Conveying this idea in Spanish

[xamaicano]

How do you say, "I was supposed to go to a dinner party on Saturday?" The is precluded by the question, "what are you doing Saturday?" The idea that you want convey is you were invited but if the person asking has a better option you are game.

[Chirimoya]

You could say 'Estoy/Me han invitado a una cena' as in 'I've been invited to a dinner party' which has the same nuance - that you haven't definitely decided whether you're going.

[MrMike]

I would say:

"Se supone que iva a una cena el Sabado"

If I was trying to say it word for word.

If I wanted to make sure I was getting my point across I would say:

"me invitaron a una cena pero no se todavia"

[Lesley D]

I would say:

Tenía planes para ir a una cena pero xxx


Xamaicano:

I think what you may be questioning is how to convey "supposed to" from English to Spanish and there are some grammatical implications if you try to be too literal which, I will gladly explain if need be but I will wait for you to respond.


Buenas noches

-LDG.

[mofi]

Lesley, thats what I was going to post earlier, but I didn't know if it was correct or not, so I didn't! I guess I know more then I think I know.

[KateP]

I personally would translate it to " Se suponía que iba a una cena este Sabado".

[xamaicano]

Thanks all. Lesley, that's exactly it. How does one convey "supposed to" in Spanish?

Originally Posted by Lesley D

I would say:

Tenía planes para ir a una cena pero xxx


Xamaicano:

I think what you may be questioning is how to convey "supposed to" from English to Spanish and there are some grammatical implications if you try to be too literal which, I will gladly explain if need be but I will wait for you to respond.


Buenas noches

-LDG.

[Hillbilly]

I have heard and used "supuestamente"..

"Supuestamente, me iba a una cena el Sábado."

I think it is sort of how you say this that gives the listener the clue as to whether or not you really want to go on Saturday or are open to a better plan.

"HB

[Lesley D]

By obligation I will give you an academic response that way you can see where I am going with this. Conveying and translating are two very different ideas and most confuse the two. Translation is one of my disciplines in Spanish and the first year of study was the most difficult because time was spent getting that notion out of people's head because that's what most people do.

Translating and/or conveying the meaning of a phrase from one language to another is usually difficult in general. Sometimes there is a direct correlation however, most times one has to find the equivalent in the target language without changing the meaning of the source text. In translation which in essence one is trying to convey an equivalent phrase or message from one language to another one has to always think in terms of the "source language to target language" relationship and the grammatical properties from one language to the other.

In your example it's important to carry over the meaning of "supposed to" but not translate "supposed to" literally because in Spanish the literal meaning has a different connotation as compared to English. Your example in my opinion is an everyday phrase therefore it fits in the category of an "informal statement". In translation one rule of thumb is to match the level of formality from source language to the target language another key rule is to match the verb tenses (if possible) from language to another among a few other basic rules of translation. If unsure of the equivalent phrase chosen test it in a few other similar scenarios and if it can be used in equivalent scenarios you know your translation is accurate or is the "equivalent of" in the target language (in this case Spanish).

Instinctively when I read your post (and also not looking at the other posts) I said to myself "I was supposed to go to a dinner party but"- Tenía planes para ir a una cena pero xxx. then in retrospect I went back and used the rules of translation as a test for myself. If I were to say: I was supposed to go dancing, I was supposed to go shopping, I was to go swimming etc. I would still say tenía planes para ir a bailar, ir de compras, ir a nadar etc. Therefore the chosen phrase "tenía planes para xxx" is an acceptable equivalent or conveys the same message. As well, the verb tense "tenía" (el imperfecto) is a perfect match to the English "I was (supposed to)".

In respect to your immediate question how to convey "supposed to" it all depends on the level of obligation and expectation and from those nuances one will know what to use in Spanish. If you are a beginner you will have difficulty but overtime as you acquire more vocabulary and exposure to the language you will not think twice. In Spanish "suppose to" as an obligation can be conveyed by many verbs such as "tener que", "deber", "se supone que" among a few others but these are the most common. However, all have different nuances. In your phrase I would definitely not use any of three I just mentioned because there is no "formal obligation". Se supone/ se suponía in my opinion definitely does not fit the context. Se supone que xxx could be used in a translation like " I was supposed to start work at xxx or He was supposed to start work at xxx" because of the level of obligation or expectation. As well, if there was an agreed commitment and the person did not comply one can say "se supone que " xxxx pero. However, a simple dinner party or informal commitment I would use my own example or I also liked one of the suggested ones with a brief explanation.

Conveying and translation is not an easy discipline and many translators on the market are informal meaning they are bilingual so they do it as a side job but the formal translators who have studied the discipline are usually good grammarians and can detect grammatical aspects and these nuances readily especially in translated literature and newspapers etc.

I hope this helps.


-LDG.


PD. me iba is not correct s/b "iba"

[Chris_NJ]

So there is now such thing as "estoy supuesto..."?