The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Comedy for Serious People — Page 12
A man who marries without knowing Bunbury has a very tedious time of it.
Un hombre que se casa sin conocer a Bunbury lo pasa muy aburrido.
JACK.
JACK.
That is nonsense. If I marry a charming girl like Gwendolen, and she is the only girl I ever saw in my life that I would marry, I certainly won't want to know Bunbury.
Eso es una tontería. Si me caso con una chica encantadora como Gwendolen, y ella es la única chica que he visto en mi vida con quien me casaría, desde luego no querré conocer a Bunbury.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Then your wife will. You don't seem to realise, that in married life three is company and two is none.
Entonces su esposa querrá. Parece que no se da cuenta de que en la vida matrimonial tres son compañía y dos son ninguno.
JACK.
JACK.
[Sententiously.] That, my dear young friend, is the theory that the corrupt French Drama has been propounding for the last fifty years.
[Con aire sentencioso.] Esa, mi querido joven amigo, es la teoría que el corrupto Drama francés ha estado exponiendo durante los últimos cincuenta años.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Yes; and that the happy English home has proved in half the time.
Sí; y que el feliz hogar inglés ha demostrado en la mitad del tiempo.
JACK.
JACK.
For heaven's sake, don't try to be cynical. It's perfectly easy to be cynical.
Por el amor de Dios, no intente ser cínico. Es perfectamente fácil ser cínico.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
My dear fellow, it isn't easy to be anything nowadays. There's such a lot of beastly competition about. [The sound of an electric bell is heard.] Ah! that must be Aunt Augusta. Only relatives, or creditors, ever ring in that Wagnerian manner. Now, if I get her out of the way for ten minutes, so that you can have an opportunity for proposing to Gwendolen, may I dine with you to-night at Willis's?
Mi querido amigo, hoy en día no es fácil ser nada. Hay una cantidad tremenda de odiosa competencia. [Se oye el sonido de un timbre eléctrico.] ¡Ah! esa debe de ser la tía Augusta. Solo los parientes, o los acreedores, llaman alguna vez de esa manera wagneriana. Ahora bien, si consigo alejarla durante diez minutos, para que usted tenga la oportunidad de proponerle matrimonio a Gwendolen, ¿puedo cenar con usted esta noche en Willis's?
JACK.
JACK.
I suppose so, if you want to.
Supongo que sí, si usted quiere.
ALGERNON.
ALGERNON.
Yes, but you must be serious about it. I hate people who are not serious about meals. It is so shallow of them.
Sí, pero hay que tomárselo en serio. Detesto a la gente que no se toma en serio las comidas. Es tan superficial de su parte.
[Enter Lane.]
[Entra Lane.]
LANE.
LANE.
Lady Bracknell and Miss Fairfax.
Lady Bracknell y la señorita Fairfax.
[Algernon goes forward to meet them. Enter Lady Bracknell and Gwendolen.
[Algernon avanza para recibirlas. Entran Lady Bracknell y Gwendolen.
Vocabulary
- hombre
- An adult male person; a man
- casa
- House; or third-person form of 'casarse' (to marry)
- sin
- Preposition meaning 'without'
- conocer
- To know or be acquainted with someone or something
- pasa
- Third-person singular of 'pasar'; it happens or passes
- aburrido
- Adjective meaning bored or boring; dull
- tontería
- Nonsense, foolishness, or a silly remark
- caso
- First-person singular of 'casarse'; I marry
- chica
- A young woman or girl
- encantadora
- Adjective meaning charming, delightful, or enchanting
- única
- Adjective meaning the only one or unique
- visto
- Past participle of 'ver'; seen
- vida
- Life; the existence or lifetime of a person
- casaría
- Conditional form of 'casarse'; would marry
- desde
- Preposition meaning 'from' or 'since'
- luego
- Adverb meaning 'then,' 'later,' or 'of course'
- querré
- Future tense of 'querer'; I will want
- Entonces
- Adverb meaning 'then' or 'in that case'
- esposa
- A wife; a married woman
- querrá
- Future tense of 'querer'; she/he will want
- Parece
- Third-person singular of 'parecer'; it seems or appears
- cuenta
- Account or realization; used in 'darse cuenta' (to realize)
- matrimonial
- Adjective relating to marriage or matrimony
- compañía
- Company; group of people or a business
- ninguno
- Pronoun meaning 'none' or 'no one'
- aire
- Air; manner or attitude in tone or bearing
- sentencioso
- Adjective meaning pompously moralizing or sententious
- querido
- Adjective meaning dear or beloved; term of address
- joven
- Adjective or noun meaning young or a young person
- amigo
- A friend; a person one is close to
- teoría
- A theory; a set of ideas explaining something
- corrupto
- Adjective meaning corrupt or morally depraved
- Drama
- Drama; a play or theatrical genre
- francés
- Adjective or noun meaning French (language or nationality)
- estado
- Past participle of 'estar'; been; also means 'state'
- exponiendo
- Present participle of 'exponer'; exposing or presenting
- durante
- Preposition meaning 'during' or 'for' a period of time
- últimos
- Adjective meaning 'last' or 'most recent'; plural
- cincuenta
- The number fifty
- años
- Years; plural of 'año'
- feliz
- Adjective meaning happy or joyful
- hogar
- Home; a place where a family lives together
- inglés
- Adjective or noun meaning English (language or nationality)
- demostrado
- Past participle of 'demostrar'; demonstrated or proven
- mitad
- Half; one of two equal parts of something
- tiempo
- Time; also weather depending on context
- amor
- Love; a deep affection for someone or something
- Dios
- God; the supreme deity in monotheistic religions
- intente
- Subjunctive or imperative of 'intentar'; try or attempt
- ser
- Infinitive of the verb 'to be' (permanent states)
- cínico
- Adjective meaning cynical; distrustful of people's motives
- perfectamente
- Adverb meaning perfectly or completely
- fácil
- Adjective meaning easy or simple
- hoy
- Adverb meaning 'today'
- día
- Day; a 24-hour period
- nada
- Pronoun or adverb meaning 'nothing' or 'not at all'
- Hay
- Impersonal form of 'haber'; there is or there are
- cantidad
- Quantity or amount of something
- tremenda
- Adjective meaning tremendous, enormous, or terrible
- odiosa
- Adjective meaning hateful, odious, or detestable
- competencia
- Competition; rivalry between people or groups
- oye
- Third-person singular of 'oír'; hears; also 'hey' (interjection)
- sonido
- Sound; a noise perceived by the ear
- timbre
- A doorbell or buzzer; also a stamp or timbre
- eléctrico
- Adjective meaning electric or electrical
- debe
- Third-person singular of 'deber'; must or should be
- tía
- Aunt; a parent's sister
- Solo
- Adverb meaning 'only' or adjective meaning alone
- parientes
- Relatives; family members other than immediate family
- acreedores
- Creditors; people to whom money is owed
- llaman
- Third-person plural of 'llamar'; they call or ring
- alguna
- Feminine form of 'algún'; some or any
- vez
- Time or instance; used in expressions like 'a veces'
- manera
- Manner or way of doing something
- wagneriana
- Adjective meaning Wagnerian; in the dramatic style of Wagner
- Ahora
- Adverb meaning 'now' or 'at this moment'
- bien
- Adverb meaning 'well'; also used as 'okay' or 'good'
- consigo
- First-person singular of 'conseguir'; I manage to achieve
- alejarla
- Infinitive 'alejar' plus 'la'; to move her away
- diez
- The number ten
- minutos
- Minutes; units of time equal to sixty seconds each
- usted
- Formal second-person singular pronoun meaning 'you'
- tenga
- Subjunctive form of 'tener'; (that) you/he/she have
- oportunidad
- Opportunity; a favorable chance or circumstance
- proponerle
- Infinitive 'proponer' plus 'le'; to propose to her
- matrimonio
- Marriage; the legal or formal union of two people
- puedo
- First-person singular of 'poder'; I can or I am able
- cenar
- To have dinner; to eat the evening meal
- noche
- Night; the period of darkness between dusk and dawn
- Supongo
- First-person singular of 'suponer'; I suppose or assume
- quiere
- Third-person singular of 'querer'; wants or loves
- tomárselo
- Reflexive infinitive; to take it seriously
- serio
- Adjective meaning serious or earnest
- Detesto
- First-person singular of 'detestar'; I detest or hate
- gente
- People; a group of persons in general
- toma
- Third-person singular of 'tomar'; takes or takes seriously
- comidas
- Meals; occasions when food is eaten; plural of 'comida'
- tan
- Adverb meaning 'so' or 'such' before adjectives
- superficial
- Adjective meaning superficial; lacking depth or seriousness
- parte
- Part; a portion or section of something larger
- Entra
- Third-person singular of 'entrar'; enters or comes in
- señorita
- Miss; a title for an unmarried woman
- avanza
- Third-person singular of 'avanzar'; advances or moves forward
- recibirlas
- Infinitive 'recibir' plus 'las'; to receive them (feminine)
- Entran
- Third-person plural of 'entrar'; they enter
Unlock audio playback, vocabulary games, and reading progress tracking.
Create free account →