[Translation]"She doesn't like her coffee getting cold before she drinks it"

Question

¡Hola!

I'm preparing for a presentation, but I don't know what the Spanish equivalent of "She doesn't like her coffee getting cold before she drinks it" would be. My Spanish teacher told me, "A ella no le gusta esperar a que se enfríe su café antes de beberlo", but I believe that is about the opposite. Is it correct, or is there a better way to say it?

¡Gracias! Ark9026

EDIT: Thanks everyone!

This member has requested the post to be deleted as she has the answer. - ray76, Jan 28, 2016

Ark now wants it open so that she can thank the members for their answers. - ray76, Jan 29, 2016

Good, Ray I am pleased about that lol ;) :):) - FELIZ77, Jan 29, 2016

Answer 1

Hello Ark,

Welcome to the SpanishdIct forum.

You said/asked:

¡Hola! I'm preparing for a presentation, but I don't know what the Spanish equivalent of "She doesn't like her coffee getting cold before she drinks it" would be. My Spanish teacher told me, "A ella no le gusta esperar a que se enfríe su café antes de beberlo", but I believe that is about the opposite. Is it correct, or is there a better way to say it?

Ark, I believe that the sentence your teacher gave you is completely correct ...it looks fine to me. However, it does seem to have a slightly different meaning (nuance) to the one you intendedI I will explain further down undar the heading: What you want to say!

You could also simply say, if you already know the person to whom the verb 'gustar' refers:

No le gusta esperar a que se enfrie su café antes de beberlo

The bit "a ella" clarifies to whom the action of the verb refers: she does not like etc..., and while it is correct to use it, I believe it can be omitted if it is clear from the context to whom it refers!

Your teacher's sentence means:

She does not like to wait until her coffee gets cold before she drinks it. She may not have picked up on your original, intended meaning.

What you want to say:

She does not like her coffee to get cold before she drinks it = A ella no le gusta a que su café se enfríe antes de beberlo

The verb enfriar means to cool / to chill and in your sentence it means to get cold (literally: that it gets cold)

ex: No dejes enfriar el café = Don't let your coffee go/ get cold (cool down)

Example: courtesy of Oxford English /Spanish dictionary :

I hope this helps

Corrijan mi español si es necesario, por favor

I had ask this member to make an attempt before we would answer. - rac1, Jan 28, 2016

I understand that, Rac, but the questioner had already received än accurate answer from their class teacher, which for some strange reason they had doubted! - FELIZ77, Jan 28, 2016

I wonder if the OP will return and express their gratitude. - ian-hill, Jan 28, 2016

I'm not going to hold my breath, Ian lol but 'watch this space'as they say!'The questioner might not have been expecting answers so soon after posting or they might be waiting to see the results of using their chosen advice! (Post) - FELIZ77, Jan 28, 2016

Thank you for choosing my post as best answer, Ark :) - FELIZ77, Jan 29, 2016

Answer 2

Hi Ark

I replied to your question yesterday but couldn't submit the answer as the post was closed. I had started by asking you to put your language level but I see you have done that and added some more. As you are so forthcoming can you add whether you are female or male as it can affect agreement of adjectives. Are you effectively doing a speaking test?

The sentence suggested looks fine to me. You can always say things more than one way - true linguists talk about interpreting rather than translating. Culturally there are things that do not translate.

Le gusta means it is pleasing to him, her or (formal) you the addition of A Ella shows here it is her. Enfriarse is a reflexive verb to get/become or catch cold. Here the coffee is doing the getting cold to itself. Enfriarse is subjunctive as it is a change of subject after the verb gustar (it would be the same if you used other emotion eg odiar or molestar)

Esperar a que is a neat phrase meaning wait until.

I am sure your teacher wants to encourage you to learn Spanish.

If you do not understand or are unhappy with her/his sentence why not discuss it with them? My Spanish is not sufficiently good to give a really colloquial sentence if that was what interested you, but in a presentation you should avoid very informal language.

Buena suerte

Great answer, Mardle :) - FELIZ77, Jan 28, 2016

:) have a vote amiga. - ian-hill, Jan 28, 2016

Answer 3

Here's my best guess:

A ella no le gusta que su cafe enfríe antes de que lo beba (or tome).

However, you should never, ever assume that a translation of mine is correct. Just ask Pablo.