Glossary entry (derived from question below)
French term or phrase:
lui ne faisait que regarder.
English translation:
he could only look on.
- The asker opted for community grading. The question was closed on 2019-01-08 15:54:07 based on peer agreement (or, if there were too few peer comments, asker preference.)
Jan 4, 2019 23:36
5 yrs ago
1 viewer *
French term
lui ne faisait que regarder.
Non-PRO
French to English
Art/Literary
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Oscar hurlait qu’elles étaient entrées par effraction dans ses rêves, lui ne faisait que regarder. Il n’y eut rien à faire.
It's in a nightmare. He's talking to the giant bees (sic!)
It's in a nightmare. He's talking to the giant bees (sic!)
Proposed translations
(English)
| 3 +4 | he could only look on. |
Anita Planchon
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| 3 +3 | and all he did was look |
Barbara Cochran, MFA
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| 3 +1 | he was only watching |
Tony M
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| 4 | he had only been looking (at them). |
Trevino Translations (X)
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| 4 | He could do nothing but look |
LINDA PETRONILLE NGONGANG TCHATCHOUA
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Proposed translations
+4
11 hrs
Anita Planchon
Australia
Australia
Native in English
Specializes in field
Australia
Words Tasmania
Native in: English (Variants: British, Australian, New Zealand, UK) 
Works in: French to English, Creoles & Pidgins (English-based Other) to English, English to Creoles & Pidgins (English-based Other), and 1 more.
Selected
he could only look on.
Very similar to the sense of the other answers offered, but I think this is a turn of phrase which best suits the mood of the short para you have given us. A more literary expression...
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
+3
16 mins
Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Laudable Lady Linguist
Native in: English 
Works in: Spanish to English, French to English, English to Spanish, and 3 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
16
and all he did was look
Another possibility.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Nicole Acher
: Agree - I posted mine without realizing you had entered this.
9 mins
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Merci, Nicole.
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| agree |
Katarina Peters
4 hrs
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Thank you, Katarina.
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| agree |
Ana Vozone
8 hrs
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Thank you, Ana.
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| agree |
B D Finch
: With "he" in bold/underlined, if possible.
11 hrs
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Thank you, B D.
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| disagree |
Tony M
: IMHO, this fails to convey the notion of 'powerlessness', but rather suggests some voluntary inactivity when 'he' might have done something; I don't believe that is the way to take it in this instance, and Asker seems to confirm.
18 hrs
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+1
7 hrs
French term (edited):
lui ne faisait que regarder.
he was only watching
It all depends on the surrounding context, which way to take this.
If, as seems possible, 'he' is in some way trying to deflect the blame for something from himself, then this slightly stronger version using 'only' (or 'merely', if it fits better) could be more appropriate. We'd need to see what precedes this, and possibly what follows it, in order to properly understand the situation in which it is being said.
If, as seems possible, 'he' is in some way trying to deflect the blame for something from himself, then this slightly stronger version using 'only' (or 'merely', if it fits better) could be more appropriate. We'd need to see what precedes this, and possibly what follows it, in order to properly understand the situation in which it is being said.
Note from asker:
| you caught the idea! |
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
writeaway
: watch is a possibility but don't agree with a literal translation of the verb tense.
4 hrs
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I don't think we have enough context to know what is really required here. It is probably more dangerous to change the sequence of tenses without the necessary information to back it up.
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| agree |
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
: The ntaural verb choices here are "to watch" or "to look on". Howabout "He was only watching".
1 day 8 hrs
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Thanks, Nikki! Quite! But of course it does depend on the wider context... I think that's what I said, didn't I? Though some people are criticising our choise of the 'past continuous' tense, as used in the FR. Perso, I think it fits just fine here.
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8 hrs
he had only been looking (at them).
The verb tenses bother me here. I would translate the first part of the sentence like this:
Oscar was screaming that they had crashed (broken into) his dreams,
So the second part would be:
he had only been looking (at them).
Oscar was screaming that they had crashed (broken into) his dreams,
So the second part would be:
he had only been looking (at them).
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
writeaway
: don't agree the verb tense. imo as so often, the French verb tense doesn't really translate literally into English
5 hrs
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9 hrs
LINDA PETRONILLE NGONGANG TCHATCHOUA
Cameroon
Cameroon
Native in French
Works in field
Cameroon
LINDA PETRONILLE NGONGANG TCHATCHOUA
5 years, legal and technical translation
Native in: French
Works in: English to French, French to English, German to French, and 1 more.
He could do nothing but look
I used "could" to highlight the fact that, he did not have the possibility to do anything in his situation. the next sentence "Il n'y eut rien à faire." clearly explains it.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Victoria Britten
: I like the "could", reinforcing the idea of his powerlessness, but "nothing" is a bit strong in relation to the original, imo
3 hrs
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| neutral |
Tony M
: I agree with VB's comment; and in the way you are seeking to use it here, 'look on' (i.e. as a helpless spectator) would probably be better.
4 hrs
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