You won't learn anything by translating all the time.

[FireRaptor]

Hello everyone,

I started learning dutch a few months ago, and even though I think i have learned many useful things in such a short time, there are many occasions in which I still struggle to think how to express my ideas.

For example, this sentence:

"You won't learn anything by translating all the time."

What i want to express here, is that someone will not learn a new foreign languages properly is he continues translating sentences all the time "but i know that's how I start "

I would probably say:

Je zal niets leren tijdens je altijd vertalen

Or

Je zal niets leren als je altijd vertalen

Which should be: You won't learn anything if you translate all the time.

I would appreciate your help.

 

[ThomasK]

Je zal niets leren als je altijd vertaalt, But more literally: ... door altijd te vertalen. The meaning is slightly different from the former, but in practice it hardly matters. However, the "niet" obscures this meaning whereas : je leert veel door te vertalen is perfect - and perfectly logical. ... als je vertaalt is somewhat different stricly speaking but the meaning must be about the same...

 

[eno2]

"You won't learn anything by translating all the time."

Je zal niets leren door de hele tijd te vertalen.

Literal...But of course I find that better than what I read already

Success FireRaptor.

I studied Greek for years and can partly and badly formulate some of my more simple ideas.

 

[Alisson Pereira]

Bom dia!
Ik heb een vraag.
If that were a kind of test I'd translate or say: ''Je gaat niets leren als je de hele tijd gewoon zit te vertalen''.
Does that make sense to you?

 

[ThomasK]

Ja, het is oké, maar het is geen perfect letterlijke vertaling...

 

[eno2]

...or say: ''Je gaat niets leren als je de hele tijd gewoon zit te vertalen''.

Omgangstaal!

 

[bamia]

Bom dia!
Ik heb een vraag.
If that were a kind of test I'd translate or say: ''Je gaat niets leren als je de hele tijd gewoon zit te vertalen''.
Does that make sense to you?

Yes, informal but makes perfect sense. Je leert niets als je voortdurend zit te vertalen is also possible.