_Vale más errar por generosidad que acertar por egoísmo._[38]
--EMILIO CASTELAR.
=115.= English _can_ and _could_, translated by the present and past
tenses of =poder= when _possibility_ is implied, are differently
translated to express _conjecture_. In the latter case, Spanish uses the
future and conditional of the verbs that in English are the complements
of _can_ and _could_. The examples should be very carefully studied and
compared with those given under section 102.
_What can be the matter with the poor boy?_
=¿Qué tendrá el pobrecillo?=--RAMOS CARRIÓN.
_Where could Telmo be hidden?_
=¿Dónde estaría metido Telmo?=--EMILIA PARDO BAZÁN.
_The first man who made a friend--what could he have been thinking
about?_
=El primer hombre que se hizo amigo--¿en qué estaría pensando?=--TOMAYO Y
BAUS.
_"It wasn't Peter apparently." "It wasn't? Who could it have been?"_
=No era Pedro a lo visto.--¿No? ¿Quién estaría?=
--TOMAYO Y BAUS.
Note that the conditional translates both _could be_ and _could have
been_.
=116.= _To ring_ is =tocar= as a transitive and =sonar= as an intransitive
verb.
_We rang twice before we heard the bell ring within the house._
=Tocamos dos veces antes de oír sonar la campanilla dentro de la casa.=
_At that moment a shot rang out very close._
=En aquel mismo instante sonó un tiro muy próximo.=
--ALARCÓN.
=117.= English _but_ as a synonym of _however_ is =pero=; as an adversative
conjunction it is rendered =sino=; in the sense of _only_ or _except_ it
may be rendered =sino= or =no ... más de= (=que=).
_He is not here at present, but I am expecting him at any moment._
=No está aquí en este momento, pero le estoy esperando de un momento a
otro.=
_She is not Spanish, but Italian._
=No es española sino italiana.=
_No one knows it but you._
=Nadie lo sabe sino tú.=
_Remember that now you have no father but this gentleman._
=Acuérdate de que ya no tienes más padre que este señor.=
--EMILIA PARDO BAZÁN.
=118.= =EXERCISES=
(_a_) 1. ¿Quién será?--exclamó la joven que se había puesto pálida. 2.
¿Sería mi hermano el que ha hecho eso? 3. Sonó la campanilla, pero el
viejo no la oyó por ser él sordo. 4. ¿Serán ya las tres? ¿Sonaría la
campanilla sin que nosotros la oyésemos? 5. Voy a mandarle todo lo que
me ha pedido menos este libro, que no puedo pasarme sin él. 6. Me dijo
que a las doce de la noche había sonado la campanilla del teléfono.
¿Quién me telefonaría a esas horas? 7. Ya no le queda más dinero que la
pequeña suma que heredó de su padre el año pasado. 8. ¿Sería el vecino
que me robó el caballo? 9. Es la primera vez que ha faltado a la cita.
¿Estará mala? 10. Yo no sabía de quien sería el bolsillo que acababa de
hallar. 11. No hay quien toque las campanas como usted.
(_b_) 1. Ring the bell and when they open the door ask for him. 2. Who
can that man be? There is no one here who knows him. 3. We heard the
coins ring as they fell on the table. 4. He speaks no language but
English, but he reads Spanish and French. 5. I have no friend but you in
the whole city. 6. Could it have been your father who telephoned you
last night? 7. Where can my brother be? I hope he has not lost his way.
8. I was wondering if _he_ could have taken them. _She_ could not have
lifted them. 9. We had nothing but bread and butter to eat, but it was
enough as we were not hungry. 10. What can he be reading that seems to
interest him so much? Generally he reads nothing but the daily paper.