Spanish Composition Part 27

=Quiere Vd. esta pluma o la plumafuente?--O la una o la otra servira.=

_And I don't think I'm a fool, either._

=Y creo que no soy tonto, tampoco.=--RAMOS CARRIoN.

When _either_ at the end of a negative sentence is used merely for emphasis, it is expressed by repeating the negative =no=.

_I didn't do it, either!_

=No lo he hecho, no!=

=100.= _Neither_ is =ni= as a conjunction and equal to _and ... either_. As a p.r.o.noun it is =ni el uno ni el otro=. Standing as the first word in a sentence _neither_ is translated =tampoco=.

_I do not look into the mirror, neither to-day nor ever._

=No miro en el espejo, ni hoy ni nunca.=--ECHEGARAY.

_He wouldn't help him, neither would he help me._

=No queria ayudarle a el, tampoco queria ayudarme a mi.=

_I showed him the drawings. Neither of them pleased him._

=Le mostre los dibujos. Ni el uno ni el otro le ha contentado.=

=101.= The conjunction _because_ is =porque=. The prepositional phrase _because of_ is translated =a causa de=. =Por= with the infinitive is often used for =porque= with a clause, and may be used for =a causa de= when the object of the preposition is a participial phrase.

_I won't give you any more because you have enough already._

=No te dare mas porque ya tienes bastante.=

_Because of the rain the country was flooded._

=A causa de la lluvia estaba inundado el campo.=

_That tribe obeyed him and respected him because he was_ (_because of his being_) _older._

=Aquella caterva le obedecia y respetaba por ser el mayor.=

--EMILIA PARDO BAZaN.

=102.= =EXERCISES=

(_a_) 1. No quiero que Vds. me ofrezcan dinero. 2. No le he devuelto el dinero que tuvo a bien prestarme.--Ni yo tampoco. 3. O se lo ha llevado el o el hermano de el, pero ni el uno ni el otro quiere confesarlo. 4.

Que necesita usted?--Un martillo para arrancar estos clavos. 5. O el uno o el otro libro la contentara. 6. Por haber caido tanta nieve no quiero que salgan los chicos esta manana. 7. A causa de la huelga de los empleados del tranvia tuvimos que ir a pie. 8. O los nuevos o los viejos debe usted mandarme. 9. Yo quisiera conocer a ese senor porque me dicen que es de gran talento. 10. Por ser tan tarde, no querian los padres partir sin los ninos.

(_b_) 1. Well, how many more do you want and how much do you want to pay for them? 2. Do you want to see the picture that they were talking about? 3. Either the father or the mother must be ill. 4. Neither of my friends can speak Spanish. 5. I have to serve as (=de=) interpreter because I speak the language fluently. 6. Because of the illness of my father, neither my mother nor I were able to go. 7. Because I have a cold, I want you to read this letter aloud to the others. 8. These plants want water. Do you want to water them now? 9. Have you seen either of my sons to-day? Yes. I just saw the older one with three other boys. 10. I want you to tell _me_ what you want, either by telephone or by letter. 11. Neither her father nor her mother wanted her to go out, because it is so cold. She didn't want to go, either.

LESSON x.x.xIII

_Cuando hay alegria, todo se hace bien._[33]

--PeREZ GALDoS.

=103.= The verb _to wonder_ is variously rendered. In the sense of _to be surprised_ it is generally =extranar= or =admira.r.s.e=. As a synonym of _should_ or _would like to know_ it may be translated =quisiera saber=, or =tener curiosidad por saber=. In the sense of _to be thinking_ or _asking one's self_, the Spanish uses =pregunta.r.s.e=.

_No one wondered at the girl's illness._

=Nadie extrano la indisposicion de la nina.=--JUAN VALERA.

_I don't wonder that they say certain things._

=No me admiro de que digan ciertas cosas.=

--EMILIA PARDO BAZaN.

_I was wondering if I should have time to go before they came._

=Yo me preguntaba si tendria el tiempo de ir antes que llegasen ellos.=

_I wonder who did this._

=Yo quisiera saber quien habra hecho eso.=

The verb _to wonder_ is, however, often best translated by the future of probability, as ill.u.s.trated in the following examples:

_Has he come yet, I wonder?_

=Habra venido ya?=

_I wonder if it is time yet._

=Sera ya la hora?=

_I wonder who that man is._

=Quien sera ese hombre?=

_Cisneros_ (_observing them curiously_). _I wonder what's going on?_

=Cisneros= (=observandolos con curiosidad=). =Que pasara?=