translation of "Sí"
The following sentence is translated "my father does have four brothers." Mi padre sí que tiene cuatro hermanos. However, the sentence without the "sí" is translated as "My father who has four brothers".
First, are the translations correct? Secondly, is there a rule for using "sí".
If I say "Mi padre tiene que cuatro hermanos" it seems to translate "My father has four brothers," which means that by adding the "sí" it translates as "does".
I appreciate your help.
8 Answers
I think the best translations would be: "mi padre sí tiene cuatro hermanos" or "mi padre realmente tiene cuatro hermanos"
This "sí" is placed before the object pronouns (if any) and the verb, and it has a contrastive function, e.g. (Maybe others don't know it, but...) I DO know it (=Yo sí lo sé)
- (uso enfático)
- sí que -> really, certainly
- sí que me gusta -> I certainly do o really like it
- éste sí que me gusta -> this one I
I have seen it translated as indeed in these contexts.
My father does, indeed, have four brothers.
"My father who has four brothers" as Sabor has said, is a dependent clause. It needs something prior or after to complete the thought. In spanish, it would be the same.
Translated would be: "Mi padre, quien tiene cuatro hermanos"
In the case of your phrase, "does" has an affirmative function. In spanish, "sí" also can have an affirmative function.
"My father does have four brothers."
"Mi padre sí tiene cuatro hermanos."
In both cases, this phrase can only be a response to an inquiry.
"sí que" is for emphasis just as "does" in English and is used in this structure to indicate that someone has expressed doubt that your father has four brothers.
The translation without "sí" is correct as is the first.
"Mi padre tiene que cuatro hermanos" is incorrect; "que" must be before "tiene."
The only rule I know of for using "Sí" is that it must have an accent mark. If not, it means "If."
i think it means "yes"!!!
"My father who has four brothers" is not a sentence but a dependent clause. It needs an independent clause. "My father, who has four brothers, has no sisters." would be a complete sentence. An independent clause is the main part of a sentence. If you take out que the sentence will translate to "My father has four brothers." Sí means yes. If a question were asked you could answer Sí, mi padre tiene cuatro hermanos. But with the que you would need an independent clause, just like in English. Spanish has no do or does.
