order of publication. Abbrev. op. Our owner of the penthouse plainly tells us it's a sentence. And we all, me included undoubtedly, use it, and the similar ones, as often as not in our daily life. It looks to me our maestro most probably took it wrong at the very beginning and still does.

2. Let's take the invaluable chance to appreciate his beautiful logic here now or never: On the one hand, I rendered the sentence in question word for word and consequently I, and I alone, am wrong. Considering I put _I left_ into 我走了 literally, should I say 'mea culpa'? On the other, our logical star demands that 要是 should be _if_, which obviously I missed. Therefore, I didn't do my little job to the letter.

3. The sentence at issue uses 他, instead of 它, it's clear-cut. It doesn't require twenty-twenty vision. Apples are not at all confused by me with oranges. But I'm not so sure if someone else does. I'm hence wondering how on earth it becomes a 'crime' to adopt _he _in English? Since our veteran has been unable to do the job himself, one has yet again to wait to see how he'll smartly dodge what he calls the confusion that he fancies.

4. I wrote I just gave 要是会断*他*早就断了 a try. Did I ever say I was going to translate 要是会断（*它）*早就断了? It seems to me our savant looks at but fails unluckily to see the difference. That's why he, and he alone, mix _kettle _and _he_, on purpose or not, whichever I have no idea of for now.

5. Our genius states he's currently living in Hong Kong. But I doubt if he's a native Hong Konger, because he's, it sounds to me, quite familiar with the craft having more often than not employed both by the Red Guard and by the Rebels of ill repute in the era of the Culture Revolution on the mainland of China, that is to turn black into white and white black and come to his longed-for conclusion.

6. Once again, I couldn't admire his logic more, i.e. in order to express 要是 as well as _would have_, _if _must be applied. In other words, one can't translate either 要是 or subjunctive sentences without _if_. Is he expert on English? Is our hotshot implying the English language is stiff and awkward?

7. Our doyen gives _If it were going to..._ a nod and makes a fuss over _supposed_. Let's borrow the valuable place and have a close look at them.
7.1 *be going to be/do sth.*: intend or be likely or intended to be or do sth.; be about to (used to express a future tense) *Ex*: I'm going to be late for work. *Ex*: she's going to have a baby.
7.2 *supposed*: *a*.
7.2.1 intended *Ex*: medication that is supposed to relieve pain.
7.2.2 required *Ex*: He is supposed to go to the store.
7.2.3 permitted *Ex*: We are not supposed to smoke here.
7.2.4 firmly believed; expected *Ex*: You're supposed to be my friend.
Well, is it reasonable for me here and now to say that our pro takes heed of the head side of a coin but unfortunately ignore the tail?

8. Last but not least, our master brags that 這幾句語法上都不對. Remember? I'm still itching to see his cool and cold evidence.


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## brofeelgood

My version: '_If it comes off that easily, it would have done so long ago._'.

'_What was supposed to break_'  This suggests the handle was designed to break on purpose or that you did something to it with the intention of breaking it.


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## AquisM

coolfool said:


> 1. OP has many senses. The relevant one here is supposed to be, if I don't get it all wrong, an artistic work, a composition; esp. a musical composition or set of compositions as numbered among the works of a composer in order of publication. Abbrev. op. Our owner of the penthouse plainly tells us it's a sentence. And we all, me included undoubtedly, use it, and the similar ones, as often as not in our daily life. It looks to me our maestro most probably took it wrong at the very beginning and still does.


Actually I meant OP as in "original post(er)". Nothing to do with the musical OP which is short for "opus". As I have seen it used here many times (in fact, I might have learnt of this abbreviation on these very forums), I assumed you knew what it meant. I apologise if I was mistaken.



> 2. Let's take the invaluable chance to appreciate his beautiful logic here now or never: On the one hand, I rendered the sentence in question word for word and consequently I, and I alone, am wrong. Considering I put _I left_ into 我走了 literally, should I say 'mea culpa'? On the other, our logical star demands that 要是 should be _if_, which obviously I missed. Therefore, I didn't do my little job to the letter.


I'm sorry, but I don't really understand the point you're trying to make here.



> 3. The sentence at issue uses 他, instead of 它, it's clear-cut. It doesn't require twenty-twenty vision. Apples are not at all confused by me with oranges. But I'm not so sure if someone else does. I'm hence wondering how on earth it becomes a 'crime' to adopt _he _in English? Since our veteran has been unable to do the job himself, one has yet again to wait to see how he'll smartly dodge what he calls the confusion that he fancies.


The context was give in post #3; the original poster has clearly admitted he made a mistake using 他 instead of 它. I was under the  impression that you knew this when you translated it, but I was mistaken. I apologised. No one is accusing you of a 'crime'. Stop dramatising everything.

Also, I clearly gave my opinion on the matter. Skatinginbc's answer was the simplest, most natural way of say what OP wanted to say, so I agreed with him and added a little explanation. There's no rule that one can only post if you can come up with something original. Hearing from multiple people that one particular answer is best is usually quite reassuring to the person asking.



> 4. I wrote I just gave 要是会断*他*早就断了 a try. Did I ever say I was going to translate 要是会断（*它）*早就断了? It seems to me our savant looks at but fails unluckily to see the difference. That's why he, and he alone, mix _kettle _and _he_, on purpose or not, whichever I have no idea of for now.


Like I said, the context was clearly stated and we are talking about a kettle. If you're translating something that's not requested, why are you replying?



> 5. Our genius states he's currently living in Hong Kong. But I doubt if he's a native Hong Konger, because he's, it sounds to me, quite familiar with the craft having more often than not employed both by the Red Guard and by the Rebels of ill repute in the era of the Culture Revolution on the mainland of China, that is to turn black into white and white black and come to his longed-for conclusion.


1. Yes, I am a native Hong Konger.
2. This has nothing to do with the question.
3. I would prefer it if you refrained from making personal attacks and political drama that are completely uncalled for.



> 6. Once again, I couldn't admire his logic more, i.e. in order to express 要是 as well as _would have_, _if _must be applied. In other words, one can't translate either 要是 or subjunctive sentences without _if_. Is he expert on English? Is our hotshot implying the English language is stiff and awkward?


Actually, that is usually the case. These conditional sentences are also commonly called _if-_sentences for a reason. They almost always have an _if_

As for your second point, you will see that I list my native languages as English and Cantonese. If being a native speaker doesn't give me the right to say that I am quite familiar with English, then you should be ashamed of your Chinese as well.

Lastly, I think you're the only one implying English is stiff and awkward. I was simply saying that in this context, the best way to translate the sentence is with the word _if_. Quit exaggerating everything and drawing baseless conclusions.



> 7. Our doyen gives _If it were going to..._ a nod and makes a fuss over _supposed_. Let's borrow the valuable place and have a close look at them.
> 7.1 *be going to be/do sth.*: intend or be likely or intended to be or do sth.; be about to (used to express a future tense) *Ex*: I'm going to be late for work. *Ex*: she's going to have a baby.
> 7.2 *supposed*: *a*.
> 7.2.1 intended *Ex*: medication that is supposed to relieve pain.
> 7.2.2 required *Ex*: He is supposed to go to the store.
> 7.2.3 permitted *Ex*: We are not supposed to smoke here.
> 7.2.4 firmly believed; expected *Ex*: You're supposed to be my friend.
> Well, is it reasonable for me here and now to say that our pro takes heed of the head side of a coin but unfortunately ignore the tail?


I am quite impressed at how many words you looked up in order to call me an expert in a unique way each time. I'm quite flattered really.

If you had stopped to actually read what I wrote, I didn't mention anything about _be_ _going to_ vs. _supposed to_. The two errors I pointed out were the use of _he_ and the lack of _if_. This point is, again, something you conjured up out of nowhere, so please stop (quoting you) "turn[ing] black into white and white black" to "come to [your] longed-for conclusion". FYI, I am telling you now that both _be_ _going to_ and _supposed to_ work in this context.



> 8. Last but not least, our master brags that 這幾句語法上都不對. Remember? I'm still itching to see his cool and cold evidence.


To start off, no one was bragging.

What other evidence do you need than a native speaker telling you it doesn't sound right? I've even explained what was wrong with your sentences.

Perhaps 語法上 was the wrong way to express that; I meant to say that that it's very unnatural (to the point where I couldn't really make heads or tails of it) and in my head I sort of conflated that with "ungrammatical". If that gave you the wrong impression, I apologise.

I'm not sure why you had such a violent reaction to my post. If I sounded cold or arrogant, then I apologise again. As I've already apologised for multiple things that weren't really my fault and taken a few low blows from you, I hope you will considered this settled. Let's leave it here and not derail the discussion any further.


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## 2PieRad

So needlessly complicated...


Skatinginbc said:


> If it were going to break, it would have happened (= done so) by now.





brofeelgood said:


> '_If it comes off that easily, it would have done so long ago._'.


Just use either of these two sentences. They're grammatically correct and "native-sounding". (_If it was going to break..._ sounds fine as well. I personally don't feel the subjunctive _if it were _is necessary.)


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## nylg85

It took me a while to understand all the posts here. Since my English isn't great... English could be easy to be understood or vice verse. I used to learn it by ear, but from now on I would begin to take the logic in a languge litterally. And hopefully not getting confused in the end.

Thanks again. Cheers.


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