Even though I teach this stuff…
Sometimes I run into Spanish that I have to read a couple of times before it clicks.
I recently came across a great example and snapped a picture of my Kindle so I could share it with you guys:
It’s from El mar de la tranquilidad — the Spanish translation of Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel.
(I try to read mostly in Spanish, even when that means not reading the original. But this one would be good in any language).
Here’s the line I’m referring to:
Cuando digo que es un trabajo peligroso, me refiero a que no querría que nadie a quien quiero lo hiciera.
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What do you think… Easy? Hard?
Before you read the translation, see if you can work out what it means.
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Here’s the translation:
When I say it’s a dangerous job, I mean I wouldn’t want anyone I love to do it.
Not such a complex sentence in English, but Spanish requires a different approach.
Let’s break it down into parts:
Then we’ll build it back up, and by the end you’ll have a clear picture of what’s going on and why.
Here’s the first part:
Cuando digo que es un trabajo peligroso,
When I say that it is a dangerous job,
So far so good — structured the same as English.
Next part:
Me refiero a que -> What I mean is that…
Notice that to refer, referirse, is reflexive:
Me refiero, te refieres, se refiere, etc.
And we add me refiero a que to introduce another idea:
– Me refiero a que no podemos salir porque está lloviendo.
- Me refiero a que no queremos ese tipo de cliente.
Alright, let’s keep moving:
no querría que nadie
I wouldn’t want for (that) anyone
This no querría (with two R’s) is conditional of querer: I wouldn’t want.
And in Spanish, we phrase it like this:
I wouldn’t want that anyone (does xyz)
No querría que nadie
Now let’s tack on the next part:
No querría que nadie a quien quiero
Have you heard of the a personal in Spanish?
When a person (or pet) is the receiver of an action, we put a before them:
It’s why we say
Veo a Papá
Not
Veo Papá
So in this phrase, we say nadie a quien quiero.
Porque queremos a una persona.
Translated literally, we could say:
No querría que nadie a quien quiero — I wouldn’t want that anyone to whom I love…
Let’s add on the final part:
no querría que nadie a quien quiero lo hiciera.
I wouldn’t want anyone I love to do it
(lit: I wouldn’t want that anyone to whom I love did it)
This might look more familiar if we remove “a quien quiero”:
No querría que lo hiciera.
This odd-looking hiciera is the imperfect subjunctive, which we need because of the querer que.
If that’s confusing, consider sentences that might look more familiar:
No quiero que lo hagas
No quiero que digas eso
No quiero que hables
Those examples are in the present: No quiero que lo hagas (I don’t want you to do it)
But our novel’s example is in the conditional: No querría que lo hicieras (I wouldn’t want you to do it)
(Here’s an article I wrote with more on the subjunctive).
Slap it all back together and we get:
Priorities and headspace
Confusing sentences like this do not make up the majority of most written (or spoken) Spanish….
And you want to focus on the majority.
Difficult passages DO make good fodder for active study — but that’s a different headspace.
If you’re trying to enjoy the story and expose your brain to lots of Spanish?
As long as you can follow the plot, keep moving.
Avoid stopping and over-analyzing.
And if you want to hear more thoughts of mine when it comes to reading, here’s a video you might like: My 3 Rules From 20 Years Of Reading In Spanish.
Buen fin de semana,
Connor
P.S. Here’s how you can learn to speak Spanish with more clarity and confidence.
