Glossary entry (derived from question below)
English term or phrase:
I found a cat ...
English answer:
I met a cat
English term
I found a cat ...
| 5 +2 | I met a cat |
Donna Stevens
|
| 4 +3 | I came upon a cat. |
Allison Wright (X)
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| 3 +3 | to find someone/thing doing something |
Mark Nathan
|
| 4 +1 | I came across a cat... |
Tony M
|
Non-PRO (1): Tony M
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Responses
Norway
Experienced translator and editor
Native in: English (Variants: UK, US)
Works in: Norwegian to English, English, Norwegian (Bokmal) to English, and 1 more.
I met a cat
The princess met a cat who gave her the secret to finding the magic pot.
I came upon a cat.
Stylistic enhancement if your target text is English.
| agree |
Tony M
: Lovely, though quite stylistically prominent, wouldn't slip unnoticed into all situations!
41 mins
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| agree |
Travelin Ann
: Fits well for a fairy tale
4 hrs
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| agree |
British Diana
9 hrs
|
to find someone/thing doing something
If it was not doing anything in particular then I would go with Allison's suggestion.
| agree |
Tony M
22 mins
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| agree |
chaplin
1 hr
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| agree |
British Diana
: yes, for you would "find" an object not immediately visible
9 hrs
|
I came across a cat...
You certainly can use 'find' in the way you suggest, but it has a slight extra connotation over and above simply 'encountered', 'happened upon', 'came across' — remember there is an almost inevitable if unconscious link that may be made with the idea of finding something (that is lost / that you were looking for):
"I was walking in the forest, looking for a squirrel, and I found a cat."
"I found a cat that the owner had been frantically hunting for for three days"
Even though found can of course be used without these specific senses, I don't think they're ever going to be far from the back of people's minds; call it native-speaker 'feel' for it, if you like.
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Note added at 1 hr (2010-11-23 23:10:12 GMT)
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'woder'? I think I meant to type 'wider', only my fingers didn't agree!
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