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I can't wait (to do x; for y to happen) - literal and more idiomatic translations

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Cifi

I can't wait (to do x; for y to happen) - literal and more idiomatic translations

Post by Cifi »

I'd usually understand this expressions to indicate that someone is impatient/excited about an upcoming event, wishing that it would be sooner.

Possibly in some situations it might mean someone has to leave before something happens, too. I'd probably rather use "until y happens" in that situation though, but I'm not sure if this is correct.

Duolingo sometimes translates it literally: no puedo esperar, e.g. here https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/5036 ... -everybody or here https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/4299 ... -the-party

Can the literal Spanish translation have both meaning?

On other occasions, they use

  • estar impaciente
  • esparar con ansias

And in the discussions and elsewhere I found

  • no veo la hora de
  • quiero que sea ya
  • estar ansioso por
  • morir por

Which of these would be idiomatic to express the first meaning?

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

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Fer²
Spain

Re: I can't wait (to do x; for y to happen) - literal and more idiomatic translations

Post by Fer² »

I think «No puedo esperar a» can have both meanings if followed by a clause, but would normally be understood as the first one. Maybe if you make esperar pronominal you could convey that you literally cannot wait around. The other options you suggest seem also good to me, with different nuances:

  • «Estoy ansioso/impaciente por» focuses on what you're feeling. It's quite common and unassuming.
  • «Espero con ansias/impaciencia» looks good on a semi-formal mail but it's a bit stilted for casual speech. You can turn the pedantry up a notch by using aguardo instead of espero.
  • «No veo la hora de» is very idiomatic and also quite dramatic. It's a good phrase to know and can be used to great effect. I think it may be the closest one to the English in your OP.
  • «[Me} muero por» (the pronominal version is more common here, but both are used) is even more dramatic. While you're there, you can go the over-the-top route and use «Ardo en deseos de» as well.
  • The one that puzzles me a bit is «Quiero que sea ya». Do you have an example sentence? Maybe if what follows is a moment in time, rather than a clause...

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Cifi

Re: I can't wait (to do x; for y to happen) - literal and more idiomatic translations

Post by Cifi »

Thanks a million, Fer! "Quiero que sea ya" was from here: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/4476 ... d=54329922

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

Cifi

Re: I can't wait (to do x; for y to happen) - literal and more idiomatic translations

Post by Cifi »

Fer² wrote: Tue May 24, 2022 8:02 pm

I think «No puedo esperar a» can have both meanings if followed by a clause, but would normally be understood as the first one. Maybe if you make esperar pronominal you could convey that you literally cannot wait around. The other options you suggest seem also good to me, with different nuances:

[...]

  • The one that puzzles me a bit is «Quiero que sea ya». Do you have an example sentence? Maybe if what follows is a moment in time, rather than a clause...

Well, it is not followed by the clause, rather preceeded. This was a common pattern in many example sentences, her's another one which uses estar impaciente:

https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/4470 ... can-t-wait

But does that generally change anything?

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

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