Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 21 to 33 of 33

Thread: quikie translation for a noobie

  1. #21
    Почётный участник
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Posts
    104
    Rep Power
    14

    Re: quikie translation for a noobie

    Quote Originally Posted by translations.nm.ru
    Quote Originally Posted by shadow1
    Я родился в Нью-Йорке. Там я вырос и прожил много лет.
    Моя первая работа была в Массачусетсе. Я проработал там почти 10 лет инженером-программистом.
    10 лет тому назад, в 1997 году, мне предложили работу на титановом заводе в Лас-Вегасе.
    Лас-Вегас красивый город, и здесь никогда не бывает холодно. Так я решил переехать сюда, и с тех пор я так и живу здесь.
    За ночь под свинцовым градом,
    За то, что меня нет рядом,
    Ты прости, сестра моя, Югославия...
    (Лена Катина, будущая "татушка", 1999 г.)

  2. #22
    Завсегдатай Ramil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Other Universe
    Posts
    8,499
    Rep Power
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot
    Ramil,

    Your questions suggest to me that you missed an important fact: we generally use Past Perfect only in relation to other events. That means it rarely comes up on its own. If it does, it is still meant to be in in relation to something else, but which is implied or already evident.

    "I lived in Paris for two years" is perfectly correct, a statement of fact about a period that is separate from the present (therefore you could not live there now).

    "I had lived in Paris" is only correct if it is meant to show that this even came before another event in the past. If there is no other event, then it sounds incomplete.

    All of your first group of "I lived in Paris" examples are correct.

    As for the others:

    I have lived in Paris
    ... this year (but don't live there now) - correct?
    Not exactly, partly because it sounds funny that you would consider such a short time to be "living" in a place. "Spent some time" sounds better." In any case, Past Simple should be used, not Present perfect.
    ... during the war (war is over) - incorrect? (had lived should be used?)
    No, just Past Simple.
    ... for two years - incorrect? (have been living should be used?)
    Either one is OK.
    ... after I moved there from Moscow (and still live there) - correct?
    Only if you use "since" in place of "after".
    ... before I moved there from Moscow - incorrect (had lived?)This sentence is very confusing. Which came first? Where are you now?

    I had lived in Paris ...
    ... before the war - correct? (I don't live there now) Simple Past sounds better there, because your point is not to show that one event came before another. It is a simple statement of fact.
    ... for two years - incorrect (have/had been living?)
    Any Past Perfect tense is incorrect here unless it is meant to take place before another event.

    I had been living in Paris ... - correct if only before smth for some stated period? That's right.
    Thanks for the explanation. Obviously, I must have missed the lessons they taught us about the Past Perfect

    As for
    .. before I moved there from Moscow - incorrect (had lived?)This sentence is very confusing. Which came first? Where are you now?
    You know, that sentence confuses even me.

    Maybe "I had lived in Paris for a while before I decided to move there" will sound better? Or just "I lived" will do?
    Send me a PM if you need me.

  3. #23
    Властелин charlestonian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Local bar
    Posts
    1,477
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by chaika
    ссылка

    on a British site too!
    ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four
    It is better with "for":

    "lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"
    Well, I don't know what to say. I want to say thanks to the Academy, to Mama, to Papa and to my dog. I love you all.

  4. #24
    Завсегдатай Ramil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Other Universe
    Posts
    8,499
    Rep Power
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Quote Originally Posted by chaika
    ссылка

    on a British site too!
    ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four
    It is better with "for":

    "lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"
    charlestonian, even if several thousands out of milliions of apes that type up mindlessly gigabytes of ravings every day (keeping in mind also that for the most of them Engilsh is not a native language) happen to make the same mistake that does not automatically mean that they were correct.
    Send me a PM if you need me.

  5. #25
    Властелин charlestonian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Local bar
    Posts
    1,477
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by Ramil
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Quote Originally Posted by chaika
    ссылка

    on a British site too!
    ratio is 4:1 -- for : no-four
    It is better with "for":

    "lived there for many years" - 39,400 hits on Google but only 12,900 hits for "lived there many years"
    charlestonian, even if several thousands out of millions of apes that type up mindlessly gigabytes of ravings every day (keeping in mind also that for the most of them Engilsh is not a native language) happen to make the same mistake that does not automatically mean that they were correct.
    Yes it does!
    Well, I don't know what to say. I want to say thanks to the Academy, to Mama, to Papa and to my dog. I love you all.

  6. #26
    Завсегдатай Ramil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Other Universe
    Posts
    8,499
    Rep Power
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    millions
    You had to do this, didn't you?

    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Yes it does!
    I disagree.
    Send me a PM if you need me.

  7. #27
    Властелин charlestonian's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Local bar
    Posts
    1,477
    Rep Power
    13
    Quote Originally Posted by Ramil
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    millions
    You had to do this, didn't you?

    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Yes it does!
    I disagree.
    If you have 3 times more hits on Google for one version vs another, it should tell you that it is a better version than another one, right?
    Well, I don't know what to say. I want to say thanks to the Academy, to Mama, to Papa and to my dog. I love you all.

  8. #28
    Завсегдатай Ramil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Other Universe
    Posts
    8,499
    Rep Power
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Quote Originally Posted by Ramil
    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    millions
    You had to do this, didn't you?

    Quote Originally Posted by charlestonian
    Yes it does!
    I disagree.
    If you have 3 times more hits on Google for one version vs another, it should tell you that it is a better version than another one, right?
    Not necessarily. Majority sometimes (quite often actually) can be wrong. (I mean not in this particular case but generally). And your blind belief that majority is always right might play some mean trick to you some day.
    Send me a PM if you need me.

  9. #29
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    The Satellite of Love
    Posts
    719
    Rep Power
    12
    Maybe "I had lived in Paris for a while before I decided to move there" will sound better? Or just "I lived" will do?

    That's a better example, but "had been living" sounds best there. IMO, because you are emphasizing the fact that your decision was based on experience, and Past Perfect Continuous is probably what most native speakers would choose to show that it was not a snap decision. Plus, "living" is rarely an activity that is considered "Perfect" (completed), so it doesn't sound good with the Perfect tenses while a person is alive.

    Compare that to:
    "I had got to know Paris quite well before I left."
    That's an action that could be "Perfect" before another event.

    I hope that helps.
    "Сейчас без языка нельзя... из тебя шапку сделают..."
    Cogito Ergo Doleo

  10. #30
    Завсегдатай Ramil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Other Universe
    Posts
    8,499
    Rep Power
    30
    Quote Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot
    I hope that helps.
    It did, ty. I should have considered your point about slight inconsistency of the meaning of the verb 'to live' with the Past Perfect tense myself
    Send me a PM if you need me.

  11. #31
    Почтенный гражданин
    Join Date
    May 2007
    Location
    The Satellite of Love
    Posts
    719
    Rep Power
    12
    Quote Originally Posted by Ramil
    Quote Originally Posted by Matroskin Kot
    I hope that helps.
    It did, ty.
    yw.

    "Сейчас без языка нельзя... из тебя шапку сделают..."
    Cogito Ergo Doleo

  12. #32
    Завсегдатай Basil77's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Moscow reg.
    Posts
    2,549
    Rep Power
    19
    Quote Originally Posted by kamka
    funny. I've been studying English for what, more than 10 years now? And no one has ever explained the whole Past Perfect thing as clear as you just have, TATY. Huge thank you.
    Присоединяюсь TATY, спасибо за отличное объяснение!
    Please, correct my mistakes, except for the cases I misspell something on purpose!

  13. #33
    DDT
    DDT is offline
    Завсегдатай DDT's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    I have given up the Gambling, the Wine and the Cows!.. I'm in St Petersburg Russia
    Posts
    3,368
    Rep Power
    17
    I agree! TATY is well worth "putting up with"!
    Let me be a free man, free to travel, free to stop, free to work, free to trade where I choose, free to choose my own teachers, free to follow the religion of my fathers, free to talk, think and act for myself. - Chief Joseph, Nez Perce

Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  


Russian Lessons                           

Russian Tests and Quizzes            

Russian Vocabulary