Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen

English translation: That\'s the way it is

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Dutch term or phrase:Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen
English translation:That\'s the way it is
Entered by: MoiraB

07:58 Dec 13, 2007
Dutch to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
Dutch term or phrase: Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen
Text about how different types of company deal with internationalisation. This one is a 'drinkwaterbedrijf', a public limited company whose shares are directly or indirectly held by provincial and municipal authorities. A descriptive section based on an interview is followed by a series of individual quotes from the same interview. This is one of the quotes. I know what verzinnen means, of course, but can't work out what the whole phrase is getting at, so help appreciated.

“We werken nu veel meer met publiek geld dan in de tijd van de internationale privatisering. Doordat onze aandeelhouders publiek zijn, hebben we een natuurlijker monopolie in de markt. **Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen** en dat betekent ook dat we proberen vrij nauw aan te sluiten bij wat de overheid internationaal doet.”
MoiraB
France
Local time: 09:33
That's the way it is
Explanation:
I think the natural monoply they mention is quite a positive thing for them, and this "Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen" is some sort of apology for having this natural monoply, along the lines of "there's nothing we can do about that", but that's probably a bit too strong.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2007-12-13 08:30:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry AMV, I hadn't seen your answer there.
Selected response from:

Esther Hay
New Zealand
Local time: 19:33
Grading comment
Thanks for the wealth of suggestions, but this one hits the right note for me.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1That's all there is to it
telraam
4You cannot imagine anything else / There is no other leeway.
L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
3 +1There's no two ways about it
Harry Borsje
4Nothing to do about that / no way to change this
amv
3 +1That's the way it is
Esther Hay
3 +1That's the simple truth
vixen
4There is no ready alternative to this.
jarry (X)
4there is no doubt about it
katerina turevich
3That is the reality
Erik Brinkhof
2Every other story would be a lie; telling a different story means telling a lie
Henk Peelen


  

Answers


6 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
You cannot imagine anything else / There is no other leeway.


Explanation:
te verzinnen ... imagine not in a nice sense

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 6 mins (2007-12-13 08:05:05 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Or no other option

L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen
South Africa
Local time: 09:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 15

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  jarry (X): Not the most idiomatic solution I think
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

9 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
That is the reality


Explanation:
I guess this expresses the intention. There must be other options, e.g. "Nothing can be done about that".

Erik Brinkhof
Vietnam
Local time: 14:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

11 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
That's all there is to it


Explanation:
Rather more colloquial, perhaps...

telraam
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 8

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  jarry (X)
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
There's no two ways about it


Explanation:
Talking about their 'natural monopoly'.


Harry Borsje
Netherlands
Local time: 09:33
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 24

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  vic voskuil
1 hr

neutral  Susan Hammons: I would advise amending this to "there are ..." or just "no two ways about it" and not have "there's" refer to "ways". It IS implied but since concord in number is off it irritates. IMHO!
2 hrs
  -> Certainly an option. I'm not quite convinced this version could be taken as derogatory towards the interviewee.

neutral  jarry (X): Is used to say that something is definitely true, especially something unpleasant (Longman Dictionary of contemporary English), but I don't think that "een natuurlijke monopolie" is necessarily 'unpleasant'.
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
Nothing to do about that / no way to change this


Explanation:
The sentence is a typical Dutch (Holland) expression and can have different meanings. I am pretty sure they mean that nothing can be done about the monopoly they have, but you might wait for an answer (or seek an answer) by a native Dutch speaker who is living in Holland.

amv
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

30 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
That's the way it is


Explanation:
I think the natural monoply they mention is quite a positive thing for them, and this "Daar valt niets anders voor te verzinnen" is some sort of apology for having this natural monoply, along the lines of "there's nothing we can do about that", but that's probably a bit too strong.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 31 mins (2007-12-13 08:30:07 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Sorry AMV, I hadn't seen your answer there.

Esther Hay
New Zealand
Local time: 19:33
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks for the wealth of suggestions, but this one hits the right note for me.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  jarry (X)
8 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

58 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +1
That's the simple truth


Explanation:
or perhaps: those are the facts.

The company has no choice but to accept the facts and act accordingly.

vixen
Greece
Local time: 10:33
Native speaker of: Dutch
PRO pts in category: 12

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  katerina turevich: those are the facts
6 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

1 hr   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
There is no ready alternative to this.


Explanation:
Resistance of grain storage insects to phosphine fumigant and ...... fumigant for the foreseeable future because of its low cost, its ease of use and its acceptance by all markets, ie, there is no ready alternative. ...
www.dpi.qld.gov.au/cps/rde/xchg/dpi/hs.xsl/26_4801_ENA_Prin...

[PDF] IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA Antonio Bundy ...File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - View as HTML
Fourth, no ready alternative currently exists to prevent inmates from. engaging in the filing of false UCC liens. Accordingly, we must sustain the ...
www.courts.state.pa.us/OpPosting/CWealth/out/4MD07_5-22-07....

Does Money Need Laundering? -- 2001 (524): 3 -- ScienceNOWAnd besides, there's no ready alternative to cash. Credit cards? Think about the nasty bugs they could pick up as they're swiped through the machine. ...
sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2001/524/3



jarry (X)
South Africa
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 46

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Tina Vonhof (X): Most appropriate in this context.
4 hrs
  -> Thank you

disagree  L.J.Wessel van Leeuwen: I agree to differ. So the person who used the expression sucked it out of his thumb?
10 hrs
  -> No comment
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 2/5Answerer confidence 2/5
Every other story would be a lie; telling a different story means telling a lie


Explanation:
In case you like to defend the companies policy or to confound competitors (as to the monopoly aspect)

Henk Peelen
Netherlands
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in DutchDutch
PRO pts in category: 4
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

7 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
there is no doubt about it


Explanation:
....and that means....

katerina turevich
Netherlands
Local time: 09:33
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.


See also:
Term search
  • All of ProZ.com
  • Term search
  • Jobs
  • Forums
  • Multiple search