How would I translate this sentence?

Question

I'd like to say something along the lines of

'although she really wanted to have a child, she couldn't have one despite being pregnant twice'.

So far I've got:

'aunque quería tener un hijo tanto, no pudo tener uno a pesar de estar embarazada dos veces'

Would that be correct? for 'have one' would it be 'tener uno' or 'tenerlo' or something else, also is 'tanto' used correctly there?

Thanks

Aunque ella quería realmente tener un hijo, no pudo tener uno a pesar de haber quedado embarazada dos veces. - polenta1, Apr 19, 2017

tenerlo would be have it or him or her. Tener uno is have one. We use much more "quedar embarazada" though "estar" could be too. As for "tanto" it would be "so much" and not really - polenta1, Apr 19, 2017

Polenta: I guess I've seen hacerlo frequently with this meaning referring to a prior entire thought...but not OK with as tenerlo? - DilKen, Apr 19, 2017

In terms of "so much" and "really" in common American usage these are completely synonymous in this usage. - DilKen, Apr 19, 2017

Tener el perro.= tenerlo but tener un perro= tener uno. It's the same as in English. You use "it" or "lo" if it's definite (the) and "uno" if it's indefinite. (a or an) - polenta1, Apr 20, 2017

Answer 1

Another option: Aunque tenía muchas ganas de tener un hijo, no lo pudo hacer a pesar de que estuvo embarazada dos veces.

:) - Daniela2041, Apr 19, 2017

Answer 2

Here is my best guess. I'm still learning, so I could be wrong.

Aunque quería tanto tener un hijo, no pudo tenerlo a pesar de estar embarazada dos veces.

I have some doubts about pudo vs podía. Although being pregnant two times makes you think the pudo might be correct (a countable number of times she tried and failed) I think podía might be better, because she probably tried to get pregnant many more times than just the two times she succeeded. My best guess is that either would be OK here with some slight change in meaning. Maybe "pudo" stresses the failure of the situation and would be most appropriate if we would talking of a women who never did have children. Podía might be more appropriate she had one later on or she is still hopeful. I'm as curious as you about a native speakers thoughts on this.

Also, I think "uno" would be OK, but the "lo" is almost definitely acceptable as it refers to the entire preceding concept "quería tener un hijo"

I think that pudo would mean you insist one the definite fact she never could. And podía would emphasize on the repetition on this fact. - polenta1, Apr 19, 2017

Polenta: so, fairly similar to what I thought, :) - DilKen, Apr 19, 2017