[5.6] no le importaría 'he wouldn't mind.' Impersonal verbs occur much more frequently in Spanish than in English, and it is often wise, in translating, to change to the personal construction (cf. translation of tratándose, [3.6]). However, the impersonal form may well be retained, if appropriate. In this book consideration is to be given to such verbs as antojarse, bastar, constar, convenir, gustar, importar, pasar, pesar, placer, sentar, sobrar, suceder, tardarse, tratarse, etc. The vocabulary suggests various translations.
[5.7] desde muy niña 'since you were very young.' Here muy is correct because, in this context, niña is virtually an adjective; cf. muy hombre, muy maestro, and the English 'very much a man.'
[6.1] ¡Ay, si lo sé! 'Indeed I do know it,' 'Of course I know it.' It is not unusual to find si after interjections; cf. ¡vaya si lo sé! Here si, meaning 'whether,' may be regarded as grammatically dependent upon some verb of asking understood.
[6.2] no estás para 'you are not in a position to.' The idiom here has a different meaning from the usual 'be about to.'
[6.3] que. Here elliptical and emphatic; que often occurs at the beginning of a clause, and serves to call attention to what follows, thereby intensifying the statement; such a que cannot be translated. To understand it we may supply some such word as parece, hay, sucede, etc.
[6.4] nosotros. Note the emphatic position of this word, stressed by the insertion of se puede decir que.
[6.5] ¿Cómo había de importarme? 'How could I have cared?' See note [4.5].
[ [6.6] Estaba seguro de que 'I was sure that.' See note [5.2].]
[6.7] enamoradilla 'slightly in love.' The exact force of certain Spanish augmentatives and diminutives cannot readily be given in English. An effort has been made in the vocabulary to suggest suitable translations wherever a fair degree of accuracy seems attainable.
[6.8] no se diga 'there's no denying it,' 'there's no use talking.' Decir is used in several exclamatory or semi-exclamatory expressions where a different verb would often be employed in English. Attention will be called to other examples.