Thread: именно

Как перевести такую конструкцию:

Именно он всегда помогал мне.
Именно друзья нужны человеку в беде.

"Exactly" doesn't sound fine here, right? I think the construction for the first sentence could be: "It's him who..."
But what's for the plural?....

Попытка номер раз:
It was he who always helped me.
The friends are (can it be is?) what the man need when he is in trouble.

Мне представляются примерно следующие варианты:
He is a/[that?] very man who always helped me
и
The friends are a those very people who man needs when he is in trouble

Originally Posted by Leof

Попытка номер раз:
It was him who always helped me.

_ friends are (can it be is?) what the man needs when he is in trouble.

"the man" - Лёва, это значит, какой-то конкретный чувак.

He is the very man who always helped me

_ friends are _ those very people who a man needs when he is in trouble

Как-то так.

И что вы всё - man, man... А если я не man? Тут уж скорее "you" или "one"

Natives, help please!!!

The first sentence can be translated as:

"He was the one who always helped me."

The second one sounds very strange to me in Russian, and I probably would just rephrase it "In difficult times a person needs friends" "Having friends is the most important thing in difficult times,"or something like that.
If you really want to use the word Именно, I think you can write:

"Friends are just/exactly what a person needs in difficult times."

Originally Posted by John_Douglas

The second one sounds very strange to me in Russian

It's very strange that it sounds very strange to you
What do you say about:
В те дни рядом со мной были друзья, а ведь именно друзья нужны человеку в беде. (Sounds perfect to me.)

"Friends are just/exactly what a person needs in difficult times."

OK, how about:
Именно банкиры решают всё на Уолл-стрит.
Maybe "Bankers are exactly who make all decisions in Wall Street"?...

Natives, HELP PLEASE!

Originally Posted by John_Douglas

"Friends are just/exactly what a person needs in difficult times."

This sentence sounds fine and reminds me of the following famous saying:

A friend in need is a friend indeed
A friend who helps out when we are in trouble is a true friend—unlike others who disappear when trouble arises.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition. (2002) http://www.bartleby.com/59/3/friendinneed.html

Suggested corrections, alternative and optional words:

Originally Posted by Оля

Bankers are exactly/precisely the ones who make all the decisions on Wall Street.

Спасибо, Ken.
Может кто-нибудь помочь вот с этой фразой:

Именно с этого момента всё и началось.

Originally Posted by Оля

Именно с этого момента всё и началось.

Maybe: Exactly/Precisely from this moment it all began/started.
From this exact/precise moment it all began/started.

Thanks Ken. With "maybe" you mean you're not sure the translation is correct? Or that it sounds fine? I'm sure the translation is correct. Tell me if it sounds fine please.

Originally Posted by Оля

Thanks Ken. With "maybe" you mean you're not sure the translation is correct? Or that it sounds fine? I'm sure the translation is correct. Tell me if it sounds fine please.

Yes the English is fine. I said "maybe" because I really do not know Russian. Yes, I can fake it sometimes. But I looked at my dictionary, and also an online translator, and I checked it with my super mysterious Siberia teenager friend, and she agrees.

I see, thanks!

Originally Posted by Ken Watts

...and she agrees.

Wow, I thought your mysterious Siberia teenager friend was a guy

Originally Posted by Оля

Wow, I thought your mysterious Siberia teenager friend was a guy

Well in case you are interested, I started chatting with her mom about 4 years ago on Skype. Her mom is a beautiful Russian lawyer (I think all Russian women are beautiful) who was learning how to speak in English at the time. The teenager was 13 then and as time went on would also speak with me. Last year the mom got a better job in Moscow but has little or no opportunity to get on the internet. So every Saturday evening at 11pm in Siberia (9am for me) the teenager calls me on Skype to chat about anything and everything, and sounds exactly like an American teenager, except for the accent. One time I asked her how she does it, and whether she is thinking in English when she chats with me. She said she is thinking in Russian and translating in her head as she speaks, and sometimes looks at a dictionary/translator on her computer.

[quote=Ken Watts]

Originally Posted by "Оля":3alrwsqs

Именно с этого момента всё и началось.

Maybe: Exactly/Precisely from this moment it all began/started.
From this exact/precise moment it all began/started.[/quote:3alrwsqs]

There are some better ways to say this:

It was at that precise moment that everything (or "it all") started.
It all started at that exact moment.
That exact moment was when this all started.

When talking about times, "this" usually refers to the present, and "that" to a past or future time.

[quote=paulb]

Originally Posted by Ken Watts

Originally Posted by "Оля":j9wg011s

Именно с этого момента всё и началось.

Maybe: Exactly/Precisely from this moment it all began/started.
From this exact/precise moment it all began/started.

There are some better ways to say this:

It was at that precise moment that everything (or "it all") started.
It all started at that exact moment.
That exact moment was when this all started.

When talking about times, "this" usually refers to the present, and "that" to a past or future time.[/quote:j9wg011s]Well I had "that" in my draft before I posted but when I discussed it with the Russian teenager she felt the emphasis is on "this".
Checking this on an online translator again I see the end of the Russian sentence is translated as "has begun".
So considering this information along with what you said about times I wonder:
Is the Russian sentence looking at the present, instead of looking back at the past?

If so then I should have written:
Exactly/Precisely from this moment it all has begun/started.
From this exact/precise moment it all has begun/started.

And then adusting your versions to the present:
It is at this precise moment that everything has started.
It all has started at this exact moment.
This exact moment is when it has started.

Simplified: It all starts/begins now.

Thanks, Ken and Paulb.
How do you find this sentence:
The exact moment of his appearence in our school was when all this story started.

Originally Posted by Оля

Thanks, Ken and Paulb.
How do you find this sentence:
The exact moment of his appearence in our school was when all this story started.

Hey Оля your sentence is OK and understandable in English. It looks back to a time in the past.

Here are other variations I can think of:

All of this story began/started at the exact/precise moment of his appearance in/at our school.

It all/This story began/started when he first appeared in/at our school.

Thanks again, Ken

Originally Posted by Оля

Thanks, Ken and Paulb.
How do you find this sentence:
The exact moment of his appearance in our school was when all this story started.

Usually we would only talk about an exact or precise moment if we were talking about two different events that happened at the same time:

He arrived at the exact moment when my car quit working.

Since you are comparing an event and "all of this" I wouldn't use "exact moment".

Better:
All of this started right when he arrived at school.
or,
This all started as soon as he arrived at school.
or (if you are talking about something bad),
The moment he arrived at school this whole was when this whole mess got started.

It is ok to say: