My effort at Latin

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I have already put loads of hours of research into this and made an attempt but I would like to see if anyone spots a mistake or would like to have a go at this translation. The tenses and verbs have proven really tricky.
The phrase is:
"I fight to keep what was once taken from me."
My effort is:
"Pugnabor alo qui quondan sumpserunt" which kind of means "I will fight to keep what once they took"
A more correct construction might be:
"Alo qui quondam sumpserunt pugnabor".

Any mistakes? Does anyone have a better translation to share?
Thanks

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[+3] - George - 11/10/2012[quote="Kirbynerve"] I have already put loads of hours of research into this and made an attempt but I would like to see if anyone spots a mistake or would like to have a go at this...

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@Kirbynerve,

Can you clarify the original sentence for me?

"I fight to keep what was once taken from me."

I assume you mean that something had been taken from you, you got it
back, and now you are fighting to keep it. The sentence confuses me
because at first it seems to say that you are keeping something you don't
have anymore.

1 Reply

@George,

Yes, the phrase is actually to do with being homeless. It's doesn't refer to me but someone I know. The idea is that something was once taken from you, now you have it back and with fight to keep it. The construction is a bit odd I admit but it is meant to be a bit vague and poetic. You can draw your own conclusions on that :-)

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@Kirbynerve,

Kirbynerve wrote:

I have already put loads of hours of research into this and made an attempt but I would like to see if anyone spots a mistake or would like to have a go at this translation. The tenses and verbs have proven really tricky.
The phrase is:
"I fight to keep what was once taken from me."
My effort is:
"Pugnabor alo qui quondan sumpserunt" which kind of means "I will fight to keep what once they took"
A more correct construction might be:
"Alo qui quondam sumpserunt pugnabor".

Any mistakes? Does anyone have a better translation to share?
Thanks

Use pugnabo rather than pugnabor. Pugnabor is passive ("I will be fought').
I would recommend ad plus the gerund to express purpose. Ad tenendum,
"to keep". Use the neuter for "what", quod. I'd go with adsumo
rather than sumo because it conveys not just taking, but taking away.
For "was taken" I'd use absumptum est, the passive perfect (neuter).

So here's how I'd say it:
Ad quod quondam absumptum est tenendum pugnabo.

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@George,

Thanks, that's interesting and useful.

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@George,

As a follow up question, I wonder how much of the suggested, "Ad quod quondam absumptum est tenendum pugnabo", could be removed with the phrase still keeping it's core meaning?
This is just for the purpose of being poetic, I understand that all of it will be required to convey the full meaning but, whilst streamlining might make it harder to understand, perhaps it could trip off the tounge better. I'm thinking of putting it on a plaque or poster or something for a friend of mine.

1 Reply

@Kirbynerve,

Well you could substitute the infinitive for the gerund construction and let
quod and est be understood.

Quondam absumptum tenere pugnabo.

My effort at Latin

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