We don't need anything like that

Question

Would you say "No necesitamos nada de eso" or "como eso"? Maybe they don't say this phrase in Spanish? Today a guy came looking for work and said "¿Necesitas busabouy?" and I said "Ahora no, no necesitamas nada de eso. Quizas necesitaremos alguien en dos semanas más or menos. Que tengas un buen día". And he seemed to be placated and left. Does "no necesitamos nada de eso" work in that sense? Probably not huh?

Answer 1

I think if we want to be as polite as possible within that framework, I'd say: "No necesitamos algo así", "En realidad no tenemos necesidad por (un producto como ese)..

"No necesitamos nada de eso" seems to have such a harsh, negative feel to it. - --Mariana--, JUL 2, 2010

Ah, my bad. I didn't read that closely. We're rejecting a guy. So: "En este momento no tenemos plazas disponibles" is the proper answer. - Gekkosan, JUL 2, 2010

Answer 2

It may sound a bit like taking shortcuts, but I've just googled for both phrases, and here's what I found:

no necesitamos nada como eso - no results found

no necesitamos nada de eso - 27,800 results

I agree, I usually check google as well to see if what I came up with is actually being said, I'll take natural sounding over textbook any day, my only thought is that it might have a slightly different connotation than what I mean to imply. Gracias. - jeezzle, JUL 2, 2010

Answer 3

Hi Jeezzle.

I think that "No necesitamos nada de eso" is a bit rude (but I'm not sure why I think that). It sounds to me like "We don't need anything you've got to offer." Period.

I'm not sure why but I like "No necesitamos nada como eso" better. Maybe because it's not personal...just that we don't need anything like a waiter, busboy, etc.

As you know, I'm not a native speaker, so let's wait and see what sounds most natural to him/her.

No necesitamos nada como eso has no hits on google, and I've not heard it, but I've heard the "No necesitamos nada de eso" a lot of times on TVshows. Not sure if it's rude but I do think "No necestimos algo así" sounds better. Gracias. - jeezzle, JUL 2, 2010

Yes, I like Gekksan's answer best. :-) - --Mariana--, JUL 2, 2010

Answer 4

How about, 'no gracias, en este momento no, pero en dos o tres semanas sí es un posibilidad

You're polite and offer hope but no total commitment from your end

And btw what is a 'busabouy'?

It's how he pronounced busboy. The clear the tables and whatnot. Sounds a bit too English sounding for me. Definately prefer "ahora" to "en este momento" and "dos semanas más o menos" is certainly more on the level than 2 or 3 weeks, gracias though. - jeezzle, JUL 2, 2010

:) thanx - may'be the 'este momento' thing is Ecuadorian, I don't know why seems a bit softer or something than 'ahora' - Kiwi-Girl, JUL 2, 2010