Different use of 'Does'

Question

I'm having a real problem with translating phrases such as this:

Mike does... cocktail invention!

Mike does... alcohol free January!

Mike does... internet dating!

Would just using 'hacer' in these examples not translate the same feeling? 'Does' in this context kind of means 'gives it a go', 'attempt' or generally just means a person or company etc is doing something a little different or interesting. It's really hard to explain! But would, for example, 'Mike hace invención de cócteles' sound wrong?

Thanks for any help!

I am having trouble with the English here , "Mike does " , What ? - ray76, Jan 31, 2014

Answer 1

For me, these expressions would sound very strange translated word-for-word into Spanish because this usage in English is a little idiomatic. I would say:

Mike does alcohol free January ... Mike pasa enero sin alcohol.

Mike does internet dating ... Mike busca citas por internet.

Mike does cocktail invention (this one I don´t understand).

I think the third one is saying in a whimsical way Mike invents or creates new types of cocktails. - dennywells, Jan 31, 2014

Yes, that's about right. It's really difficult to explain that phrase but in English it just makes sense and gives a certain sense of comedy or informality - zedoee, Jan 31, 2014

Answer 2

The easy way to approch these are using ser o estar (to be)

Well the phrase "Mike does coktail invitaion" does not make too much sense. So I am going to begin with the easy one.Mike does internet dating.

I would say in situations such these find a synonym for does, a good one would be practice. Mike practice internet dating and that would be easy to translate. Mike practica citas ciberneticas.

Or use ser o estar (to be) Mike esta haciendo citas ciberneticas. If you add ser o estar (to be) to the verb, do=hacer then it becomes easy to translate.

Mike esta haciendo un Enero sin alcohol. Mike esta invitando a un cocktail

Answer 3

So basically there is no way of having one same phrase at the beginning of each one that unifies them. It's hard because these phrases are supposed to form a group of sentences that are all linked by this idea of 'does' in terms of 'has a go at'.

The others are Mike does... chili roulette! Mike does... world records! Mike does... the shot clock (I'm guessing this is just a game involving a clock and drinking shots ie chupitos)

I just can't think of how to put that nuance into words. As if your saying it with a wink. He's really good at it but, with humorous overtones. Ganoso, échale ganas, but that misses the mark. - dennywells, Jan 31, 2014

I suspect the humor comes from the "let's do it" connotation... - dennywells, Jan 31, 2014

I don't know about your sentence but, a shot clock is used in the game of basketball. The offensive team has a limited amount of time to take a shot before the clock goes off. If they have not taken one when it sounds the ball goes to the opposing team. - deedeegill72, Jan 31, 2014