Basta que me diga que haga ...

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Gasteitarra

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BASQUE COUNTRY. SPAIN
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Buenos días.
A ver si alguien me ayuda con esta construcción española. "Basta que (el) me diga que haga los deberes para que (yo) haga lo contrario."
My attempt: Suffice it to him asking me to do my homework for me to do the opposite".
Thanks everybody in advance.
 
    • I'd guess there's a fair amount of possibilities for "Basta que", and it will depend on context (this context is interesting because the consequence is negated "...para que yo no lo haga") and personal preference. I like @The Newt's answer, and some other possibilities come to mind. My try, "If he asks me to do my homework, just because he asked, I won't do my homework"

    Edit: Noticed that the original translation has "my homework", so I changed my response to reflect that
     
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    BillyDoo said:
    I'd suggest 'He only has to ask me to do my homework for me to do just the opposite.
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    Yes, BillyDoo, you're right. My attempt was a little sophisticated and possibly wrong. I was so focused on the construction with the verb "suffice"( as in suffice it to say) that I couldn't see anything else. Thank you very much for your input.
     
    Nomenclature said:
    I'd guess there's a fair amount of possibilities for "Basta que", and it will depend on context (this context is interesting because the consequence is negated "...para que yo no lo haga") and personal preference. I like @The Newt's answer, and some other possibilities come to mind. My try, "If he asks me to do his homework, just because he asked, I will not do his homework"
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    Sorry, I didn't see your responses (yours and The Newt's) came first. Yes, Nomenclature, you're right when you see the subtle nuance of the negative consequences to the request given, It means just what you said: just because you asked me to ... I won't do it or will do the opposite thing. This is the crux of the matter, but I was so focused on "suffice" ... Thank you both very much.
     
    Azarosa said:
    Tal vez diría también No sooner he asks me to ..., I do the opposite.
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    I had thought of this construction but I didn't feel it was appropriate, maybe because when I first learnt the construction, the meaning was "tan pronto como, aún no había hecho lo que sea que ... e.g. No sooner had the plane taken off than it started to fail. No sooner had he entered the room than they started to quarrel ... No había hecho más que entrar en casa y ya estaban discutiendo. I go for the negative consequences of the request ... Just because you ask me to I will do the opposite.
    In any case thank you very much for your suggestion, it is very interesting to receive feedback from the forum.
     
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    Gasteitarra said:
    My attempt: Suffice it to him asking me to do my homework for me to do the opposite".
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    It's a good try; to get a grammatical sentence, let's make some tiny changes: "It suffices for him to ask me to do his homework, for me not do it". This structure here has some horror aequi issues; it's hard to parse.

    Alternatively, "Suffice it to say" is a set phrase, but you need all of it if you are going to use that, and it means something similar "Está demás decir...".

    I would use other ways to say it.

    Gasteitarra said:
    the meaning was "tan pronto como, aún no había hecho lo que sea que ...
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    I should have asked this; you can't fault @Azarosa because your original message could be either interpreted as habitual events, or contrarily as a future possibility. It is good that we know now and are on the same page. :)
     
    Thanks again, Nomenclature. In Spanish we translate "suffice it to say" basta decir ... If I had to translate your "está de más decir ..." I would choose needless to say. Nevertheless I think both expressions can be interchangeable.
    THANKS EVERYBODY. It is being a most productive thread. Thanks.
    The Newt said:
    We would have to say "No sooner does he ask me..."
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    Yes, the inversion of the verb becomes necessary, although I prefer the other suggested constructions. Thanks.
     
    Mister Draken said:
    Pues a mi entender en castellano lo opuesto de hacer la tarea es no hacerla. "Basta que mi madre me diga que me bañe para que yo haga lo opuesto". Esto significa que no me baño.
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    Es que hay un sinfín de actividades en la categoría de no bañar. Así como hay un montón de actividades que no son hacer deberes. El concepto de no hacer algo en la vida real es muy diferente del en la lenguaje. ¿Me explico? De todos modos nuestro intercambio es algo de topic drift, y debemos pararlo aquí y ahora y declararme la ganadora 😈

    Conoces el comentario de Salvador Dali cuando se le preguntó si era franquista? “No soy franquista ni antifranquista sino todo lo opuesto.”
     
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    The Newt said:
    Not as proposed ("Suffice it to him... "). You could say "It suffices for him to...," but I can't imagine anyone saying that. "Suffice it for him" is even more unlikely in contemporary English.
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    Maybe it's my background in math, but I’ve heard the word employed a lot in my life. I've definitely heard "suffice it for him to..."
    I did not say "suffice it to him". That is of course the wrong preposition.

    Newt, saying that "suffice" doesn't work is misleading. It arguably works just as well as any other option mentioned here, and it's no more ridiculous than is the sentence it finds itself in!;)
     
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    Reina de la Aldea said:
    Maybe it's my background in math, but heard the word employed a lot in my life. I've definitely heard "suffice it for him to..."
    I did not say "suffice it to him". [...]
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    No, it was the original poster who suggested "suffice it to him."

    There are various citations online for "suffice it for him to," but most of them seem to be from theological works. I can't imagine anyone using the phrase in reference to not doing their homework. (If they do use it, they've clearly done their vocabulary homework!)
     
    So, can we conclude that the sentences "It suffices for him to ask me to do my homework for me to do the opposite" or 'He only has to ask me to do my homework for me to do just the opposite", are the perfect ones? Do you think both sentences are correct or do they sound a bit unnatural? How would you (English natives) say that in a colloquial way? Thanks again. We construct a better society working together.
     
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