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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

era la que no podía pisar firme sobre el terreno por el que caminaba

English translation: Only Eva felt as if she were standing on shaky ground

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:era la que no podía pisar firme sobre el terreno por el que caminaba
English translation:Only Eva felt as if she were standing on shaky ground
Entered by: bcsantos

15:12 Nov 5, 2016
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters / In A Novel
Spanish term or phrase: era la que no podía pisar firme sobre el terreno por el que caminaba
Contexto:

La madre de Eva se encargó de los meseros y del pastel. Eva tendría que entregar las invitaciones y confirmar con los invitados. Juan estaba más que feliz y complacido con todo. Solo Eva era la que no podía pisar firme sobre el terreno por el que caminaba.

Juan is Eva's long-time partner. They, until this point, when their son is about to receive his first communion, had been on the outs with one another, and Eva, unbeknowst to Juan, has been seeing someone else.

I was thinking of "unsteady on her feet", but I think that that may not capture the entire sense.

Gracias,

Barbara
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 14:14
Only Eva felt as if she were standing on shaky ground
Explanation:
..
Selected response from:

bcsantos
Gibraltar
Local time: 20:14
Grading comment
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +2Only Eva felt as if she were standing on shaky ground
bcsantos
4Eva was the only one who was/felt nervous
Muriel Vasconcellos
4It was only Eva who was unsure of her destiny.
James A. Walsh
4 -1Only Eva was the one that couldn't step firmly on the ground she was walking.
Jean Shearer
3felt like she was treading on thin ice
ormiston


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Only Eva felt as if she were standing on shaky ground


Explanation:
..

bcsantos
Gibraltar
Local time: 20:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 96

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  franglish
24 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Marcelo González
6 hrs
  -> Thanks!
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33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
Only Eva was the one that couldn't step firmly on the ground she was walking.


Explanation:
Another possibility.

Jean Shearer
Argentina
Local time: 15:14
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  James A. Walsh: No, sorry, this is not a possibility. Pure literal translation. It sounds awful in English. Period.
6 hrs
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6 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Eva was the only one who was/felt nervous


Explanation:
I don't think the feet-on-the-ground metaphor "stands up" (pun intended) very well in this situation.

Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
Local time: 11:14
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 199
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Solo Eva era la que no podía pisar firme sobre el terreno por el que caminaba.
It was only Eva who was unsure of her destiny.


Explanation:
I doesn't need to be as long in the English as the Spanish. And I really think you should aim to shorten it as much as possible actually, because it's really not that big a deal (the message)

James A. Walsh
Spain
Local time: 20:14
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 94
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7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
felt like she was treading on thin ice


Explanation:
The next sentence would really help ! Why is she feeling uncomfortable?

ormiston
Local time: 20:14
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 43
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