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"When Miss Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral: the men through a sort of
respectful affection for a fallen monument, the women mostly out of curiosity to see the inside of II. As long as this one roof shelters the good ladies aforesaid - and I wish from my heart it may do
her house, which no one save an old man-servant – a combined gardener and cook - had seen in so for many a long year to come - the tradition of genuine warm-hearted courteous Irish
– at least - ten years.· hospitality, which our forefathers have handed down to us and which we in turn must hand down
Most of the learners of the English language are sooner or later responsible for composing, to our descendants, is still alive among us. (From „The Dead” by James Joyce)
translating or comprehending texts in their career, so it is worth learning some technique and The simple sentence: The tradition is alive. From this point it is easy to continue the translation.
rules of how to do this and to make a sentence correctly.
When translating a sentence, you may follow the example above. By taking the sentence to its In some cases we may commit the mistake of confusing the different extensions in the sentence
elements we can learn to master how to build our own sentence thus composing what we want to or we translate an English sentence starting from its end when it is not necessary. Translating a
say in English. By the means of a simple sentence (subject, predicate, object) we regularly sentence backward, starting from the end of the English sentence means that the sentence
express a simple thought. It is a very important form of the communication. A complex thought contains attributive extensions and they come first in the Hungarian while in English they may be
though needs the complex way of expression because of complexity of what we want to say and in apposition. In the following case it is advisable to translate backward and this kind of sentence
the latter way of communication needs the skill of using the wide range of linguistic structures. making also means a challenge when we translate such a content into English. E. g.:
Many call it grammar but in modern language learning in the everyday usage we are not „A bejelentést a Közmunkaügyi Minisztériumnak a torony stabilizálásával megbízott szakérti
interested in the academic explanation of e. g. the gerund, the participle, the infinitive or the bizottsága legutóbbi ülése után tették közzé.”
verbal noun, etc. but more likely in the way how we can express our thoughts by using them as Try to translate the sentence and when having done the translation, compare it with the original
tools. Therefore we have to learn the knack of them. sentence.
It is important to mention that it may turn out artificial if we use only complex long sentences in
our essay or composition. We must vary the length of the sentences within an essay. Precaution
must be taken that the overuse of complex structures should not become an affectation. Well
done, it may be very stylish and eloquent. We may translate a sentence backward in the following cases:
• When translating a text we need not translate it word for word but we are responsible to • French genitive, that is of construction. E. g.: the corner of the room,
give the correct content of the text along with its atmosphere.
• Passive sentence with agent by. E. g.: The South Pole was discovered by Amundsen.
• A sentence is nothing else but the linguistic equivalent of our thought. It is not enough to • Participle constructions in apposition E. g.: The results achieved last year were encouraging.
imagine what we want to say but we have to compose our thought. Naturally the three examples above may combine within one sentence.
• We should not consider a sentence an independent unit, we are advised to scrutinize at The Hungarian sentence above is translated into English as follows:
least a paragraph before we start work. „The announcement came after the latest meeting of the Expert Commission of the Public Works
• If we are lost while analysing a sentence and we cannot comprehend it, look for the Ministry charged with working out a project to stabilize the tower.”
subject and the predicate first and then the further extensions as it was demonstrated In other cases it is not advisable to bring extensions forward. By doing so we may change the
above, and as it is in the following cases: atmosphere or the content of the sentence.
I. Még Franciaországban is ahol a bornak olyan sok fajtája mára imponáló mértéséhez és a
puszta ivászatnak a lenézéséhez vezetett, még Franciaországban is az amerikai ivási Translate the following sentence into English:
sznobizmus, általánosságban a kemény alkohol élvezete és különösképpen a koktéloké, utat tör A völgy tüneményes története, ahogyan a világ egyik legismertebb sí- és hegymászó-
a gazdagok között. paradicsomává vált, mind meg van örökítve a városka alpesi múzeumában, egy amfiteátrum-
Try to translate the sentence and when having done the translation, compare it with the original szer épületben, amely arra a hegyre tekint, ahol elször jelent meg a turisták áradata.
sentence.

If you find the sentence difficult to compose in English, first find the subject and the predicate in By translating the following sentence into Hungarian we can see an example how important it is to
the sentence. understand whether an –ing construction is a participle, a gerund or a verbal noun. Conscious
1. Booze-snobbery is making headway. usage of these structures may make our composition in English complex and brief along with the
2. The American booze-snobbery is making headway. correct and appropriate usage of the infinitive structures and those of the passive voice. E. g.:
3. Even in France the American booze-snobbery is making headway among the rich. The valley's meteoric rise to being one of the world's best known skiing and climbing resorts is all
4. Even in France, where wine has hitherto imposed a connoisseurship, even in France the recorded in the town's Alpine Museum, an amphitheatre-style building that looks out over the
American booze-snobbery is making headway among the rich. mountain that first started the avalanche of tourists.
5. Even in France, where wine has hitherto imposed a connoisseurship and has led to brand
mere drinking as solecism, even in France the American booze-snobbery is making headway Solution: Unit 15. Find the synonyms from the text above: prior, suicide, vigorously,
among the rich. ultimately, despondency, homicide, transpire, confronted, emanate, adamant, to the
6. Even in France, where so many varieties of wine have hitherto imposed a connoisseurship effect, conclude, exquisite.
and have led to the branding of mere drinking as a brutish solecism, even in France the
American booze-snobbery, a taste for hard drinks in general and for cocktails in particular, is
making headway among the rich.
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