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Thread: How to translate impersonal into English?

 
  1. #1
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    Default How to translate impersonal into English?

    Hi,
    I'm having trouble when trying to translate long impersonal Spanish sentences wich use the pronoun "se" into English.
    In the case of short sentences I would normally use the passive, for example:
    - Las herramientas se guardan en el garaje ----> Tools are kept in the garage
    - Esta información se actualiza cada día ----> This information is updated every day/on a daily basis.

    But what happens when you have long and complex impersonal sentences as are widely used in academic writings, for example:
    "Se estima la capacidad que tienen los cuatro municipios y algunos de sus equipamientos públicos para autoabastecerse de agua mediante la recolección de aguas pluviales"
    If I just put that into passive it would be something like that:
    "The capability of the four municipalities and some of their public facilities to provide themselves with water through rainwater harvesting is estimated"
    But it sounds a bit weird to me... do you know of any other way to translate sentences of this kind?

    Thanks

    BTW, I'm new to the forum. Nice to meet you

    Andreu

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    Default Re: How to translate impersonal into English?

    I might say "Self-sufficiency through rainwater collection is considered", but the construction as you have it does not sound strange to me.

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    Default Re: How to translate impersonal into English?

    Hi!

    Welcome, i'm new too, I'm native Latinamerican. I would say:
    "It's estimated the capability of the four municipalities and some of their public facilities to provide themselves with water through rainwater harvesting"

    But don't forget there are several kinds of Spanish, every region or country has its own.

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