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Il était contre.

English translation: He didn't think they should.

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
French term or phrase:Il était contre.
English translation:He didn't think they should.
Entered by: Philippa Smith

16:47 Jul 29, 2015
French to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary - Poetry & Literature
French term or phrase: Il était contre.
I am translating a novel and there is a very short sentence, which I am finding very hard to translate.

The story is written in the first person from the perspective of a young school boy. At the point he is talking about his teacher.

Here is a the sentence leading up to it in the ST:

" Un moment, il parla des erreurs et des péchés que chacun peut commettre. Il était contre. "
Later he also says "— Attention ! N'oubliez jamais ce qui va se passer. Que cela vous serve de leçon !"

The obvious meaning of 'contre' is 'against'. However, since there is no direct object following the 'contre' it is very hard to work out what "Il était contre." might mean as a stand alone phrase.

I have translated the first sentence as, "At one point, he was talking about the mistakes and sins that everyone can commit." Therefore, I thought that maybe the teacher was warning the children not to commit sins.


Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated,

Cecilia
CeciliaJW
United Kingdom
He didn't think they should.
Explanation:
There's a humorous undercurrent, "he was talking about sinning, he was against it", which gives a very particular tone to the boy's voice: funny and matter-of-fact at the same time, and also gives insight into the teacher's character (puritanical, unyielding, etc.).
To get this tone across, I suggest something like:
"... he talked about the mistakes and sins that everyone might find themselves commiting. He didn't think they should."
It would convey the ridiculous nature of the teacher's words: being against sinning when it's part of human nature.
Selected response from:

Philippa Smith
Local time: 05:15
Grading comment
Thank you! I think you really captured the protagonist's tone perfectly here.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +7He was against it/that
AbrahamS
4 +7He didn't think they should.
Philippa Smith
3 +5He didn't approve.
Jane F
3roundly condemning them//making no bones of his feelings on the subject
polyglot45
3he disagreed
MAHESH K


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


3 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +7
He was against it/that


Explanation:
This is a very common turn in French. Saying "Je suis contre" just means "I am against [whatever was talked about before]".

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2015-07-29 16:53:47 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

See link below, under heading "adverbe":
http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/translate/french-english/c...

AbrahamS
United Kingdom
Local time: 04:15
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in FrenchFrench

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  B D Finch
9 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  patrickfor: Usage normal pas une tournure.
14 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  audetraduction
15 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  philgoddard: Philippa's idea is good too, but you were first.
32 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Chakib Roula
54 mins
agree  kashew
1 hr
neutral  writeaway: As asker states, this is the obvious answer. so imo she is clearly looking for something else
1 hr
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
15 hrs
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19 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +7
He didn't think they should.


Explanation:
There's a humorous undercurrent, "he was talking about sinning, he was against it", which gives a very particular tone to the boy's voice: funny and matter-of-fact at the same time, and also gives insight into the teacher's character (puritanical, unyielding, etc.).
To get this tone across, I suggest something like:
"... he talked about the mistakes and sins that everyone might find themselves commiting. He didn't think they should."
It would convey the ridiculous nature of the teacher's words: being against sinning when it's part of human nature.

Philippa Smith
Local time: 05:15
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 48
Grading comment
Thank you! I think you really captured the protagonist's tone perfectly here.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  mill2: Very well solved!
2 mins
  -> Thank you!
agree  Charles Davis: I like this
14 mins
  -> Thanks Charles!
agree  writeaway: word for word literal isn't always the way to go
1 hr
  -> Definitely not in literature. Ta!
agree  Lisa Jane
1 hr
  -> Thanks a lot!
agree  Simon Charass: I like this.
5 hrs
  -> Thanks Simon!
agree  Sheri P
6 hrs
  -> Thanks Sheri!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher
15 hrs
  -> Thanks a lot!
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
roundly condemning them//making no bones of his feelings on the subject


Explanation:
I rather think that in English the sentences would be grouped together as one

On one occasion he talked of the sorts of mistakes and sins people may commit, roundly condemning their perpetrators

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2015-07-29 18:05:17 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

not hiding his disapproval

polyglot45
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in FrenchFrench
PRO pts in category: 52

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Philippa Smith: Since we're told the narrative voice is a young boy, I think this would be the wrong sort of language, too formal (tho' it's possible the author has used an 'older' more formal voice generally, it's a tricky issue when using the first person).
16 hrs
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1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +5
He didn't approve.


Explanation:
Just an alternative suggestion.


    Reference: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/approve
Jane F
France
Local time: 05:15
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Charles Davis: This is nice too
38 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Michele Fauble
58 mins
  -> Thanks!
agree  Sheri P
5 hrs
agree  Fanny Gendrau
12 hrs
agree  Simon Mac
13 hrs
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18 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
he disagreed


Explanation:
in the context this seems to be the sense.

MAHESH K
India
Local time: 08:45
Native speaker of: Native in TamilTamil
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