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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Это ещё что... Я не сомневаюсь, что этот товариСЧ считает не менее удачной шуткой, когда он прилюдно, прошу прощения, рыгает или портит воздух.Quote:
Originally Posted by DagothWarez
У меня был один такой знакомый.Quote:
Originally Posted by Guin
Мы как-то ехали с ним и с еще одним моим другом в поезде, так вот он положил свои вонючие ноги на столик, а когда мы его попросили их убрать он стал жаловаться, что мы москвичи какие-то “не простые”, не то что у них в совхозе и не близки к его пониманию какими должны быть шутки между приятелями и простые человеческие отношения.
Ну да есть еще такие люди.
What do you think of this:Quote:
Originally Posted by Siriusly
"But as they stepped into the room, bright light suddenly flooded it."
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cost = use = expend = exert = reach = obtain = anything that requires effort...it's all the same concept.
Every thought and concept conceivable to humans could probably be expressed with a vocabulary of 2000.
All the other hundreds of thousand of words are needed just to keep college professors and other professional bs'ers from getting a real job!
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Zeig Heil!! Товарищ!!!
99.9% of everything that was ever invented was done by people who use their hands and not their mouths! Ever hear of the wheel? Start there and work your way up.
As the famous American inventor (stealer) Thomas Edison said; "Invention is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration!"
I have more words of wisdom I could impart to you, but can only do so when you are ready to understand them.
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It is what J. K. Rowling used.Quote:
Originally Posted by charlestonian
The sentence, as a whole, is messed up because I was trying to make it fit the translation.