Este domingo fue mi cumpleaños

[pelipep]

Hi,

What is the best way to translate "este domingo fue mi cumpleaños"?

I'm writing a friend to scold her for forgetting my birthday

My attempts:

Last Sunday it was my birthday.
Last Sunday was my birthday.
My birthday was last Sunday.

Thanks un advance.

 

[Masood]

Oooh, but is she still your friend?!

I'd say "It was my birthday on Sunday"

 

[SydLexia]

Oooh, but is she still your friend?!

I'd say "It was my birthday on Sunday"

 

[Bevj]

Pelipep, tus opciones son correctas pero me uno con Masood y Syd para afirmar que 'It was my birthday on Sunday' es lo que diría cualquiera persona en BrE.

 

[kayokid]

Hello .

Personally, I like

My birthday was last Sunday

the best.

"Last Sunday was my birthday" also sounds good to me as well as the suggestion by Masood.

"Last Sunday it was my birthday" sounds the most cumbersome of the options given.

 

[Mr.Dent]

Please, why do you say "este domingo fue mi cumpleaños" instead of "el domingo pasado fue mi cumpleaños"?

 

[broken tree house]

Please, why do you say "este domingo fue mi cumpleaños" instead of "el domingo pasado fue mi cumpleaños"?

Because it is short for : Este Domingo (que pasó) fué mi cumpleaños.

 

[Mr.Dent]

Thanks.

 

[kayokid]

I would like to continue on Mr. Dent's line of thinking/questioning and make a comment.

In my English, I would have expected a present tense verb in the original Spanish sentence.
Ex.
This Sunday is my birthday. = This coming Sunday is my birthday. = Next Sunday is my birthday.
(Although I must admit there is disagreement even among native speakers on this point. This is something that always seems to need clarification.)

For that reason, my own personal preference (or expectation) is to use the word "last" or "this past" Sunday in English. And I would have expected it in Spanish as well. The (English) sentence is not wrong without it, but to me it just sounds a bit ambiguous to me somehow.

 

[pelipep]

Please, why do you say "este domingo fue mi cumpleaños" instead of "el domingo pasado fue mi cumpleaños"?

I'm using "este domingo" because I'm writing my friend very few days after Sunday. If I had written her 5 or 6 days after Sunday, perhaps I would have used "el pasado domingo"; I never thought about this, but now that your question made me think about it, I think it is a matter of proximity.

"Este domingo" works perfectly as a translation for both last Sunday or next Sunday. They way to distinguish them is by means of the verbal tense:

Este domingo fue (past tense) mi cumpleaños = last Sunday.

Este domingo voy (present working as future tense) al cine = next Sunday.

I disagree with broken tree house: "Este domingo" is not short of "este domingo que pasó"; the expression "este domingo que pasó" sounds completely awkward in Spanish from Spain.

 

[Bevj]

The same is true in English.
On Sunday can mean 'last Sunday' or 'next Sunday'.
The tense of the verb and the context make it clear which is the correct interpretation.

 

[jilar]

Si, hoy, alguien me dice esto:
Este/El domingo fue mi cumpleaños = Se refiere al domingo pasado, el 14 de agosto.
Este/El domingo es/será mi cumpleaños = Se refiere al próximo domingo, o sea, 21 de agosto.

Por cierto, pelipep, felicidades

 

[pelipep]

Si, hoy, alguien me dice esto:
Este/El domingo fue mi cumpleaños = Se refiere al domingo pasado, el 14 de agosto.
Este/El domingo es/será mi cumpleaños = Se refiere al próximo domingo, o sea, 21 de agosto.

Por cierto, pelipep, felicidades

Thank you!

 

[pelipep]

One last question:

It seems to me that 'last Sunday was my birthday' puts more emphasis than 'my birthday was last Sunday' in the idea of the oversight of my friend; am I right?

 

[Mr.Dent]

One last question:

It seems to me that 'last Sunday was my birthday' puts more emphasis than 'my birthday was last Sunday' in the idea of the oversight of my friend; am I right?

I don't think so.