Translation: El agente importó perfume de Francia

Question

ó"El agente importó perfume de Francia." does this translate to: "The agent imported perfume from France."

In the book I'm studying, this is how they translate from Spanish to English. But it doesn't work in any of the three translator programs on SD.

The problem is that the translator is associating the "de" with "perfume" and not "importó"- hence "French perfume" and not "imported (it) from France". "De" can mean from or of, so is sometimes ambiguous and needs to be interpreted from context. - Stadt, Jul 24, 2011

Machine translators do not do well if meaning needs to be interpreted from context. - Stadt, Jul 24, 2011

Answer 1

The translator isn't always correct, so don't rely solely on that.

The translator is best for when you are just trying to get an idea of what something says. However, don't go to the translator when trying to see if something you wrote or saw is correct or not. Just come on to the forum (with native Spanish speakers, jeje) and let them give you their opinion.

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"El agente importó perfume de Francia."

The translation your book provides is exactly what I would say.

"The agent imported perfume from France."

El agente = agent

importó = imported

perfume = perfume

de = from

Francia = France

El agente importó perfume de Francia. = The agent imported perfume from France.

Answer 2

"El agente importó perfume de Francia." can mean either "The agent imported perfume from France" or "The agent imported French perfume."

In most contexts, since French perfume is usually from France, the difference is negligible, but it can be important. It would take more context to determine which is meant. It would be possible, for example, to import French perfume from England: el agente importó de Inglaterra perfume de Francia.