Spanish · Part One

La sorpresa

The Surprise

34 sentences · 25 notes

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1
On opening the door of the manager's office, glazed with Japanese panes, Erdosain wanted to draw back; he understood he was lost, but it was already too late.
AlOnal · prepositionpreposition marking abrir
«Al + infinitive» means 'on/upon doing something.'
abriropeningabrir · verb, infinitiveadverbial clause on quiso
latheel · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of puerta
puertadoorpuerta · noun, feminine, singulardirect object of abrir
deofde · prepositionpreposition marking gerencia
latheel · determiner, feminine, singulardeterminer of gerencia
gerenciamanager's officegerencia · noun, feminine, singularmodifies puerta
encristaladaglazedencristalado · adjective, feminine, singularin apposition to puerta
dewithde · prepositionpreposition marking vidrios
vidriospanesvidrio · noun, masculine, pluralmodifies encristalada
japonesesJapanesejaponés · adjective, masculine, pluralmodifies vidrios
ErdosainErdosainErdosain · proper nounsubject of quiso
quisowantedquerer · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularmain verb of the sentence
retrocederdraw backretroceder · verb, infinitivecomplement of quiso
comprendióunderstoodcomprender · verb, past, indicative, third-person, singularcoordinated with quiso
quethatque · subordinating conjunctionintroduces the clause of perdido
estabawasestar · auxiliary verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singularcopula linking to perdido
perdidolostperdido · adjective, masculine, singularclausal complement of comprendió
perobutpero · conjunctionlinks the coordination
yaalreadyya · adverbmodifies era
erawasser · auxiliary verb, imperfect, indicative, third-person, singularcopula linking to tarde
tardelatetarde · adverbpredicate complement of era
Grammar«Al» + infinitive «Al» plus an infinitive means 'on / upon (doing something)': «al abrir la puerta» = 'on opening the door', 'as he opened the door'. It packs a whole clause of time into two words, and is one of the most common ways Spanish marks 'the moment when'.
GrammarImperfect for a state «estaba» (from «estar») and «era» (from «ser») are imperfect forms. The imperfect paints a continuous past condition — 'he was lost', 'it was late' — already in place, not a single finished action. Contrast «comprendió» ('he understood'), a preterite that names one completed moment.
2
Waiting for him were the director, a short man, thickset, with the head of a wild boar, gray hair cut "in the style of Umberto I", and an implacable gaze filtering through his gray pupils like a fish's: Gualdi, the accountant, small, thin, oily, with searching eyes, and the assistant manager, son of the man with the boar's head, a handsome fellow of thirty, his hair gone completely white, cynical in his look, his voice harsh and his stare hard like his father's.
GrammarFronted verb, postponed subject The sentence opens with the verb «esperaban» ('they were waiting') and the object pronoun «lo» ('him'), then lists the subjects afterward. Spanish freely puts the subject after the verb, especially to build up a long description; literally 'Awaited him the director, Gualdi, and the assistant manager…'.
These three figures — the director bent over some ledger sheets, the assistant manager reclining in an armchair with one leg swinging over its back, and Mr. Gualdi standing respectfully beside the desk — did not return Erdosain's greeting.
Only the assistant manager did no more than raise his head:
Grammar«limitarse a» + infinitive The pronominal verb «limitarse a» means 'to do no more than / to confine oneself to' doing something. «Se limitó a levantar la cabeza» = 'he merely raised his head'; the construction quietly stresses how little he did.
3
"We have a report that you are a swindler, that you have robbed us of six hundred pesos."
Word«estafador» An «estafador» is a swindler or con man — someone who commits «estafa», fraud. The charge frames Erdosain's crime in the blunt commercial language of the office.
4
"And seven cents," added Mr. Gualdi, as he ran a blotter over the signature the director had just initialed on a sheet.
GrammarPluperfect: «había» + participle «había rubricado» is the pluperfect ('had signed/initialed'): the imperfect of «haber» plus a past participle. It marks an action finished before another past moment — the signature was already made when Gualdi blotted it.
Then the latter, as if making a great effort over his bull's neck, raised his eyes.
Word«éste» = 'the latter' The demonstrative «éste» ('this one') points to the most recently mentioned person — here the director, not Gualdi — so it reads as 'the latter'. Spanish uses «éste / aquél» where English says 'the latter / the former'.
With his fingers hooked through the buttonholes of his waistcoat, the director cast a shrewd glance through his half-closed eyelids, while without rancor he studied the haggard face of Erdosain, who stood impassive.
5
"Why do you go about so badly dressed?" he asked.
Grammar«andar» as 'to go around' Beyond 'to walk', «andar» often means 'to go about / to be (in some state)': «anda mal vestido» = 'he goes around badly dressed'. «usted» is the formal 'you', the cold register the bosses keep with Erdosain.
6
"I earn nothing as a bill collector."
Word«cobrador» A «cobrador» is a collector — the man sent door to door to «cobrar», to collect payments owed. It is Erdosain's lowly job, and the money he is accused of stealing passed through his hands in exactly this role.
7
"And the money you have stolen from us?"
8
"I have stolen nothing."
GrammarEmphatic subject «yo» Spanish normally drops subject pronouns, so spelling out «yo» ('I') adds stress: 'I, for my part, have stolen nothing.' The double negative «no… nada» is standard and correct, not a grammar slip.
They are lies.
9
"Then are you in a position to render an account, you?"
Word«rendir cuentas» «rendir cuentas» is the set phrase 'to render an account / to account for oneself' — literally and figuratively to show the books. Here it is both the bookkeeping demand and a veiled threat.
10
"If you like, this very midday."
Grammar«mismo» for emphasis Tacked onto a time or place word, «mismo» means 'this very / right': «hoy mismo» = 'this very day', «aquí mismo» = 'right here'. It sharpens Erdosain's offer into 'today, no later'.
11
The answer saved him for the moment.
The three men consulted one another with a look, and at last the assistant manager, shrugging his shoulders, said, with his father's assent:
GrammarReciprocal «se» The pronoun «se» here is reciprocal: «se consultaron con la mirada» = 'they consulted one another with a glance', each looking to the others. The same «se» form can be reflexive ('themselves') or reciprocal ('each other'); context decides.
12
"No... you have until three o'clock tomorrow."
Bring the ledger sheets and the receipts... You may go.
GrammarFormal command «tráigase» «Tráigase» is a formal (usted) imperative of «traer», 'bring', with the pronoun «se» attached to it. Affirmative commands take pronouns on the end and add a written accent to keep the stress: «traiga» + «se» → «tráigase».
13
That decision surprised him so much that he stayed there sadly, on his feet, looking at the three of them.
Grammar«tan / tanto... que» «tanto... que» sets up 'so much... that': «lo sorprendió tanto... que permaneció allí» = 'it surprised him so much that he stayed there'. With an adjective the form is «tan» («tan triste que…»); with a verb it is «tanto».
Yes, the three of them.
Mr. Gualdi, who had humiliated him so, for all his being a socialist; the assistant manager, who had insolently fixed his eyes on his frayed necktie; the director, whose stiff, close-shaven boar's head turned toward him, filtering a cynical, obscene look through the gray slit of his half-closed eyelids.
Grammar«a pesar de» + infinitive «a pesar de» means 'in spite of / despite', and it takes an infinitive when the subject is the same: «a pesar de ser un socialista» = 'despite being a socialist'. The jab is that Gualdi's politics did not soften his cruelty.
Grammar«cuyo / cuya» = 'whose' «cuya» is the relative 'whose', and it agrees with the thing possessed, not the owner: «el director, cuya cabeza…» = 'the director, whose head…', feminine because «cabeza» is feminine.
14
Even so, Erdosain did not move from where he stood...
Word«sin embargo» «sin embargo» is the fixed connector 'however / nevertheless'. It opens the long, anguished sentence in which Erdosain lingers, unable to leave or to speak.
He wanted to tell them something — he did not know how — but something that would make them grasp the whole immense misery weighing on his life; and he stood like that, on his feet, sad, with the black cube of the iron safe before his eyes, feeling his back arch a little more as the minutes passed, while he nervously twisted the brim of his black hat, and his gaze grew more furtive and more sorrowful.
GrammarImperfect subjunctive «diera» is the imperfect subjunctive of «dar». It follows «algo que…» ('something that…') because the thing is wished-for, not real — he wants to find something that *would* make them understand. The idiom «dar a comprender» is 'to give to understand', to make someone realize.
Grammar«a medida que» «a medida que» means 'as / in proportion as' two things change together: «a medida que pasaban los minutos su espalda se arqueaba más» = 'as the minutes passed, his back arched more'. Both verbs are imperfect, painting the slow, simultaneous unfolding.
Then, abruptly, he asked.
15
"So, may I go?"
16
"Yes..."
17
"No... Hand the receipts over to Suárez and be here tomorrow at three, without fail, with everything."
GrammarFormal commands stacked up Both «entréguele» ('hand over to him') and «esté» ('be') are usted imperatives — the bosses never drop the formal address even while threatening. «Entréguele» carries the indirect object «le» attached, with an accent added to hold the stress.
18
"Yes... everything..." and turning, he went out without a word of farewell.
GrammarPronominal «volverse» «volverse» (with «se») here means 'to turn round', not 'to return'. The gerund «volviéndose» = 'turning around'; «salió sin saludar» = 'he left without saying goodbye', a small final humiliation he inflicts on no one but himself.
19
Down Calle Chile he went as far as Paseo Colón.
He felt himself invisibly cornered.
GrammarPronoun on the end: «sentíase» «Sentíase» is «se sentía» ('he felt himself') with the pronoun attached to the end of the verb — an older, literary placement common in Arlt's prose. The plain modern order would be «se sentía acorralado».
The sun laid bare the loathsome insides of the sloping street.
Different thoughts seethed in him, so unlike one another that the work of sorting them would have taken him many hours.
GrammarConditional perfect with subjunctive «le hubiera ocupado muchas horas» = 'it would have taken him many hours'. The «-ra» pluperfect subjunctive «hubiera ocupado» commonly stands in for the conditional perfect in unreal, never-attempted situations — he never actually tries to sort the thoughts.
20
Later he recalled that not for an instant had it occurred to him to wonder who could have denounced him.
Grammar«ocurrírsele a alguien» The idiom «ocurrírsele algo a alguien» means 'for something to occur to someone'. The «se» is the inherent pronominal particle that converts «ocurrir» into «ocurrírsele», a verb of involuntary mental occurrence (not reflexive, and not impersonal). The grammatical subject of the clause is the infinitive phrase; the «le» marks the dative experiencer — the person to whom the thought occurs without volition or intent: «no se le había ocurrido» = 'it had not occurred to him', as if the thought, not the man, were the actor.

The particulars

The text: Los siete locos, Roberto Arlt. Part One.
Reading aloud: Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
Words: Every word of the text, by letter.
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