Oct 17, 2006 10:07
17 yrs ago
Portuguese term
eu consegui pegá-lo, suspendê-lo e levantá-lo
Portuguese to English
Science
Linguistics
Gloss
The gloss for:
suspender/segurar levantarBEN pegar3OHAB1S/IMPF
suspender/segurar levantarBEN pegar3OHAB1S/IMPF
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +2 | 'I was able to grasp it, hang it and lift it' |
Muriel Vasconcellos
|
| 4 | grab it, hold it and lift it |
Simon Foakes
|
Proposed translations
+2
4 mins
Muriel Vasconcellos
United States
United States
Native in English
Specializes in field
United States
Each translation a gem!
Native in: English (Variant: US) 
Works in: Spanish to English, Portuguese to English
Related KudoZ points
:
2542
Selected
'I was able to grasp it, hang it and lift it'
I'm assuming that "o" is inanimate!
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Note added at 5 mins (2006-10-17 10:12:15 GMT)
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Sounds like Twenty Questions....
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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2006-10-18 11:32:24 GMT)
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I like Simon's suggestion: of "hold it up'
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Note added at 2 days12 hrs (2006-10-19 22:35:41 GMT)
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If you want to make the distinction, then you can say 'I managed to' -- which implies that some effort was required.
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Note added at 5 mins (2006-10-17 10:12:15 GMT)
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Sounds like Twenty Questions....
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Note added at 1 day1 hr (2006-10-18 11:32:24 GMT)
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I like Simon's suggestion: of "hold it up'
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Note added at 2 days12 hrs (2006-10-19 22:35:41 GMT)
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If you want to make the distinction, then you can say 'I managed to' -- which implies that some effort was required.
Peer comment(s):
| agree |
Jorge Nunes
15 mins
|
|
Thanks, Jorge!
|
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| agree |
Cristiane Gomes
8 hrs
|
|
Thanks, Cristiane!
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Thanks for the good distinction: capaz/consegui ... frustrating without more context!"
9 hrs
Simon Foakes
Brazil
Brazil
Native in Portuguese
&
English
Brazil
Fast, accurate & experienced
Native in: Portuguese 
, English
Works in: Portuguese to English, English to Portuguese, Spanish to English
grab it, hold it and lift it
I didnt like hang it for suspendê-lo, but there you go.....
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Note added at 2 days3 hrs (2006-10-19 14:06:14 GMT)
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eu fui capaz/ eu consegui is really all much of a muchness, as you say an irrelevant distinction. However, if this is meant to denote difficulty, you could use "I managed...."
On distinctions, this is all dependent on context. For example, with "pegar", you can grasp a bottle, or grab a bottle. Grasp in this case is to hold, maybe even hold tightly, usually with a closed hand, and refers more to the actual holding than the act of going to hold something ("He grasped the rope as he fell" meant he was holding it while he fell whereas "He grabbed the rope when he fell" means he reached out to hold on to it).
Grab in the bottle sense would be to reach out for a bottle quickly, i.e. "He grabbed a bottle" instead of "He picked up a bottle".
On the other hand, you wouldn't normally grasp a person, because grasp has this connotation of a hand being wrapped around something. You could grasp their arm, but not the person. You could, however, grab the person. "The policeman grabbed the robber as he came through the door...", which is more in the sene of getting your arms round something.
As your text seems to relate to something heavy or difficult to raise, and by deduction something larger (I may be wrong) given the "consegui" part of the phrase, it just seemed as though it were referring to something you would be unable to grasp (wrap your hand around) but would grab (wrap your arms around), bearing in mind you can always grab something with your hands, it doesn't have to be arms.
There are also mechanical machines called "grabbers" which sort of enclose the object they pick up, and you wouldn't cal them "graspers", which gives you an additional sense of the difference between the words.
Maybe if we knew what the person was "grabbing" or "gripping" and how heavy or difficult it was, this would make things easier.
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Note added at 2 days3 hrs (2006-10-19 14:06:46 GMT)
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Thank you Muriel!
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Note added at 3 days2 hrs (2006-10-20 12:12:27 GMT) Post-grading
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how would you "hang" a box, if that's what it was the was being "grabbed"? Without the context the whole thing is a shot in the dark.
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Note added at 2 days3 hrs (2006-10-19 14:06:14 GMT)
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eu fui capaz/ eu consegui is really all much of a muchness, as you say an irrelevant distinction. However, if this is meant to denote difficulty, you could use "I managed...."
On distinctions, this is all dependent on context. For example, with "pegar", you can grasp a bottle, or grab a bottle. Grasp in this case is to hold, maybe even hold tightly, usually with a closed hand, and refers more to the actual holding than the act of going to hold something ("He grasped the rope as he fell" meant he was holding it while he fell whereas "He grabbed the rope when he fell" means he reached out to hold on to it).
Grab in the bottle sense would be to reach out for a bottle quickly, i.e. "He grabbed a bottle" instead of "He picked up a bottle".
On the other hand, you wouldn't normally grasp a person, because grasp has this connotation of a hand being wrapped around something. You could grasp their arm, but not the person. You could, however, grab the person. "The policeman grabbed the robber as he came through the door...", which is more in the sene of getting your arms round something.
As your text seems to relate to something heavy or difficult to raise, and by deduction something larger (I may be wrong) given the "consegui" part of the phrase, it just seemed as though it were referring to something you would be unable to grasp (wrap your hand around) but would grab (wrap your arms around), bearing in mind you can always grab something with your hands, it doesn't have to be arms.
There are also mechanical machines called "grabbers" which sort of enclose the object they pick up, and you wouldn't cal them "graspers", which gives you an additional sense of the difference between the words.
Maybe if we knew what the person was "grabbing" or "gripping" and how heavy or difficult it was, this would make things easier.
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Note added at 2 days3 hrs (2006-10-19 14:06:46 GMT)
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Thank you Muriel!
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Note added at 3 days2 hrs (2006-10-20 12:12:27 GMT) Post-grading
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how would you "hang" a box, if that's what it was the was being "grabbed"? Without the context the whole thing is a shot in the dark.
Note from asker:
| Thanks for the detailed answer, I sure appreciate it - but in the end I don't see why you didn't go with "hang". It is tricky without the context though, isn't it? I have no idea either what is the object here. Heavy Christmas ornaments? Strange... |
Discussion
'consegui' = 'I managed to'
‘eu fui capaz/ eu consegui pegá-lo, suspendê-lo e levantá-lo’
So, how would you diferentiate between 'fui capaz' and 'consegui' - or perhaps irrelevant distinction in English? Any thoughts? I know that is a seperate question, maybe...