I can't help myself
- Thread starter Iviexx
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Hi,
This depends on the context and th rest of the sentence.
Pero más o menos dicen "no lo podía evitar" y eso, te repito, depende del contexto, quien lo dice y como lo dice.
This depends on the context and th rest of the sentence.
Pero más o menos dicen "no lo podía evitar" y eso, te repito, depende del contexto, quien lo dice y como lo dice.
Hello,
"No me puedo ayudar a mi mismo" or else "No puedo servirme yo mismo"
Regards
"No me puedo ayudar a mi mismo" or else "No puedo servirme yo mismo"
Regards
Desafortunadamente, no es correcto. Es una frase muy común en inglés y quiere decir que "no lo podía evitar" y siempre dependiendo del contexto.
Hay (por lo menos) dos significados aquí, bien distintos.
El primero, como sugiere xymox, implica no poder evitar algo, aunque quisiera.
Por ejemplo, hay un trozo de pastel, y aunque no debería comerlo, lo como igual.
I can't help myself, the cake is just too tempting.
El otro, como sugiere bluepolaris, sería que el hablante no puede ayudarse a sí mismo; que necesita la ayuda de otra persona.
I am so good at helping others, but now that I'm the one in trouble, it seems I can't help myself.
Me parece más probable que es el primer significado que busques, pero depende del contexto.
El primero, como sugiere xymox, implica no poder evitar algo, aunque quisiera.
Por ejemplo, hay un trozo de pastel, y aunque no debería comerlo, lo como igual.
I can't help myself, the cake is just too tempting.
El otro, como sugiere bluepolaris, sería que el hablante no puede ayudarse a sí mismo; que necesita la ayuda de otra persona.
I am so good at helping others, but now that I'm the one in trouble, it seems I can't help myself.
Me parece más probable que es el primer significado que busques, pero depende del contexto.
Hola xymox,
Lo que usted sugiere es incorrecto, señor mio.
Según usted, "I can´t help myself" se traduce como "no lo podia evitar".
Incluso se atreve a cambiar el tiempo verbal, pasando del presente al pasado. Mire usted, si pretende decir en inglés "no lo podia evitar", ha de decir "I couldn´t help it".
En este caso la frase en cuestión es "I CAN´T HELP MYSELF". Aqui sólo caben 2 posibles traducciones:
1-"NO ME PUEDO AYUDAR A MI MISMO"
2-"NO ME PUEDO SERVIR" (esto se refiere en la mesa)
Saludos
Hay muchas frases que no se pueden traducir literalmente de inglés a español. Una de ellas es "I can't help myself", que se usa de la misma forma que "no puedo evitar".
If I'm not mistaken, both phrases work both in the past and in the present. I can't help myself and I couldn't help myself are both perfectly acceptable. I suspect that No lo puedo evitar and No lo podía evitar are both equally acceptable.
While the verb tense is off, the basic premise holds. I can't help myself is often used to mean just what xymox says.
Untrue. The two translations you provide are perfectly reasonable (though I personally wouldn't use it to refer to the inability to serve oneself food), but the phrase can also convey a meaning similar to No lo puedo evitar.En este caso la frase en cuestión es "I CAN´T HELP MYSELF". Aqui sólo caben 2 posibles traducciones
Hi,
Let´s see. It is evident that everything is possible in American English....but that does not apply to British English, where you cannot make translations in such a gaily manner.
In American English you can say, to set an example, "Sometimes I can´t help myself!". This expression is equivalent to: "Sometimes I can´t control myself", so the translation would be:
"A veces no me puedo controlar"..
Si usted dice "No lo puedo evitar", le contestarán: "¿¿El qué no puede evitar usted???¿¿el qué??
If you say "I can´t help myself" to an Oxford Professor, he will reply "Then call a waiter, sir, call a waiter!"
Let´s see. It is evident that everything is possible in American English....but that does not apply to British English, where you cannot make translations in such a gaily manner.
In American English you can say, to set an example, "Sometimes I can´t help myself!". This expression is equivalent to: "Sometimes I can´t control myself", so the translation would be:
"A veces no me puedo controlar"..
Si usted dice "No lo puedo evitar", le contestarán: "¿¿El qué no puede evitar usted???¿¿el qué??
If you say "I can´t help myself" to an Oxford Professor, he will reply "Then call a waiter, sir, call a waiter!"
"can't help myself" -lyrics -music -song
gives more than 500,000 results.
Remember than just because a phrase is not used in England, it doesn't mean it is not used somewhere else. So even if its grammar is incorrect, the phrase is used and with a certain meaning. In this case "can't help myself" is used as "no puedo evitar".
Is it wrong? Yes. Is it widely used? Yes. Will explaining its use in a Spanish-English forum help people who are learning English? Yes
and yeah, I know my English is bad.
gives more than 500,000 results.
Remember than just because a phrase is not used in England, it doesn't mean it is not used somewhere else. So even if its grammar is incorrect, the phrase is used and with a certain meaning. In this case "can't help myself" is used as "no puedo evitar".
Is it wrong? Yes. Is it widely used? Yes. Will explaining its use in a Spanish-English forum help people who are learning English? Yes
and yeah, I know my English is bad.
Now now, no point in bashing the flexibility of American English.
I can use I can't help myself and I can't help it interchangeably, and was unaware that Brits would find this usage odd. But if I understand SydLexia correctly, it seems that this is the case?
And Bluepolaris, if you say, "I can't help myself" to me out of the blue, I will certainly ask you to clarify what you are talking about. But the "what" one can't help oneself from doing ought to be made evident by context of the conversation/text.
Let's say I secretly like to dance to reggaetón, and am a little ashamed of the fact. A friend happens upon my secret pleasure and says, "You like reggaetón???" to which I might reply, "I just can't help myself! I when I hear this song I feel like dancing!"
Maybe we can think of it as "despite all reasoning to the contrary, there are uncontrollable forces at work that have made me do this"...?
I can use I can't help myself and I can't help it interchangeably, and was unaware that Brits would find this usage odd. But if I understand SydLexia correctly, it seems that this is the case?
And Bluepolaris, if you say, "I can't help myself" to me out of the blue, I will certainly ask you to clarify what you are talking about. But the "what" one can't help oneself from doing ought to be made evident by context of the conversation/text.
Let's say I secretly like to dance to reggaetón, and am a little ashamed of the fact. A friend happens upon my secret pleasure and says, "You like reggaetón???" to which I might reply, "I just can't help myself! I when I hear this song I feel like dancing!"
Maybe we can think of it as "despite all reasoning to the contrary, there are uncontrollable forces at work that have made me do this"...?
Apologies, I deleted my post when I checked again and found that there were actually many uses of "I can't help myself" used when I would say "I can't help it"...
Sometimes google kicks you in the head...
syd
Sometimes google kicks you in the head...
syd
Hi again,
Dear Iviexxx,
Could you give us a little more context??
Where have you taken this expression from??
It´s just because I want to know, I can´t help it...
Dear Iviexxx,
Could you give us a little more context??
Where have you taken this expression from??
It´s just because I want to know, I can´t help it...
Before reading beyond the initial post, I came up with "no me lo puedo resistir." Native Spanish speakers, does my attempt sound odd to you?
A little bit. But just by removing 'lo' (No me puedo resistir) sounds fine.
Thanks, Leona.
Como dije antes :
No puedo con mi genio, no lo puedo evitar
No puedo con mi genio, no lo puedo evitar
Well I lived in Britain for quite a while and there I learned "I can´t help it" or " I can´t help myself" when I want it to say " no puedo evitarlo".
As for the food, well when in a party normally the host say something like: There is food in the kitchen table, please help yourself. But I have never use this sentence in negative form. However I can´t be mistaken and be, on the contrary, quite popular.
As for the food, well when in a party normally the host say something like: There is food in the kitchen table, please help yourself. But I have never use this sentence in negative form. However I can´t be mistaken and be, on the contrary, quite popular.
I can't help myself=no lo puedo evitar
Esa es la acepción mas extendida. Increible que se necesiten 19 intervenciones para algo tan trivial o que se de como alternativa "no puedo servirme yo mismo".
Esa es la acepción mas extendida. Increible que se necesiten 19 intervenciones para algo tan trivial o que se de como alternativa "no puedo servirme yo mismo".
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Esta acepción es absolutamente falsa, cualquier nativo sabe perfectamente que I CAN´T HELP MYSELF no se traduce por NO PUEDO EVITARLO.
Lo correcto es I CAN´T HELP IT, aqui, en Inglaterra y en Indochina.
Para esta expresión sigue faltando el contexto que deberia incluir la persona que abrió este hilo, Iviexxx.
Repito, NO PUEDO EVITARLO=I CAN´T HELP IT
Saludos
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Quizás en Inglaterra e Indochina no se utilizen las dos frases con el mismo significado, pero no todos hablantes nativos hablan el inglés de estos lugares.
Here in the US, I can't help it and I can't help myself can be used interchangeably (as long as the action refers to oneself).
Creo que Iviexxx ya tiene las opciones que necesita para elegir la que encaja en el contexto.