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Translate gerund from german11/27/2023 ![]() ![]() ing" in English you almost always have to rephrase. You're right in that English uses the -ing form much more often than German uses the -nd form. Is there anything beyond my own instinct as to what sounds wrong that can guide me here? Sich mit einem Stuhl und der Schnitzerei um der Tür herum stützend, kommst du geschickt zum Fenster an.īut I get this sense that this is wrong, and that I would have to instead say something which changes the sense of the text slightly, likeĭu stützt dich mit einem Stuhl und der Schnitzerei um der Tür herum, um geschickt zum Fenster anzukommen. If I translate the -ing form of the verb into the participle in German it would be something like Using a chair and the carvings around the door for support, you deftly make your way up to the window. das eine trinkt Wasser und das andere knabbert träge auf einigen Blätter. These actions all happen at the same time, but I believe this is not proper style in German, so I need to change it to something like this: Zwei gut aussehende Pferde stehen am Waldrand, das eine Wasser trinkend und das andere träge auf einigen Blätter knabbernd. Two fine-looking horses stand at the edge of the forest, one drinking water and the other idly nibbling some leaves. Are there any clear rules beyond that for when it should or should not be used?įor example, in English I might have a sentence like Lingolia ( ) says it can be used in various cases for "simultaneous actions or actions that are in progress at or around the moment of speaking," but this is a broad category and it seems to me it would not be appropriate to use a participle in every such case. If I understand correctly, in German the present participle (-nd form of a verb) is used much less often than we might use the gerund in English. I am translating a video game into German and I have many lines which in English use the gerund (-ing form) of a verb.
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