Pensamientos - Thoughts (50): Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. ..
The sentences I am going to post are by my one and only José Luis Alvite
, as sarcastic and ironic as usual
Instead of posting this as a killer thread, I thought I might post one sentence every other day or so.
I would like you to post the translation and your opinion about the sentence. I will correct the translation, and if you post an opinion in Spanish correct major grammar mistakes. You can post in English, but let's get a lot of opinions on these controversial sentences.
Please read this message from Alvite himself to all students.
And remember:
Alvite is sarcastic, always pessimistic, nothing is what it looks like
Here goes number 50.
This is a very personal piece, talking about his mother, I hope you like it.
Don't miss this thread!I am posting the chosen answers on Facebook, on Alvite's wall!
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
12 Answers
My mother will turn eighty five years old soon and still asks me occasionally why the hell I am not crazy about her. I tell her that impression is wrong and if I don´t express my affection its because it hard for me to bring out hugs and show how I really feel
Está tan acostumbrado a sentirse triste y ser tan mordaz que no puede expresar sentimientos cariñosos Es ajeno para él.
He is so used to feeling sad and being so caustic that he cannot express warm feelings. It is alien to him.
My mother is about to turn eighty-five years old and every now and then she still asks me why the heck I can't stand her. I tell her that she has the wrong impression and if I don't show her affection it's because sometimes it's hard for me to start hugging and show how I really feel.
De acuerdo con Gekkosan que es muy amable. Se ve que nuestro escritor vicioso es a un sentimental.
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mother will turn eighty-five years old soon and every now and then she still asks me why the **** I can't stand her. My answer is that she's got the wrong impression, and if I don't express my affection to her it is because sometimes it's hard for me to take out my arms (hug?) and show what I really feel.
Español: A pesar de su manera y sus palabras sarcásticas, adentro Alvite es, en realidad, un tipo muy sentimental. Un hombre no puede ser tan malo si ama a su madre. Además, me apostaría que ella------not absolutely horrible here, but not necessary, now you tell me, why not?? ------- está muy orgullosa de su hijo.
English: In spite of his manner and his sarcastic words, inside Alvite is, in fact, a very sentimental guy. A man can't be all that bad if he loves his mother. Moreover, I'd bet that she's very proud of her son.
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mother will turn 85 years old soon and she still asks me from time to time why the devil I act so funny towards her. I tell her that she's got the wrong impression and that if I don't show her my affection its because at times its hard for me to dole out hugs and show how I truly feel.
Me parece que Alvite es un hombre muy reservado o introvertido, es decir que le resulta muy difícil demostrar sus sentimientos. Tal vez sea porque ha tenido demasiados desengaños. No sé pero por sus palabras, a Alvite le tengo mucha simpatía. A veces, yo también tengo dificultades para demostrar - cariño y no es que no quiera hacerlo sino que simplemente no puedo.
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mother will turn 85 years old soon and still occasionally asks me why the hell I can't stand her. I reply that she has the wrong idea and I don't show her affection because sometimes it's hard for me to hug her and for me to show what I truly feel.
(the bolded part above is missing in the translation)
Mi pensamientos: Sólo tienes una madre, así que sé un hombre y muéstrale el respeto y el amor que ella------------grrrrrrrrrr 
--------- merece. 
Con todo respeto, retractó de la frase "ella", lo siento.
My thoughts: You only have one mother, so man up and show her the respect and love she deserves.
I respectfully take out "ella", I'm sorry.
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mom will turn 85 soon and every once in a while she still asks me why the h... I can't stand her. I reply that she is laboring under a misapprehension and that if I don't express my affection it's because sometimes it's hard for me to unfold my arms for a hug --great!!---- and show how I really feel.
Creo que es difícil para algunas madres saber cuánto la quieren sus hijos porque ellas ------grrrrrrrrrr------quieren a sus hijos tanto que el amor que sienten sus hijos por ellas se reduce a la insignificancia comparado con el amor que sienten las madres.
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mother will soon be eighty-five years old, and she still from time to time asks me why the devil I dislike her. I answer her that she has the wrong impression, and that if I don't express my love to her it's because at times I have trouble receiving hugs and showing how I really feel.
(giving hugs!!)
Que lástima que tantos -- hombres sean así . Yo no, pero soy un hombre muy afectuoso y de carácter dulce. Por eso, todos las chicas me quieren.
What a pity that so many men are like that. Not me, but I am a very affectionate man with a sweet character. That's why all the women love me.
Hi Sihara
can someone explain why they mean what they do (if it's possible)? Is 'me cuesta' 'it costs me'?
The following is the third definition listed under the entry for the verb costar as found in the DRAE
Costar - Dicho de una cosa: Causar u ocasionar cuidado, desvelo, perjuicio, dificultad, etc.
From this it should be easy to discern that in this particular instance, the phrase best translates to something along the lines of "it causes me difficulty" or similarly, as you had surmised, "It's hard for me."
Similarly, if you look under the DRAE definition for manía this is what you will find under the 4th entry:
f. coloq. ojeriza.
A little further investigation shows that the definition for ojeriza is
- f. Enojo y mala voluntad contra alguien.
So literally, "tenerle manía a alguien" can be interpreted to mean "to have ill-will, anger, hostility, etc towards/against someone." However, you might want to recognize that there are numerous ways in which to express this idea without giving a word-for-word interpretation.
As far as "de vez en cuando," there are several variations/similar expressions such as "de tiempo en tiempo" and "de cuando en cuando." If you notice these phrases are very similar (structurally) when you compare them to the English expression "from time to time." The RAE can help us confirm this similarity in meaning when you look up the expression de tiempo en tiempo:
Con discontinuidad, dejando pasar un espacio de tiempo entre una y otra de las cosas y acciones de que se trata.
Hope this helps.
My mother will turn 85 soon and from time to time she still asks me why the devil I can not stand her. I reply to her that she is under a wrong impression and that if I don't express my love to her, it's because sometimes it's hard for me to hug her and show her how I truly feel.
Mi comentario:
Es verdad que los abrazos no son la única manera de demostrar cariño. También es imposible que un hijo no ame a su madre. A veces, cuando las madres no se sienten queridas, es porque no están convencidas de que se lo merecen.
It is true that hugs are not the only way to show love. Also, it's impossible for a child not to love his/her mom. Sometimes, when mothers don't feel loved, it's because they are not convinced they deserve it.
New phrases (for me):
De vez en cuando - once in a while
Por que diablos - why the devil, heck, he**
Le tengo mania - I can't stand her.
Me cuesta - it's hard for me.
Did I get them right? And can someone explain why they mean what they do (if it's possible)? Is 'me cuesta' 'it costs me'?
Mi madre cumplirá pronto ochenta y cinco años y todavía de vez en cuando me pregunta por qué diablos le tengo manía. Yo le contesto que la suya es una impresión equivocada y que si no le expreso mi cariño es porque a veces me cuesta sacar los abrazos y demostrar lo que verdaderamente siento.
My mother will soon be eighty-eight years old, and from time to time she asks me
why the devil I have an aversion to her. I tell her that she has a false impression, and
that if I do not express my love, it is because at times it costs me to hold her in my
arms and show her how I really feel.
Qué triste este sentimiento. Pero cuando uno sufre de la depresión, dar aúnque sea sola una parte minuciosa de uno mismo cuesta tanto que se siente uno disminuido. De verdad, cuánto más quieras a la persona , tanto más difícil es.
How sad this feeling. But when one suffers from depression, indeed at times even to give a minute part of one's self costs so mucho that one feels diminished. In truth, the more one loves the other person, the harder it is.
My mother will soon celebrate her eighty-fifth birthday, and sometimes she still asks me why the devil I'm not crazy about her. I answer that she has the wrong impression and that if I don't show my affection, it's because sometimes it's hard for me to show my real feelings.
Creo que Alvite no es tan bravo, sino tiene una fachada macha para proteger sus sentimientos tiernos.
