"It will always be the couple"

Question

I am working on a story about a couple looking to upgrade they living quarters to a larger apartment and most of the story makes sense. There are 3 sentences that are a little fuzzy in what I think it says so I would appreciate someone checking to see if I did it so that it makes sense.

Gracias!

¡Por supuesto! Y no solo para nosotras, porque siempre van a estar los novios de Teresa y Claudia que comen como dos gorilas.

Of course! And not just for us, because it will always be the couple Teresa and Claudia who eat like two gorillas.

                    "it will always be the couple" just does not sound right.

Porque un portero es una ayuda enorme. Limpia la entrada, recibe las cartas, saca la basura, abre la puerta y además es el policía del edificio.

Because a porter is a huge help. He cleans the entrance, gets the mail, takes out the trash, opens the door and it is also the police building.

                     The police building part sounds wrong.

¡Vaya! Entonces buscamos un apartamento que esté en un primer piso o más alto, con tres dormitorios, balcón, muchas ventanas, una cocina grande, que sea barato y si es posible, con portero. ¡Uf! ¡No pedimos nada!

Go! Then look for an apartment that is on the first floor or higher, with three bedrooms, a balcony, a lot of windows, a large kitchen, which is cheap and if possible, with a porter. Ugh! We don’t ask for nothing!

                 The "we don't ask for nothing" sounds really bad!

Thanks again!

Answer 1

¡Por supuesto! Y no solo para nosotras, porque siempre van a estar los novios de Teresa y Claudia que comen como dos gorilas.

Of course! And not just for us, because it will always be the couple Teresa and Claudia who eat like two gorillas.

                "it will always be the couple" just does not sound right.  

This sentence was totally wrong! I finally had to have the teacher translate and he wrote: "Of course! And not just for us, because Teresa's and Claudia's boyfriends are going to be here - who eat like two gorrilas."

Now it sounds better but I am still confused on "siempre" since he left it out entirely. If you translate "siempre van a estar" as an expression meaning "are usually going to be here" then you can include siempre. Usually is in the dictionary on this site and it is shown in a few expressions to mean usually. Am I way off base here?

Answer 2

In the first sentence, when you say, "Y no solo para nosotras", if "solo" refers to just or only, then you need an accent mark on the first "o". It should be sólo, as in solamente.

Answer 3

Nuxita: Policing the building makes a lot more sense! The "GO!" part works since the sentence before is:

Pues si..., si no quieres que te vean Fulano, Mengano y Zutano desde la calle, es mejor que esté en un primer o segundo piso porque un apartamento en la planta baja... no sé, pero puede traer problemas.

Well, if ... if you do not want every Tom, Dick and Harry to see you from the street, it is better that it be on a first or second floor because a ground floor apartment ... I do not know, but it can bring problems.

I am not sure about the couple thing being left out. Teresa and Claudia are not mentioned anywhere else and they are friends I am assuming not their children. I did not know that dos gorilas meant horses? Interesting!

No but in English we say "to eat like a horse" not "like a gorilla" - ian-hill, Apr 4, 2010

" but it can bring problems." - is better as "it can / could cause problems. - ian-hill, Apr 4, 2010

Gee thanks Ian, I like it could cause problems. And yes, we say "eat like a horse" but do the citizens of South America say that also? - foxluv, Apr 4, 2010

Answer 4

we don't ask for nothing" is a double negative - that always sounds bad in English.

Try "we don't ask for anything" or "we are not asking for much" (sarcasm).

The police building part sounds wrong

Try "police department" "he also polices the buidling" (see nuxita below)

"it will always be the couple"

Try "it will always be Teresa and Claudia who . eat like horses.

I like the sarcasm statement since I think that is how it was intended! - foxluv, Apr 4, 2010

Answer 5

The police thing should be:

"...he will also police around the building."

For those of us who were in the military, it is common for the ranking officer to command the underlings to 'police around the area', meaning to clean up and secure the area.

I think that is what is intended.

Answer 6

Agree with ian, except for one small detail on the sentence about the porter:

The sentence refers to the porter (you can also use the word "doorman") policing the building, so it should be "...plus, he's the policeman (or "watchman, guardian, etc..") of the building."

One question, foxluv: With "¡Vaya¡ Entonces buscamos..." did you mean to say "Wow! So then we're looking for an apartment...", but maybe not "Go! Then look.."? Reading it this way in English, it seems to fit better with what you have there in Spanish, and the last bit that reads "we aren't asking for anything!" makes more sense. Please correct me if I'm mistaken.

Otherwise, it looks very good!