Spanish - English translation

Recovering the information English needs from a Spanish message

Find the subject before choosing an English pronoun

A Spanish message can leave its subject unspoken because the verb ending and the conversation identify it. An English translation usually has to name that subject. Before sending a short translated reply, check who performed the action, especially when the message refers to several people or switches between a customer and a colleague.

‘Llegamos ayer’ becomes ‘We arrived yesterday.’ The English ‘we’ is information carried by the Spanish verb, not a new participant added by the translator. Other forms are less decisive: a third-person singular verb can refer to él, ella or formal usted. Look at the surrounding exchange before choosing ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘you’. If you paste only the final line of an email thread, the translator may not have the evidence needed to make that choice.

Rebuild questions instead of moving the punctuation

The opening Spanish question mark disappears in English, but a direct question often needs an auxiliary verb as well. A word-for-word copy of Spanish order can produce an English statement with a question mark attached. That may be understandable in a hurried conversation, but it is not a dependable model for a written request.

For example, ‘¿Trabaja aquí?’ can be ‘Do you work here?’ when the speaker is addressing someone formally. It can also ask whether another person works here, in which case the English subject changes. With the ordinary present simple, do or does carries the question structure and the following verb stays in its base form. The same principle explains why adding does to a verb already ending in -s creates an error.

Let time expressions settle the English tense

English distinguishes a finished past occasion from an experience or situation connected to the present. Do not select an English tense solely because the Spanish source contains haber and a participle. Spanish usage varies by region, and its tense choices do not always line up with English ones.

A completed event explicitly placed yesterday normally takes the English past simple. A situation continuing now may instead require the present perfect. ‘Vivo aquí desde 2020’ is naturally ‘I have lived here since 2020’ if the person still lives there. The Spanish present is describing an ongoing situation; translating it mechanically as an English present loses the relationship between its starting point and now.

Check two familiar-looking words in practical emails

Actualmente usually means ‘currently’ or ‘at present’, rather than English ‘actually’. The difference matters when reporting present employment, availability or a delivery arrangement. ‘Actually’ commonly introduces a correction, so using it can make a neutral status update sound like a disagreement.

Asistir also needs its surrounding phrase. In a meeting invitation it can mean attending, whereas English ‘assist’ means helping. An employee who will attend a meeting is not necessarily offering to organize it or support the presenter. Check whether the Spanish sentence describes being present or giving assistance before deciding on the English verb. This is a small lexical choice with a real effect on what the recipient expects you to do.