Sense and Sensibility — Page 4
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"There is no knowing what _they_ may expect," said the lady, "but we are not to think of their expectations: the question is, what you can afford to do."
«No hay forma de saber qué _ellas_ pueden esperar», dijo la señora, «pero no debemos pensar en sus expectativas: la cuestión es qué puede usted permitirse hacer».
"Certainly—and I think I may afford to give them five hundred pounds a-piece.
«Ciertamente, y creo que puedo permitirme darles quinientas libras a cada una.
As it is, without any addition of mine, they will each have about three thousand pounds on their mother's death—a very comfortable fortune for any young woman."
Tal como están las cosas, sin ninguna aportación mía, cada una tendrá unas tres mil libras a la muerte de su madre, una fortuna muy cómoda para cualquier mujer joven».
"To be sure it is; and, indeed, it strikes me that they can want no addition at all.
«Desde luego que sí; y, en efecto, me parece que no necesitan ninguna aportación adicional en absoluto.
They will have ten thousand pounds divided amongst them.
Tendrán diez mil libras repartidas entre ellas.
If they marry, they will be sure of doing well, and if they do not, they may all live very comfortably together on the interest of ten thousand pounds."
Si se casan, seguramente les irá bien, y si no lo hacen, todas podrán vivir muy cómodamente juntas con los intereses de diez mil libras».
"That is very true, and, therefore, I do not know whether, upon the whole, it would not be more advisable to do something for their mother while she lives, rather than for them—something of the annuity kind I mean.—My sisters would feel the good effects of it as well as herself.
«Eso es muy cierto, y por lo tanto no sé si, en definitiva, no sería más aconsejable hacer algo por su madre mientras viva, en lugar de por ellas; algo del tipo de una anualidad, quiero decir. Mis hermanas notarían sus buenos efectos tanto como ella misma.
A hundred a year would make them all perfectly comfortable."
Cien libras al año las pondría a todas en una situación perfectamente cómoda».
His wife hesitated a little, however, in giving her consent to this plan.
Su esposa vaciló un poco, no obstante, antes de dar su consentimiento a este plan.
"To be sure," said she, "it is better than parting with fifteen hundred pounds at once.
«Desde luego», dijo ella, «es mejor que desprenderse de mil quinientas libras de una sola vez.
But, then, if Mrs. Dashwood should live fifteen years we shall be completely taken in."
Pero, claro, si la señora Dashwood viviera quince años, nos habrán engañado por completo».
"Fifteen years! my dear Fanny; her life cannot be worth half that purchase.
«¡Quince años! Querida Fanny, su vida no puede valer ni la mitad de esa inversión.
Vocabulary
- No
- Negation word meaning 'no' or 'not'.
- hay
- There is or there are something.
- forma
- Shape, way, or manner of doing something.
- de
- Preposition meaning 'of' or 'from'.
- saber
- To know a fact or how to do something.
- qué
- Interrogative pronoun meaning 'what'.
- _ellas_
- Third-person plural feminine pronoun 'they'.
- pueden
- Third-person plural of 'poder', meaning 'they can'.
- esperar
- To wait or to hope for something.
- dijo
- Past tense of 'decir', meaning 'he/she said'.
- la
- Definite article 'the' for feminine singular nouns.
- señora
- Title for a married or adult woman, 'ma'am'.
- pero
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing a contrast.
- no
- Negation word meaning 'no' or 'not'.
- debemos
- First-person plural of 'deber', meaning 'we must'.
- pensar
- To think or to consider something carefully.
- en
- Preposition meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at'.
- sus
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'their'.
- expectativas
- Expectations or hopes about future outcomes.
- cuestión
- A question, issue, or matter to be resolved.
- es
- Third-person singular of 'ser', meaning 'is'.
- puede
- Third-person singular of 'poder', meaning 'he/she can'.
- usted
- Formal second-person singular pronoun 'you'.
- permitirse
- To afford or allow oneself to do something.
- hacer
- To do or to make something.
- Ciertamente
- Adverb meaning 'certainly' or 'indeed'.
- y
- Conjunction meaning 'and' connecting words or clauses.
- creo
- First-person singular of 'creer', meaning 'I believe'.
- que
- Conjunction meaning 'that', connecting clauses.
- puedo
- First-person singular of 'poder', meaning 'I can'.
- permitirme
- To allow or afford myself to do something.
- darles
- To give to them; 'dar' combined with indirect pronoun.
- quinientas
- Feminine form of the number five hundred.
- libras
- Pounds, a unit of currency or weight measure.
- a
- Preposition meaning 'to' or 'at'.
- cada
- Adjective meaning 'each' or 'every' one.
- una
- Feminine indefinite article or numeral meaning 'one'.
- Tal
- Adjective meaning 'such' or 'like that'.
- como
- Conjunction or adverb meaning 'as' or 'like'.
- están
- Third-person plural of 'estar', meaning 'they are'.
- las
- Definite article 'the' for feminine plural nouns.
- cosas
- Things, objects, or matters in general.
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without' lacking something.
- ninguna
- Feminine form of 'none' or 'not any'.
- aportación
- Contribution or input provided to a group.
- mía
- Feminine possessive pronoun meaning 'mine'.
- tendrá
- Future tense of 'tener', meaning 'he/she will have'.
- unas
- Feminine plural indefinite article meaning 'some'.
- tres
- The number three.
- mil
- The number one thousand.
- muerte
- Death, the end of life.
- su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'your'.
- madre
- Mother, a female parent.
- fortuna
- Fortune, wealth, or good luck.
- muy
- Adverb meaning 'very', intensifying adjectives.
- cómoda
- Comfortable, providing ease and comfort.
- para
- Preposition meaning 'for' indicating purpose or destination.
- cualquier
- Adjective meaning 'any' or 'whatever' kind.
- mujer
- Woman or wife.
- joven
- Young person or adjective meaning 'young'.
- Desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since' a point.
- luego
- Adverb meaning 'then', 'later', or 'of course'.
- sí
- Affirmative word meaning 'yes'.
- efecto
- Effect, result, or consequence of an action.
- me
- First-person singular reflexive or indirect object pronoun.
- parece
- Third-person singular of 'parecer', meaning 'it seems'.
- necesitan
- Third-person plural of 'necesitar', 'they need'.
- adicional
- Additional, extra beyond what already exists.
- absoluto
- Absolute, total, or complete without exception.
- Tendrán
- Future tense of 'tener', meaning 'they will have'.
- diez
- The number ten.
- repartidas
- Distributed or divided among several people.
- entre
- Preposition meaning 'between' or 'among' multiple items.
- ellas
- Third-person plural feminine pronoun 'they'.
- Si
- Conjunction meaning 'if', introducing a condition.
- se
- Reflexive pronoun used with reflexive verbs.
- casan
- Third-person plural of 'casarse', 'they get married'.
- seguramente
- Adverb meaning 'surely' or 'most likely'.
- les
- Indirect object pronoun meaning 'to them'.
- irá
- Future tense of 'ir', meaning 'it will go'.
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well', indicating a good state.
- si
- Conjunction meaning 'if', introducing a condition.
- lo
- Neuter or masculine direct object pronoun 'it'.
- hacen
- Third-person plural of 'hacer', 'they do/make'.
- todas
- Feminine plural of 'all' or 'every one'.
- podrán
- Future tense of 'poder', 'they will be able'.
- vivir
- To live or to reside somewhere.
- cómodamente
- Adverb meaning 'comfortably', in a comfortable manner.
- juntas
- Together, in company with one another (feminine plural).
- con
- Preposition meaning 'with', indicating accompaniment.
- los
- Definite article 'the' for masculine plural nouns.
- intereses
- Interest payments from an investment or loan.
- Eso
- Demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that' (neutral).
- cierto
- True, certain, or definite about something.
- por
- Preposition meaning 'for', 'by', or 'through'.
- tanto
- So much; 'por tanto' means 'therefore'.
- sé
- First-person singular of 'saber', meaning 'I know'.
- definitiva
- Definitive, final, or conclusive; 'en definitiva' means 'ultimately'.
- sería
- Conditional of 'ser', meaning 'it would be'.
- más
- More; comparative adverb used for comparisons.
- aconsejable
- Advisable, recommended as a wise course of action.
- algo
- Something, an unspecified thing or amount.
- mientras
- While, during the time that something happens.
- viva
- Subjunctive of 'vivir', meaning 'he/she lives/may live'.
- lugar
- Place, location, or spot; 'en lugar de' means 'instead of'.
- del
- Contraction of 'de' + 'el', meaning 'of the'.
- tipo
- Type, kind, or sort of something.
- anualidad
- Annuity, a fixed annual sum paid regularly.
- quiero
- First-person singular of 'querer', meaning 'I want'.
- decir
- To say or to tell something to someone.
- Mis
- First-person plural possessive adjective meaning 'my'.
- hermanas
- Sisters, female siblings.
- notarían
- Conditional of 'notar', 'they would notice'.
- buenos
- Good, masculine plural adjective for positive quality.
- efectos
- Effects, results, or consequences of something.
- ella
- Third-person singular feminine pronoun 'she'.
- misma
- Feminine form of 'same' or 'herself' for emphasis.
- Cien
- The number one hundred.
- al
- Contraction of 'a' + 'el', meaning 'to the'.
- año
- Year, a period of twelve months.
- pondría
- Conditional of 'poner', meaning 'it would put/place'.
- situación
- Situation, circumstances, or state of affairs.
- perfectamente
- Adverb meaning 'perfectly', in a perfect manner.
- Su
- Possessive adjective meaning 'his', 'her', or 'your'.
- esposa
- Wife, a married woman.
- vaciló
- Past tense of 'vacilar', meaning 'she hesitated'.
- un
- Masculine indefinite article meaning 'a' or 'an'.
- poco
- A little, a small amount of something.
- obstante
- Used in 'no obstante', meaning 'nevertheless'.
- antes
- Before, earlier in time or order.
- dar
- To give something to someone.
- consentimiento
- Consent, agreement, or permission given by someone.
- este
- Demonstrative adjective meaning 'this' (masculine).
- plan
- Plan, a scheme or intended course of action.
- mejor
- Better or best; comparative of 'bueno'.
- desprenderse
- To part with or give up something one owns.
- sola
- Alone, by oneself, without others present.
- vez
- Time, instance, or turn; 'de una vez' means 'at once'.
- Pero
- Conjunction meaning 'but', introducing a contrast.
- claro
- Clear, obvious; also used as 'of course'.
- viviera
- Imperfect subjunctive of 'vivir', 'if he/she lived'.
- quince
- The number fifteen.
- años
- Years, plural of 'año'.
- nos
- First-person plural object pronoun meaning 'us'.
- habrán
- Future perfect of 'haber', 'they will have'.
- engañado
- Past participle of 'engañar', meaning 'deceived'.
- completo
- Complete, total; 'por completo' means 'completely'.
- Quince
- The number fifteen.
- Querida
- Dear, beloved; affectionate address to someone.
- vida
- Life, the state of being alive.
- valer
- To be worth or to have value.
- ni
- Conjunction meaning 'nor' or 'not even'.
- mitad
- Half, one of two equal parts of something.
- esa
- Feminine demonstrative adjective meaning 'that'.
- inversión
- Investment, money put in for future financial gain.
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