2 questions concerning "deliberadamente tarde" and "hacen".

Question

Context: Los radares de control de velocidad son bastante malos malas. ¡Incluso si salgo de temprano son deliberadamente me haciendo llegar tarde al trabajo!

Speed traps are bad enough. Even if I leave early they are deliberately making me late for work!

Correction: "me hacen llegar deliberadamente tarde al trabajo"

I'm not quite sure why it's better in Spanish to have "deliberately late" - "deliberadamente tarda tarde" versus "deliberately making me late". Any more feedback?

Also, I know "hacen" is "they make", but again I don't know enough Spanish structure as to why "making" - haciendo is not the best choice? Does "hacen" also translate to "they are making"?

I do this not as a challenge but to learn and I know the correctors are very busy and also it's nice if others can learn from my mistakes.

Answer 1

Hi! Let's see..."deliberadamente me hacen llegar tarde". "Me hacen llegar tarde deliberadamente". "Me estan haciendo llegar tarde deliberadamente". Make your choice, it's ok!

Answer 2

I think this whole sentence was beyond my abilities, so I'll just "accept" the corrections and maybe, in time, as I keep progressing I'll understand the why's a little better!

Answer 3

I'm not quite sure why it's better in Spanish to have "deliberately late" - "deliberadamente tarda" versus "deliberately making me late". Any more feedback?

I don't think I understand the question. It should be "tarde", not "tarda", since adverbs never change. The word "deliberadamente" modifies the verb, as you could rewrite the sentence as "me hacen llegar tarde al trabajo deliberadamente".

Also, I know "hacen" is "they make", but again I don't know enough Spanish structure as to why "making" - haciendo is not the best choice? Does "hacen" also translate to "they are making"?

The original sentence had many problems. For starters, progressive tenses are made with "estar", not "ser", so that "son deliberadamente" is wrong; besides, in Spanish we don't use progressive tenses unless there is a progression, and here there is none. Also, with "gerundios" like haciendo you cannot put object pronouns like "me" right before them; there are rules for their placement.

Gusto verte de nuevo - 005faa61, Jun 27, 2011

Answer 4

Bandit, if you don´t like that wording, you can always say "me hacen llegar tarde al trabajo a propósito."

PS: But these guys really want you to go over the speed limit. Their concern is not about "safety," but about collecting revenue for the state.