Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Spanish term or phrase:
Se dice que Nelson era mejor marinero que Drake
English translation:
they say that Nelson was a better seafarer than Drake
Added to glossary by
swisstell
Apr 30, 2003 14:46
21 yrs ago
Spanish term
Beatriz
Se dice que Nelson era mejor marinero que Drake
Non-PRO
Spanish to English
Other
Impersonal Passive
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +1 | they say that Nelson was the better seafarer than Drake |
swisstell
|
| 5 +1 | "They say..." |
Eva Malkki
|
| 5 | Nelson is said to have been a better sailor than Drake |
Guiri
|
Proposed translations
+1
3 mins
Selected
they say that Nelson was the better seafarer than Drake
seafarer or navigator although I prefer the former as a more general classification of that time
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
+1
2 mins
Eva Malkki
Finland
Finland
Native in English
Finland
Native in: English 
, Finnish
Works in: Finnish to English, Swedish to English, Spanish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
"They say..."
The impersonal passive is almost always translated like this. So "they say Nelson was a better sailor than Drake". You *could* say "it is said that..." but that sounds clumsy, especially in a modern text.
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Note added at 2003-04-30 14:54:28 (GMT)
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As below, seafarer is better than sailor - I just typed it in without thinking as I was focusing on the grammar...
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Note added at 2003-04-30 14:54:28 (GMT)
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As below, seafarer is better than sailor - I just typed it in without thinking as I was focusing on the grammar...
2 hrs
Nelson is said to have been a better sailor than Drake
Is probably a more literary style. I think in this case, sailor is more appropriate than seafarer: there are about 40 times more google refernces to Nelson sailor than Nelson seafarer
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