Sense and Sensibility — Page 5
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Certainly not; but if you observe, people always live for ever when there is an annuity to be paid them; and she is very stout and healthy, and hardly forty.
Gewiss nicht; aber wenn Sie beobachten, leben die Menschen immer ewig, wenn ihnen eine Rente zu zahlen ist; und sie ist sehr kräftig und gesund und kaum vierzig.
An annuity is a very serious business; it comes over and over every year, and there is no getting rid of it.
Eine Rente ist eine sehr ernste Angelegenheit; sie kommt Jahr für Jahr immer wieder, und man kann sie nicht loswerden.
You are not aware of what you are doing.
Sie wissen nicht, was Sie tun.
I have known a great deal of the trouble of annuities; for my mother was clogged with the payment of three to old superannuated servants by my father's will, and it is amazing how disagreeable she found it.
Ich habe viel von den Unannehmlichkeiten der Renten erfahren; denn meine Mutter war durch die Zahlung von drei Renten an alte, pensionierte Diener aufgrund des Testaments meines Vaters belastet, und es ist erstaunlich, wie unangenehm sie das fand.
Twice every year these annuities were to be paid; and then there was the trouble of getting it to them; and then one of them was said to have died, and afterwards it turned out to be no such thing.
Zweimal im Jahr mussten diese Renten gezahlt werden; und dann gab es die Mühe, sie zu übermitteln; und dann hieß es, einer von ihnen sei gestorben, und danach stellte sich heraus, dass dem nicht so war.
My mother was quite sick of it.
Meine Mutter hatte es gründlich satt.
Her income was not her own, she said, with such perpetual claims on it; and it was the more unkind in my father, because, otherwise, the money would have been entirely at my mother's disposal, without any restriction whatever.
Ihr Einkommen gehöre ihr nicht wirklich, sagte sie, bei solch ständigen Ansprüchen darauf; und es war umso rücksichtsloser von meinem Vater, weil das Geld andernfalls vollständig meiner Mutter zur Verfügung gestanden hätte, ohne jegliche Einschränkung.
It has given me such an abhorrence of annuities, that I am sure I would not pin myself down to the payment of one for all the world."
Es hat mir eine solche Abscheu vor Renten eingeflößt, dass ich mir sicher bin, mich um nichts in der Welt zur Zahlung einer solchen verpflichten zu wollen."
One's fortune, as your mother justly says, is _not_ one's own.
Das eigene Vermögen, wie Ihre Mutter zu Recht sagt, gehört einem _nicht_ wirklich selbst.
Vocabulary
- Gewiss
- Certainly; sure or assured
- nicht
- Not; negation particle
- aber
- But; however; conjunction for contrast
- wenn
- If; when; conditional conjunction
- Sie
- You; formal second person singular pronoun
- beobachten
- To observe; to watch or monitor
- leben
- To live; to exist or reside
- die
- The; feminine singular definite article
- Menschen
- People; human beings or persons
- immer
- Always; at all times or forever
- ewig
- Eternal; lasting forever or perpetual
- ihnen
- Them; dative pronoun for third person
- eine
- A; an; feminine singular indefinite article
- Rente
- Pension; annuity or income payment
- zu
- To; too; preposition or adverb
- zahlen
- To pay; to give money for something
- ist
- Is; third person singular of sein
- und
- And; conjunction joining words or clauses
- sehr
- Very; to a great degree or extent
- kräftig
- Strong; vigorous or powerful in health
- gesund
- Healthy; in good health or well
- kaum
- Hardly; scarcely or barely at all
- vierzig
- Forty; the number 40
- Eine
- A; an; feminine singular indefinite article
- ernste
- Serious; grave or solemn in manner
- Angelegenheit
- Matter; affair or issue of concern
- kommt
- Comes; third person singular of kommen
- Jahr
- Year; twelve-month period or annual cycle
- für
- For; in favor of or intended for
- wieder
- Again; once more or returning
- man
- One; impersonal pronoun or indefinite subject
- kann
- Can; is able to or may
- loswerden
- To get rid of; to dispose of
- wissen
- To know; to have knowledge or information
- was
- What; interrogative or relative pronoun
- tun
- To do; to perform or carry out
- Ich
- I; first person singular pronoun
- habe
- Have; first person singular of haben
- viel
- Much; a large amount or quantity
- von
- From; of or concerning preposition
- den
- The; accusative masculine or plural article
- Unannehmlichkeiten
- Inconveniences; troubles or unpleasantness
- der
- The; feminine singular or plural article
- Renten
- Pensions; plural of Rente or annuities
- erfahren
- To experience; to learn or discover
- denn
- Because; for or since; conjunction
- meine
- My; possessive adjective first person
- Mutter
- Mother; female parent or mom
- war
- Was; past tense of sein
- durch
- Through; by means of or via
- Zahlung
- Payment; act of paying money owed
- drei
- Three; the number 3
- an
- On; at or to preposition
- alte
- Old; aged or ancient in years
- pensionierte
- Retired; no longer working professionally
- Diener
- Servant; one who serves another
- aufgrund
- Due to; on account of or because
- des
- Of the; genitive article masculine
- Testaments
- Testament; will or legal document
- meines
- My; possessive adjective genitive form
- Vaters
- Father's; genitive of father
- belastet
- Burdened; loaded or weighed down
- es
- It; neutral pronoun or subject
- erstaunlich
- Astonishing; surprising or remarkable
- wie
- How; in what manner or way
- unangenehm
- Unpleasant; disagreeable or uncomfortable
- das
- The; neutral singular definite article
- fand
- Found; past tense of finden
- Zweimal
- Twice; two times or on two occasions
- im
- In the; contraction of in dem
- mussten
- Had to; past tense of müssen
- diese
- These; this plural demonstrative pronoun
- gezahlt
- Paid; past participle of zahlen
- dann
- Then; at that time or next
- gab
- Gave; past tense of geben
- Mühe
- Effort; trouble or exertion required
- übermitteln
- To convey; to transmit or communicate
- hieß
- Was called; past tense of heißen
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