Sense and Sensibility — Page 6
John Dashwood had never been a favourite with any of her husband's family; but she had had no opportunity, till the present, of showing them with how little attention to the comfort of other people she could act when occasion required it.
John Dashwood nunca había sido del agrado de ninguno de los familiares de su marido; pero ella no había tenido oportunidad, hasta el momento, de mostrarles con cuán poco miramiento hacia el bienestar ajeno podía actuar cuando la ocasión lo requería.
So acutely did Mrs. Dashwood feel this ungracious behaviour, and so earnestly did she despise her daughter-in-law for it, that, on the arrival of the latter, she would have quitted the house for ever, had not the entreaty of her eldest girl induced her first to reflect on the propriety of going, and her own tender love for all her three children determined her afterwards to stay, and for their sakes avoid a breach with their brother.
Tan profundamente sintió la señora Dashwood este descortés comportamiento, y tan sinceramente despreció a su nuera por ello, que, a la llegada de esta última, habría abandonado la casa para siempre, de no haber sido porque el ruego de su hija mayor la indujo primero a reflexionar sobre la conveniencia de marcharse, y su propio tierno amor por sus tres hijos la determinó después a quedarse, y a evitar, en bien de ellos, una ruptura con su hermano.
Elinor, this eldest daughter, whose advice was so effectual, possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother, and enabled her frequently to counteract, to the advantage of them all, that eagerness of mind in Mrs. Dashwood which must generally have led to imprudence.
Elinor, esta hija mayor, cuyo consejo resultaba tan eficaz, poseía una solidez de entendimiento y una serenidad de juicio que la capacitaban, a pesar de tener apenas diecinueve años, para ser la consejera de su madre, y le permitían contrarrestar con frecuencia, en beneficio de todas ellas, aquella vehemencia de ánimo de la señora Dashwood que de ordinario la habría conducido a la imprudencia.
She had an excellent heart;—her disposition was affectionate, and her feelings were strong; but she knew how to govern them: it was a knowledge which her mother had yet to learn; and which one of her sisters had resolved never to be taught.
Tenía un corazón excelente; su carácter era afectuoso y sus sentimientos eran intensos; pero sabía cómo dominarlos: era un conocimiento que su madre aún estaba por aprender, y que una de sus hermanas había resuelto no adquirir jamás.
Marianne's abilities were, in many respects, quite equal to Elinor's.
Las facultades de Marianne eran, en muchos aspectos, perfectamente iguales a las de Elinor.
She was sensible and clever; but eager in everything: her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation.
Era sensata e inteligente; pero apasionada en todo: sus penas, sus alegrías, no admitían moderación alguna.
Vocabulary
- nunca
- Never; at no time.
- había
- There had been; past perfect auxiliary form.
- sido
- Been; past participle of ser.
- del
- Contraction of de and el meaning of the.
- agrado
- Pleasure, liking, or approval of something.
- de
- Of, from; common Spanish preposition.
- ninguno
- None, not any; indicates total negation.
- los
- The; masculine plural definite article.
- familiares
- Relatives, family members; people related by blood.
- su
- His, her, their; third-person possessive adjective.
- marido
- Husband; a woman's male spouse.
- pero
- But; conjunction indicating contrast.
- ella
- She; third-person feminine singular pronoun.
- no
- No, not; basic negation word.
- tenido
- Had; past participle of tener.
- oportunidad
- Opportunity; a favorable moment or chance.
- hasta
- Until, up to; preposition indicating limit.
- el
- The; masculine singular definite article.
- momento
- Moment; a brief point in time.
- mostrarles
- To show them; infinitive with indirect object pronouns.
- con
- With; preposition indicating accompaniment or manner.
- cuán
- How; exclamatory or interrogative adverb of degree.
- poco
- Little, few; indicates small amount or degree.
- miramiento
- Consideration, regard for others' feelings.
- hacia
- Toward; preposition indicating direction or attitude.
- bienestar
- Wellbeing, welfare; state of being comfortable.
- ajeno
- Someone else's, belonging to another person.
- podía
- Could; imperfect tense of poder.
- actuar
- To act, to behave in a certain manner.
- cuando
- When; temporal conjunction or adverb.
- la
- The; feminine singular definite article.
- ocasión
- Occasion, opportunity; a particular time or event.
- lo
- It, him; masculine singular direct object pronoun.
- requería
- Required, demanded; imperfect tense of requerir.
- Tan
- So, such; adverb indicating degree or intensity.
- profundamente
- Deeply, profoundly; in an intense manner.
- sintió
- Felt; third-person preterite of sentir.
- señora
- Mrs., lady; respectful title for a woman.
- este
- This; masculine singular demonstrative adjective.
- descortés
- Discourteous, rude; lacking politeness or manners.
- comportamiento
- Behavior, conduct; manner of acting or behaving.
- y
- And; basic coordinating conjunction.
- sinceramente
- Sincerely, genuinely; in an honest manner.
- despreció
- Despised, scorned; preterite tense of despreciar.
- a
- To, at; common Spanish preposition.
- nuera
- Daughter-in-law; son's wife.
- por
- For, by, because of; versatile preposition.
- ello
- It, that; neuter pronoun referring to an idea.
- que
- That, which, who; versatile conjunction or pronoun.
- llegada
- Arrival; the act of arriving somewhere.
- esta
- This; feminine singular demonstrative adjective.
- última
- Last, latter; referring to the most recent one.
- habría
- Would have; conditional form of haber.
- abandonado
- Abandoned, left behind; past participle of abandonar.
- casa
- House, home; a dwelling or residence.
- para
- For, in order to; preposition of purpose or destination.
- siempre
- Always, forever; at all times.
- haber
- To have; auxiliary infinitive used in perfect tenses.
- porque
- Because; conjunction explaining reason or cause.
- ruego
- Plea, request; an earnest entreaty.
- hija
- Daughter; a female offspring.
- mayor
- Older, greater; comparative adjective for age or size.
- indujo
- Induced, led; preterite tense of inducir.
- primero
- First; ordinal number indicating initial position.
- reflexionar
- To reflect, to think carefully about something.
- sobre
- On, about, over; common Spanish preposition.
- conveniencia
- Convenience, advisability; what is suitable or wise.
- marcharse
- To leave, to go away; reflexive verb.
- propio
- Own, one's own; indicating possession or identity.
- tierno
- Tender, affectionate; showing gentleness or love.
- amor
- Love; deep affection for someone.
- sus
- His, her, their; plural possessive adjective.
- tres
- Three; the number 3.
- hijos
- Children, sons; offspring of a parent.
- determinó
- Determined, decided; preterite of determinar.
- después
- After, afterward, later; temporal adverb.
- quedarse
- To stay, to remain; reflexive verb.
- evitar
- To avoid, to prevent something undesirable.
- en
- In, on, at; common Spanish preposition of location.
- bien
- Good, well; adverb or noun of wellbeing.
- ellos
- They, them; masculine plural third-person pronoun.
- una
- A, an, one; feminine singular indefinite article.
- ruptura
- Rupture, break; a split or breakdown in relations.
- hermano
- Brother; a male sibling.
- cuyo
- Whose; relative possessive adjective linking clauses.
- consejo
- Advice, counsel; guidance offered to someone.
- resultaba
- Turned out, proved; imperfect tense of resultar.
- eficaz
- Effective, efficient; producing the desired result.
- poseía
- Possessed, had; imperfect tense of poseer.
- solidez
- Soundness, solidity; quality of being firm or reliable.
- entendimiento
- Understanding, intellect; mental capacity to comprehend.
- serenidad
- Serenity, calmness; state of being peaceful.
- juicio
- Judgment; the ability to make sensible decisions.
- capacitaban
- Enabled, qualified; imperfect of capacitar.
- pesar
- Despite; preposition indicating contrast against weight.
- tener
- To have; fundamental verb of possession or state.
- apenas
- Barely, hardly, scarcely; indicating very small degree.
- diecinueve
- Nineteen; the number 19.
- años
- Years; units of time measurement.
- ser
- To be; fundamental verb indicating identity or essence.
- consejera
- Advisor, counselor; a female who gives guidance.
- madre
- Mother; a female parent.
- le
- To him, to her; indirect object pronoun.
- permitían
- Allowed, permitted; imperfect tense of permitir.
- contrarrestar
- To counteract, to neutralize an opposing force.
- frecuencia
- Frequency; how often something occurs.
- beneficio
- Benefit, advantage; something that helps or improves.
- todas
- All; feminine plural form of todo.
- ellas
- They, them; feminine plural third-person pronoun.
- aquella
- That; feminine singular distal demonstrative adjective.
- vehemencia
- Vehemence; intense passion or forcefulness of feeling.
- ánimo
- Spirit, mood, disposition; inner emotional state.
- ordinario
- Ordinary, usual; common or typical behavior.
- conducido
- Led, driven; past participle of conducir.
- imprudencia
- Imprudence, recklessness; lack of care or caution.
- Tenía
- Had; third-person imperfect tense of tener.
- un
- A, an, one; masculine singular indefinite article.
- corazón
- Heart; the organ or seat of emotions.
- excelente
- Excellent; of very high quality or merit.
- carácter
- Character, nature; defining personal traits.
- era
- Was; third-person imperfect tense of ser.
- afectuoso
- Affectionate, warm; showing fondness toward others.
- sentimientos
- Feelings, emotions; inner emotional experiences.
- eran
- Were; third-person plural imperfect of ser.
- intensos
- Intense, strong; of great force or depth.
- sabía
- Knew, knew how; imperfect tense of saber.
- cómo
- How; interrogative or exclamatory adverb of manner.
- dominarlos
- To control them; infinitive with direct object pronoun.
- conocimiento
- Knowledge; information or understanding acquired.
- aún
- Still, yet; adverb indicating continuation.
- estaba
- Was; third-person imperfect tense of estar.
- aprender
- To learn; to acquire knowledge or skills.
- hermanas
- Sisters; female siblings.
- resuelto
- Resolved, determined; past participle of resolver.
- adquirir
- To acquire, to obtain something through effort.
- jamás
- Never, ever; emphatic negative time adverb.
- Las
- The; feminine plural definite article.
- facultades
- Faculties, abilities; mental or physical capacities.
- muchos
- Many; masculine plural indicating large quantity.
- aspectos
- Aspects, respects; particular parts or features.
- perfectamente
- Perfectly; in a complete or ideal manner.
- iguales
- Equal, the same; identical in measure or quality.
- las
- The, them; feminine plural article or pronoun.
- Era
- She was; third-person imperfect of ser.
- sensata
- Sensible, wise; showing good practical judgment.
- e
- And; variant of y used before i- sounds.
- inteligente
- Intelligent; having a high level of mental ability.
- apasionada
- Passionate; showing intense enthusiasm or emotion.
- todo
- Everything, all; indicating totality.
- penas
- Sorrows, griefs; feelings of sadness or distress.
- alegrías
- Joys, happinesses; feelings of great pleasure.
- admitían
- Admitted, allowed; imperfect tense of admitir.
- moderación
- Moderation; avoidance of excess or extremes.
- alguna
- Some, any; feminine singular indefinite adjective.
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