Throught the trip the motorcycle break

Question

Hi, I'm trying to translate: ''Through the trip the motorcycle breaks''. Is this translated right:

A traves del viaje la motocicleta esta roto

Thanks in Advance!

Welcome to the forum , we want to help you so fill out your profile If you have a problem PM a mod Bienvenido al foro. Queremos ayudarle, entonces hay que llenar su perfil. Si hay un problema, envíe un mensaje personal (PM) - ray76, Mar 4, 2016

The English is all wrong , please tell us what your main language is and the level that you are at . - ray76, Mar 4, 2016

Answer 1

I'd say "Duranteel viaje, se rompe la motocicleta".

Why the difference?

"A través de" does mean "through", but I've never heard it used with time. I've heard "a través del espejo" ("through the looking glass"), but here "espejo (mirror)" is a concrete physical object.

Instead with time, I'd use "durante" or "por". (Both are used, but some regions and people use one more than the other).

"Está roto" means "is broken" (as in "the motorcycle is broken"). For example, for "Today my bike's broken" you'd say "Hoy mi bici está roto". Instead, If you want to say "breaks", you use the verb "romperse". So "The bike breaks" is "Se rompe la bicicleta".

If you're wondering why I put the verb ("se rompe") in front of the subject ("la motocicleta"), it comes down to emphasis. If you want to say "My motorcycle!! It broke!!" (so emphasizing the motorcycle), you put "la motocicleta" in front of "se rompe". If you want to say "It broke!!! My motorcycle broke!" (so emphasizing the act of breaking), you put "se rompe" in fromt of "la motocicleta".

Answer 2

Durante el viaje la moto se descompuso varias veces.

During the trip the motorcycle broke down a few times. (This is a better English sentence which makes the Spanish easier to deal with.)

I suspect from your user name and your grammar that English may not be your main language.

Therefore we at SD would appreciate it very much if you could tell us about yourself your gender, how well you know Spanish if at all.

In a short biography you could tell us where you're from and what your main language is. You can do all this by filling out your profile.

Click on my name and see how I did mine. You don't have to do your bio in Spanish; English is fine.

Would "se rompió" also work for "broke down", or does it carry a totally different connotation? - HackerKing, Mar 3, 2016

To say that a motorized vehicle broke down we use "descomponerse" Romperse has to do with breaking something else--like a bone. Raúl se rompió la pierna. Raul broke his leg. - Daniela2041, Mar 3, 2016

Answer 3

Welcome to the forum. Can you add your level of English and Spanish to your profile? It helps with questions and answers.

Your English sentence is not clear to me.

it could be: Throughout the trip the motorcycle kept breaking down. During the trip the motorcycle broke down

The first sentence suggests you were able to repair it each time and continue on.

The second one it broke down once only and we cannot tell if you borrowed another bike or if you were able to repair it.

Although I have used throughout for the first sentence you could use during but in the second sentence during is better than throughout.