Is there a French phrase to say 'I wouldn't put anything past her'?
Is there a French phrase to say 'I wouldn't put anything past her'?
I want to write a short message addressed to a friend of mine. Unfortunately my French is not good enough to come up with a French phrase to say the phrase put in italics.
It was luck and luck alone that made me wise up to her little schemes. Now I wouldn't put anything past her.
The message isn't anything formal.
3 Answers
3
In a casual setting among friends, I'd probably say:
Si je me suis rendu compte de ce qu'elle manigançait, c'est grâce à un coup de chance, rien d'autre. Je ne m'étonne plus de rien de sa part / avec elle.
There are various ways to express the idea, and though not a literal translation, this one comes naturally to me.
And as a native speaker, @Hawker65 is more idiomatic for this particular construction. The emphasis is on her and her actions, not on your reactions.
– Jean Rostan
Aug 31 at 15:56
The English idiom "wouldn't put anything past her" has not been rendered properly: it is used to mean that you think that someone is capable of doing something illegal, mean, criminal ; it is not used to say that someone has done something, illegal, mean or criminal.
– LPH
Aug 31 at 17:13
@user168676 Is it just me, but what you're describing doesn't make any sense. The "THINK capable" meaning is exactly rendered by "ne pas s'étonner" in "Je ne m'étonne plus de rien de sa part" in Con-gras-tue-les-chiens' rendering, and in "Plus rien ne m'étonne(rait) de sa part" in Hawker65's rendering. No one said that "someone has DONE something illegal". Can't see where d'you get the idea.
– user17522
Sep 1 at 4:32
Since it's "not anything formal", I would say it like this:
J'ai compris à quoi elle jouait purement par chance. Depuis, je sais qu'il faut s'attendre à tout venant d'elle.
i'd have put a comma before venant. According to strict grammar, am I wrong? Can't tell for certain.
– user17522
Sep 1 at 4:56
I honestly couldn't tell you if there's a rule that forces a comma here. To me, it looks fine with or without one and I've searched the internet for "s'attendre à tout, venant", it pops up almost always without comma. But it's the internet, so you know. You could also use "avec elle" which doesn't really change anything but flows a little better which would further decrease the need for a comma in my opinion
– Batman
Sep 2 at 7:41
Ce n'est que la chance, rien d'autre que la chance qui ait fait que je puisse me rendre compte de ses petits plans de supercherie; depuis je la crois capable de tout.
late addition as the result of the remarks of 200_success and user17522
This next translation might be prefered;
Ce n'est que la chance, rien d'autre que la chance qui ait fait que je puisse me rendre compte de ses petits plans de supercherie; depuis je la crois capable du pire.
"Je la crois capable de tout", on its own, does not necessarily have the negative connotation of "I wouldn't put anything past her".
– 200_success
Sep 1 at 1:05
Yeah, "Je la crois capable de tout", it can be positive too, so it doesn't fit so well with "I wouldn't put anything past her". @200_success
– user17522
Sep 1 at 4:29
quite true, good idea; as is my sentence it is unambiguous (200_success) but some reinforcement of it can do it no harm. (I made an addition.)
– LPH
Sep 1 at 20:23
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"Plus rien ne m'étonne(rait) de sa part" is another way to say the same thing.
– Hawker65
Aug 31 at 7:45