Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Chinese term or phrase:
他唱的歌
English translation:
the song he (sang | sings)
Added to glossary by
Roddy Stegemann
Aug 15, 2006 15:14
17 yrs ago
Chinese term
United States
Search HKLNA!
Native in: English 
Works in: German to English, Japanese to English, French to English, and 3 more.
他唱的歌
Non-PRO
Chinese to English
Social Sciences
Education / Pedagogy
Grammatikalische Analyse (Grammatical Analysis)
Sentence: 他唱的歌叫做「我的愛人就是你」，你覺得他唱得好嗎？
1st Attempt: The name of the song that he sang is "My love is you". Do you feel that he can sing well?
Question: I have rendered the first part of this sentence in the past tense? Do you think the present tense would be more appropriate? If so, why?
i) the song that he sang, or
ii) the song that he is singing
You are welcome to comment on other parts of the sentence.
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
1st Attempt: The name of the song that he sang is "My love is you". Do you feel that he can sing well?
Question: I have rendered the first part of this sentence in the past tense? Do you think the present tense would be more appropriate? If so, why?
i) the song that he sang, or
ii) the song that he is singing
You are welcome to comment on other parts of the sentence.
Reference: http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/contents.html#p...
Warning: In order to provide ProZ.com users with the best glossary entries possible, more than one question for the same entry will be asked from time to time. Please keep in mind when responding that you will be graded on your responses to ALL questions asked.
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | Past tense |
franksf
|
| 4 +2 | the song he sang |
Ralph Dunsdon
|
Proposed translations
2 hrs
Selected
Past tense
The context refers to something happened in the past, because if it were to refer to something happening in the present the first part of the sentence would look like: 他正在唱的歌叫做... (notice the adverb 正在).
In fact, the tense is often seen in the reply to the question. If the answer is 他曾经不错, then he used to sing well (likely not anymore). If the answer is 他总是很好, then he is always good. Notice that some adverb is often attached: 曾经 or 总是. Without such an adverb, it is way safer to assume past tense.
In fact, the tense is often seen in the reply to the question. If the answer is 他曾经不错, then he used to sing well (likely not anymore). If the answer is 他总是很好, then he is always good. Notice that some adverb is often attached: 曾经 or 总是. Without such an adverb, it is way safer to assume past tense.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Final Rendering: The name of the song he sang is "You are my love". Do you feel that he can sing well?
Acknowledgement: I was torn between confirmation and insight and went with insight and examples. My thanks to franksf, Ralph Dunsdon, Wenjer, and willmatter.
Discussion: Please see http://homepage.mac.com/moogoonghwa/tsongkit/part3/III-1b-g.html#s18 for further discussion regarding the context of this question.
My very best from the land of no mountains surrounded by sea on many sides.
"
+2
26 mins
the song he sang
The song he sang is called "My lover is you", do you think he sang it good? There is no real indication of tense, but why not keep it consistent. The song he sings in called "My lover is you", do you think he sings it good?
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