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  2. Dutch to English
  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Wij zouden hebben willen durven blijven staan kijken

English translation: if only we had had the nerve to remain on the spot and watch

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:wij zouden hebben willen durven blijven staan kijken
English translation:if only we had had the nerve to remain on the spot and watch
Entered by: Barend van Zadelhoff

00:33 Feb 5, 2014
    The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2014-02-08 11:54:10 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)


Dutch to English translations [Non-PRO]
Social Sciences - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Dutch term or phrase: Wij zouden hebben willen durven blijven staan kijken
In een getuigeverslag van een misdrijf.
Hans Geluk
Spain
Local time: 13:21
if only we had had the nerve to remain on the spot and watch
Explanation:
we regret we did not have the nerve ...

poging

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2014-02-05 01:06:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'remain on the spot' - omdat ze zich kennelijk uit de voeten hebben gemaakt

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2014-02-05 01:09:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

en uiteraard ook vanwege 'blijven staan'
Selected response from:

Barend van Zadelhoff
Netherlands
Local time: 13:21
Grading comment
For the moment the most voted - but you guys decide.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +4if only we had had the nerve to remain on the spot and watch
Barend van Zadelhoff
5 +2We would have liked to have had the nerve to stay and watch
Richard Purdom
4We would have wanted to dare to stand there looking on
Textpertise
4We should have had the guts to stay and/to watch
Peter Simon
Summary of reference entries provided
English, the simplest of all languages
writeaway

Discussion entries: 11





  

Answers


17 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
We would have wanted to dare to stand there looking on


Explanation:
Or rubbernecking, or gawping - depending on how informal you dare to be with your translation.
Or, considering that we are speaking of a crime and depending on whether you think they really mean this, you could say: We would have wanted to be brave enough to stand there looking on.


Textpertise
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:21
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 39
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
if only we had had the nerve to remain on the spot and watch


Explanation:
we regret we did not have the nerve ...

poging

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 33 mins (2014-02-05 01:06:53 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

'remain on the spot' - omdat ze zich kennelijk uit de voeten hebben gemaakt

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 35 mins (2014-02-05 01:09:23 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

en uiteraard ook vanwege 'blijven staan'

Barend van Zadelhoff
Netherlands
Local time: 13:21
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 89
Grading comment
For the moment the most voted - but you guys decide.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): 'Have the nerve' is much better than 'dare'.
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Tina. To my way of thinking/feeling as well. It's difficult to explain, but I feel something positive - courage and confidence - is required in this sentence and context.
agree  Tineke Van Beukering: Or just: if only we had had the nerve to stay and watch. Agree also with Tina
1 hr
  -> Thank you, Tineke. Yes, I think simply 'stay' would do as well.
agree  Michael Beijer: (see, I do agree with you, occasionally;) / although if it is about vandals, I think 'dare' would work just fine too
8 hrs
  -> Thank you, Michael. Greatly appreciated!
agree  Textpertise: Yup, agree with the others.
11 hrs
  -> Thank you very much, Textpertise.
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
We would have liked to have had the nerve to stay and watch


Explanation:
ENG

Richard Purdom
Portugal
Local time: 12:21
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Marjolein Snippe
2 hrs
agree  Kirsten Bodart
3 hrs
neutral  Barend van Zadelhoff: Deze verwoording - 'would have liked' - impliceert dat ze iets leuks gemist zouden hebben. Niet direct mijn interpretatie. "We zouden graag hebben gewild dat we de 'nerve' zouden hebben gehad om ..." Wat betekent dat 'ENG'?
8 hrs
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8 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
We should have had the guts to stay and/to watch


Explanation:
For the sake of enjoying the variations in English ;) I wouldn't exclude the possibility of using 'ought to' either, though not being a born Englishman, I couldn't precisely put my finger on the difference with the first person.

Peter Simon
Netherlands
Local time: 13:21
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in HungarianHungarian
PRO pts in category: 5

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  sindy cremer: "not a born Englishman" ... then why do you claim to be a native speaker of English? FYI: there is a difference between 'bilingual' and 'native'. And yes, I do question them too. And many others with me. You are NOT a native speaker of English.
50 days
  -> There are various ways of becoming a multiple native-level speaker, I have journeyed one. Are you asking all other people with multiple native languages too? Without multiple terminology, I am one, and accepted by various communities.
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Reference comments


9 hrs
Reference: English, the simplest of all languages

Reference information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_modal_verbs

writeaway
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 34
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