Но стоило им подойти к лестнице, ведущей на третий этаж...
How would you translate into English the word "стоило";
the standard definitions of "cost, worth, deserve" just do not seem to fit in this expression.
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Но стоило им подойти к лестнице, ведущей на третий этаж...
How would you translate into English the word "стоило";
the standard definitions of "cost, worth, deserve" just do not seem to fit in this expression.
I don't know. May be "as soon as" or "in the moment as"...Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusly
"But as soon as they approached the staircase..." :?: :?:
Just as soon as they had approached a stairway leading to the third floor...Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusly
In the very moment...
Literally the word стоило translates here as:
It cost them (efforts) only to approach the stairway in order to (what happenned next)...
(edited: a terrible mistake I made :oops: )
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you can say, it was worth. its not the financial sense of course. eg, не стоит пойти = its not worth going
Но стоило им подойти к лестнице, ведущей на третий этаж
but it was worth them approaching the stairs leading to the 3rd floor...
(i would then expect something interesting to happen :)
With the help of the replies I would now say the closest definition of "стоило" in this context is "worth"; but I would translate not use "worth" but instead translate the phrase into English as: But having succeeded in reaching the stairs leading to the third floor....
Thanks
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any time they used to reach stairways...
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Very unlikely.Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusly
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What's the problem? "Стоило им...." is synonymous in Russian with "как только они...", but this phrase means "as soon as they..."
"стоило им подойти к лестнице" = "как только они подошли к лестнице"
See topic:Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusly
http://www.masterrussian.net/mforum/vie ... 274#126274
Here's another example of the same construction from the same author:
"Однако стоило им сделать несколько шагов, как комнату внезапно залил яркий свет."
This is easy translated into English as: "However they only made a few steps, before the room suddenly was filled with bright light."
An acceptable variation would be; "they only managed to make a few steps...
In English, "make it to" is a common expression when speaking about motion/traveling. Here's a common example: "Pheww! I just made it to the bathroom in time!" :roll:
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Модератор, будьте добры, уберите этого <самоцензоред> танцора. Уж больно он гадит тут сильно везде. :( Мне кажется, он уже всех достал, не только меня. Причём, агрессия его абсолютно немотивированна и нездорова.
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Тянет на хамство? Или там где ты вырос это считается удачной шуткой?Quote:
Originally Posted by charlestonian
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