how to use "sino"

Question

From Pablo Neruda:

"Pero no amo tus pies sino porque anduvieron sobre la tierra..."

Translation I have (The Captain's Verses translated by Donald D. Welch) says

"But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth..."

I have run into this difficulty elsewhere in reading. Why does this NOT translate

" But I don't love your feet just because they walked upon the earth"?

¡¡Thanks/Gracias!!

Answer 1

...but because...

Answer 2

"Pero no amo tus pies sino porque anduvieron sobre la tierra..."

"But I don't love your feet just because they walked upon the earth"?

The "just because" part is incorrect, because he loves her feet ONLY because they walked upon the earth. The combination "sino porque" means "only because"

A way to interpret that "sino" is this:

ClauseA sino porque ClauseB.

The only reason for ClauseA to happen is ClauseB, not X or Y, but only Clause B.

-cae- I am still a little confused. Doesn't the "no" at the beginning of the sentece make the entire sentence mean: I don't love your feet only because they have walked on the earth.? Is the poet saying there's an unnamed reason he loves the feet? - Esteban3304, Dec 19, 2013

No, the poet is saying that he loves her feet only because of that, only because they walked on the earth he loves them - -cae-, Dec 19, 2013

Answer 3

Spanish is full of double negatives. It's as Cae says .

annierats, your point is well taken. I never got my follow-up question answered -Would it have the same meaning if "no" was left out, as follows: "Pero amo tus pies sino porque anduvieron sobre la tierra...." - hharmony, Sep 7, 2014

Answer 4

I always translated "sino" as "rather", and I think it could make sense with the rest of the poem:

"When I can not look at your face I look at your feet.

Your feet of arched bone, your hard little feet.

I know that they support you, and that your gentle weight rises upon them.

Your waist and your breasts, the doubled purple of your nipples, the sockets of your eyes that have just flown away, your wide fruit mouth, your red tresses, my little tower.

But I love your feet rather because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me."

Answer 5

Would it have the same meaning if "no" was left out, as follows:

"Pero amo tus pies sino porque anduvieron sobre la tierra...."

hharmony, I am still puzzled about how the "no" functions in the sentence, so this is a good question. See my comment in -cae-' answer. - Esteban3304, Dec 19, 2013

Answer 6

I made a suggestion that I hoped would be taken into consideration, and now I am thinking that wasn't good.

You people are telling me that:

"But I love your feet except (but) because they walked upon the earth..."

Is not understandable at all. in fact, is bad English outright?