A pronoun excercise, for Spanish learners.
This was my study for the morning, in the use of pronouns and " economy "of language I cannot say I did this completely on my own though.
The intent is to express a simple story with as few words as possible and preserve the meaning,
See if you can translate this to English, understanding the characters and events that the pronouns indicate
This was written only in Spanish.
El burro y el viejo hombre.
En un camino, polvoriento y solitario, un viejo y cansado hombre jalaba con dificultad una carreta con un burro adentro. La gente pasaba con indiferencia. Una vieja se detuvo y le preguntó : ¿ Porqué carga este animal?. El dijo: porque me ha servido durante su vida. Está viejo y cansado. Lo llevo a comer y beber ahora que no puede hacerlo por sí mismo. Ella respondió: es bueno saber que aún existen personas que muestran gratitud hacia los animales que nos sirven. El viejo le sonrió y siguió su sendero. Ella también el suyo.
7 Answers
The burro & the old man
On the road, dust-covered and alone, an old and tired man was pulling with difficulty a cart with a burro inside. The people passed by with indifference. An old woman stopped him and asked him, "Why are you carrying this animal?" He said, "Because it has served me throughout its life. It's old and tired. I carry it to eat and drink now that it is not able to do so for itself." She replied, "It's good to know that people still exist who show gratitude to the animals that serve us." The old man smiled and continued on his way. She also (continued) on hers.
The Burro and the Old Man
On a dusty and lonely road, a tired old man, with difficulty, pulled a cart with a burro in it. People passed (by him) with indifference. One old woman stopped and asked him, "Why do you carry this animal?" He said, "because he has served me during his life. He is old and tired. I carry him to eat and drink now that he can't do it for himself."
She responded, "it is good to know that people still exist who show gratitude toward the animals that serve us." The old man smiled and continued on his way. She also (continued on) hers.
(Noting Stadt's comment, it does seem a bit inconsistent imagery that very many indifferent "people" would pass the old man on a dusty and lonely road. But the old man is not alone or solitary, either: He has his burro, the people passing him and eventually the old woman. Also, though I am certainly not yet comfortable enough with Spanish syntax to judge, if "dusty and solitary" apply to the old man, it almost seems a misplaced modifier. Finally, the old man is directly described as old and tired and without a dusty and lonely road, we are left without the picturesque setting you've otherwise provided. (grin)
Anyway, all that is my excuse and I'm sticking with it.
En un camino, polvoriento y solitario, un viejo y cansado hombre jalaba con dificultad una carreta con un burro adentro. La gente pasaba con indiferencia. Una vieja se detuvo y le preguntó : ¿ porqué carga este animal?. El dijo: porque me ha servido durante su vida. Está viejo y cansado. Lo llevo a comer y beber ahora que no puede hacerlo por sí mismo. Ella respondió: es bueno saber que aún existen personas que muestran gratitud hacia los animales que nos sirven. El viejo le sonrió y siguió su sendero, ella también el suyo.
On a road, dusty and alone, an old and tired man pulled a cart with a donkey inside with difficulty . The passing people didn't take a bit of notice. An old lady stopped and asked him: Why are you carrying that animal? He said to her: It has served me during his life. It is old and tired. I'm taking it to eat and drink now as it can't do it for itself. She replied: It's good to know that people who show gratitude toward animals that serve us still exist. The old man smiled and continued on his way and she too did the same.
An exhausted old man was dragging a cart with a burro within along a dusty and deserted way. What people there were passed by indifferently. At last an old woman stopped and asked, "Why are you hauling this beast of burden about?" "Lifelong he has done it for me", came the reply, "He's old and worn out. I carry him along for a change, so that he can eat and quench his thirst now that he can't manage for himself." "It's nice to know", came her reply, "that there still are folks who show thankfulness to the beasts that serve them". The old fellow smiled and continued on his way. She too--on hers.
One took the dusty and deserted with the road, which may not have been the intention, but to avoid a crowd of adjectives hung upon the old man. One then made the passersby few and far between, which, since the burro had to be hauled some distance to eat and drink, is not inconsistent with the gist.
Excellent post! Muchísimas gracias. Interestingly enough this came up in a search of "donkey pronouns in Spanish".
The Burro and the Old Man
On a dusty and solitary road, an old and tired man pulled - with great difficulty - a cart with a burro on it. People passed indifferently. An old woman stopped and asked him: Why are you pulling that animal? He replied: Because he has served me for his whole life. He is old and tired. I take him to eat and drink now that he can't do it by himself. She replied: It's good to know that people still exist that show gratitude towards the animals that serve them. The old man smiled and continued on his path, and she on hers.
This is a little "too-tooish", estás de acuerdo? Creo que ella en verdad le pensaba, este hombre ha de ser verdadamente un tonto!
The Donkey and the Old Man
On a dusty and lonely road, an old and tired man pulled with difficulty a cart with a donkey inside. People passed with indifference. An old lady stopped and asked: Why are hauling this animal. He said: because it has served me during it’s life. It is old and tired. I take it to eat and drink now that it can’t do that for itself. She responded: It is good to know that there exist people that show gratitude toward the animals that serve them. The old man smiled and continued on his path. And she continued on hers.
It is interesting that this should show up after so long, it is a good excercise and of course the sublties of the action in progress. Thanks again to all who answered
