Translation Question German-English

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Jetzt standen sie müde und hungrig oben auf den Klippen und tranken Tee aus einer Thermosflasche. Sie sahen zu, wie die Fähre langsam in den Hafen einlief.
=> Now they stood tiredly and hungrily on the top of the cliffs drinking tee from a thermos flask. They watched the ferry entering the harbor slowly.
Or: Now they were standing tiredly and hungrily on the top of the cliffs and drinking tee... ?

Als sie zum Restaurant gingen, sagte Kristine, "Geh ...". Klaus zögerte einen Augenblick.
=>When they were going to the restaurant, Kristina said,"...." Klaus was hesitating for a moment.
Or:.... Klaus hesitated for a moment. ?

Willen tut nur das, was man ihm sagt.
=> Willen is only doing what he is being told ?

Er ist genau das, was wir brauchen.
=>He is exact who we need ?

Er hatte ihr aufmerksam zugehört, als sie ihm letzte Woche erklärte, dass der Vertrag ihre Idee sei und nicht die von Willem.
=>He had listened to her attentively, when she explained to him last week the contract was her idea not Willem's ?
Or: ....the week before... ?

Kristina war schon eine halbe Stunde Weg.
=> Kristina was a half hour away?

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Jetzt standen sie.... - Now they stood .... is correct
(Praeteritum)(simple past tense)

Klaus zoegerte... - Klaus hesitated - is correct
(Praeteritum) (simple past tense)

Willen tut nur das, was man ihm sagt.
=> Willen is only doing what he is being told ?
or Willem is doing what he is being told only.

Er ist genau das, was wir brauchen.
He is exact who we need ? -
=> I'd say: He is exactly what we need.

>He had listened to her attentively, when she explained to him last week the contract was her idea not Willem's ?
Or: ....the week before... ?
=> last week is correct.

Kristina war schon eine halbe Stunde Weg.
Kristina was a half hour away? (implies she'll be here in half hour)
=> Kristina was already gone for half hour. (implies she's
gone for that length of time)

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Bravo, CJ! This may be nit-picking but my feeling is that in the third example, it would be closer to the original German meaning to say in English, 'Willen is doing only what he is being told.' The implication in the original German, as I read it, is that he is doing no more than what he was told. Thus the modifier should come after the verb. Or am I misreading the German? It isn't my native tongue.

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Your German must be good though Merry Andrew Smile

Well, I was stuck on that one that's why I chose both
version.

If Willem is stubborn and does what he's told only,
then he's not doing anything else.

Or Willem is so well behaved that he does only what
he's being told.

Most likely, your right though. In my mind I put my
daughter's name there and she's stubborn as hell and
would do as being told only. Mr. Green

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Thanks, Calam. My German is passable but it was a lot better when I was a kid, living in Bavaria. I lost most of it after moving to the States at the age of 11 because we never spoke it at home. I've been told that I speak it with no accent whatever. However, my vocabulary is extremely limited and I tend to mangle the grammar sometimes.

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[/QUOTE] Kristina war schon eine halbe Stunde Weg.
=> Kristina was a half hour away?[/QUOTE]
I'd say; Kristina's been gone for half an hour.
or; Kristina left half an hour ago.
Prolly the latter. german everyday language, I speak it every day, gotta ask my wife though!

[/QUOTE]Willen tut nur das, was man ihm sagt.
=> Willen is only doing what he is being told ?
or Willem is doing what he is being told only.

Quote:

Willen just does what you tell him.
Why? Because the sentence implies that Willen is a stubborn guy that will only do what you tell him to do.
I'm not a native german nor english speaker, nor am I good in grammar, but this sounds sensible to me.

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bigdice67 wrote:

Kristina war schon eine halbe Stunde Weg.
=> Kristina was a half hour away?[/QUOTE]
I'd say; Kristina's been gone for half an hour.
or; Kristina left half an hour ago.
Prolly the latter. german everyday language, I speak it every day, gotta ask my wife though!

I'm afaid present perfect tense is wrong. According to the context, it happened in the past time. So any present tense can not be turned out suddenly. And "Kristina left half an hour ago", this translation doesn't stick to the German text. It would be "Vor eine halbe Stunde ging Kristina weg."

[/QUOTE]Willen tut nur das, was man ihm sagt.
=> Willen is only doing what he is being told ?
or Willem is doing what he is being told only.

Quote:

Willen just does what you tell him.
Why? Because the sentence implies that Willen is a stubborn guy that will only do what you tell him to do.
I'm not a native german nor english speaker, nor am I good in grammar, but this sounds sensible to me.

Yes, you might be right. That's why I've been confusing about. If Willem is a stubborn guy, then it indicates "stubborn" is his personality or character. So simple present tense is fine here. "Willem does only what you tell him." But if "stubborn" is just a temporal character, then simple present progressive form should be used here. Anyway, I'm going to ask my lecturer all those questions.

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CalamityJane wrote:

Klaus zoegerte... - Klaus hesitated - is correct
(Praeteritum) (simple past tense)

Er ist genau das, was wir brauchen.
He is exact who we need ? -
=> I'd say: He is exactly what we need.

Kristina war schon eine halbe Stunde Weg.
Kristina was a half hour away? (implies she'll be here in half hour)
=> Kristina was already gone for half hour. (implies she's
gone for that length of time)

Is German Präteritum equivalent to English simple past tense?
An opposite example is:
Mutter schien sich über den schönen Ausblick zu freuen -- oder tat sie nur so?=> Mother seemed to be happy with the beautiful view -- Or was she just pretending? Here, my lecturer marked simple past form "did she just pretend?" as mistake.

"He is exactly what we need". Can "what" be used as a relative pronoun instead of the person who? I think "what" can only be instead of the thing that, right? Though your sentence sounds absolutely correct. But neither German nor English is my mother tongue, so I have to translate the text sticking to the grammar rules not my feeling and also know why they are being translated in that way.

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Quote:

Is German Präteritum equivalent to English simple past tense?

Yes it is!

Quote:

An opposite example is:
Mutter schien sich über den schönen Ausblick zu freuen -- oder tat sie nur so?=> Mother seemed to be happy with the beautiful view -- Or was she just pretending? Here, my lecturer marked simple past form "did she just pretend?" as mistake.

Both sentences (in German) are simple past tense, and so
should be the translation thereof I don't know why your instructor would consider this a mistake.

Quote:

"He is exactly what we need". Can "what" be used as a relative pronoun instead of the person who? I think "what" can only be instead of the thing that, right? Though your sentence sounds absolutely correct. But neither German nor English is my mother tongue, so I have to translate the text sticking to the grammar rules not my feeling and also know why they are being translated in that way.

Yes, you're able to use "what" since it does make reference to the identity of a person (he). "who" is used in a more interrogative manner. (find out who he is).

That is my interpretation, but I'm not completely sure sisi.
I hated grammar in German and English

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sisi, I think your instructor is nit-picking in that 'tat sie nur so' translation. The instructor may be correct in insisting on the more litteral translation, but, as CJ has said, idiomatically either translation is fine. Some instructors will get awfully frustrated if they can't find a single mistake to correct and will pounce on just about anything.

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You're right Merry!
I'm afraid German instructors are like that - pingelig Wink

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Merry Andrew wrote:

sisi, I think your instructor is nit-picking in that 'tat sie nur so' translation. The instructor may be correct in insisting on the more litteral translation, but, as CJ has said, idiomatically either translation is fine. Some instructors will get awfully frustrated if they can't find a single mistake to correct and will pounce on just about anything.

Thanks for the help, C.J. and M.A. Very Happy

. Well, my instructor, a Brit, is nit-picking, esp. since he has been living in Germany. However, he can be right somehow. You both agreed that German Praeteritum is equivalent to English simple past. But there is no progressive aspect in German Grammar, so if that equivalence is 100% correct, then what kind of German sentence can be translated with English progressive aspect? So I suppose, German use the complete aspect in simple present, simple past, pre-past,and present perfect, but with the progessive aspect meaning, which can be indicated by some adverbial. However, I can not think in the same way as the German native speakers. I have been discussing the same question with my classmates. Hopefully, can figure everything out. Confused

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