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So far...

by EldanarLambetur, March 29, 2012

Messages: 6

Language: English

EldanarLambetur (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 10:17:51 AM

Elloo there! I've a question about how to render a particular sentiment in Esperanto!

Check out these two phrases:

1. Work is good so far
2. Work was good until now.

1 implies the work is going well, and it still is.
2 implies the work was going well, but right now it's taken a turn for the worse.

The weird alternative "work is good until now", is unclear.

How do I give these two impressions in Esperanto? Is the appropriate phrase "ĝis nun"?

Is it simply a tense shift?

1. Laboro estas bona ĝis nun
2. Laboro estis bona ĝis nun

Or is 1 just as weird as the weird alternative given above?

sudanglo (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 10:31:07 AM

Well I wouldn't want to be dogmatic about this, Eldanar, but Ĉio estis bona ĝis nun seems to imply that things have taken a turn for the worse lately.

darkweasel (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 10:41:56 AM

EldanarLambetur:
1. Laboro estas bona ĝis nun
2. Laboro estis bona ĝis nun
Seems OK to me.

EldanarLambetur (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 11:25:02 AM

sudanglo:Well I wouldn't want to be dogmatic about this, Eldanar, but Ĉio estis bona ĝis nun seems to imply that things have taken a turn for the worse lately.
Cool, that makes sense. I was mostly worried about number 1. Wasn't sure if it was as weird as the English translation!

darkweasel:Seems OK to me.
Thanks!

Evildela (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 12:15:13 PM

1. Work is good so far
(la) laboro progresas bone

2. Work was good until now.
(la) laboro ĝis nun progresis bone

erinja (User's profile) March 29, 2012, 12:22:35 PM

Remember also that the present tense is generally used in Esperanto for the "have/has been" form in English.

I have been living here for five years = Mi loĝas ĉi tie dum kvin jaroj. (or "jam dum", according to preference)

Work has been good so far = La laboro progresas bone ĝis nun.

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