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  3. General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

If you don´t mind my/me asking..

Spanish translation: "my" es lo correcto pero no todos lo utilizan

16:23 Aug 30, 2008
English to Spanish translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
English term or phrase: If you don´t mind my/me asking..
Más que preguntar por el significado de esta expresión, el cual es suficentemente claro, quisiese su ayuda para dilucidar si debe utilizarse "my" o "me" antes de asking?

Parece ser que puede decirse de ambas formas pero no se cuál es la forma más correcta o si es que dependiendo del sitio o etnia se dice diferente.

Hay algunas opiniones al respecto en
http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=379294

Sinembargo quisiese sabe la opinión en esta comunidad de traductores de proz. Por supuesto cualquier sustentación sería altamente apreciada.

Gracias
Jairo Payan
Colombia
Local time: 10:38
Spanish translation:"my" es lo correcto pero no todos lo utilizan
Explanation:
se tiene escribir "my asking" tal como se explica en la referencia. Pero todos no estudian la gramática, por eso existe una tendencia a no seguir la regla.

Gerund as direct object:
They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)
They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/01/


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Note added at 28 mins (2008-08-30 16:51:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hay muchas otras referencias que avalan la de arriba:

http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&q="use a possessive pronou...
Selected response from:

Bubo Coroman (X)
Grading comment
Muchas gracias a todos por sus enriquecedoras intervenciones. Al parecer las dos formas son usadas pero en atención a la gramática "My" es lo correcto, sin que se pueda descalificar "me" por su uso extendido tanto en USA como en UK.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
5 +7Si no te molesta que pregunte
Yaotl Altan
5 +6"my" es lo correcto pero no todos lo utilizan
Bubo Coroman (X)
5 +2Y si me permite(s) una pregunta indiscreta
Henry Hinds
4 +3Either is correct
Jack Doughty
5 +1MY
jack_speak
5 +1Si no le incomoda mi pregunta
María Estela Ruiz Paz
4si no le/te incomoda/molesta mi pregunta/que le/te pregunte
Claudia Luque Bedregal
4si permites que (yo) te pregunte
Barbara Cochran, MFA
Summary of reference entries provided
Rodrigo Tejeda
nahuelhuapi

Discussion entries: 6





  

Answers


5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +2
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
Y si me permite(s) una pregunta indiscreta


Explanation:
Sustento: Tantas veces lo he escuchado.

Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 09:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 315
Notes to answerer
Asker: Gracias por tu aporte y por tu observación. Talvez es mejor colocarla en el foro, pero en gracia de discusión y si se me permite, me gustaría dejarla en esta sección. Cordial saludo

Asker: Henry: Tú dices que ambas son correctas, se podría afirmar que alguna forma es más común en algunas comunidades étnicas o lugares de los Estados Unidos, o su uso es totalmente indiferente...


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Egmont
13 mins
  -> Gracias, AVRVM.
agree  Marina56: ok
17 hrs
  -> Gracias, Marina.
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5 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +7
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
Si no te molesta que pregunte


Explanation:
"If you don't mind me asking, how much money do you earn?"



    Reference: http://askville.amazon.com/mind-money-earn/AnswerViewer.do?r...
Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 09:38
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish, Native in ItalianItalian
PRO pts in category: 110

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Karin Otterbach
18 mins
agree  Monica Segal
39 mins
agree  Carmen Valentin-Rodriguez
2 hrs
agree  Egmont: Too!
3 hrs
agree  Dana Avramov
3 hrs
agree  Marina56: ok
17 hrs
agree  Julio Bereciartu
21 hrs
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21 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
si no le/te incomoda/molesta mi pregunta/que le/te pregunte


Explanation:
my + verb in -ing

verbal noun (gerund):
example: Do you mind my asking?
You need to use the possessive adjective "my" because it relates to the verbal noun "asking".


Claudia Luque Bedregal
Italy
Local time: 17:38
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 26
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13 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
MY


Explanation:
If you don't mind my asking.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 mins (2008-08-30 16:45:45 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Jairo, they are not both correct. I have NEVER heard anyone say "if you don't mind me asking" It sounds very strange. It is incorrect.

Good luck.

jack_speak
Local time: 11:38
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 16

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bubo Coroman (X): correct! Have a nice weekend Jack!
9 mins
  -> Thanks, you, too, Deborah.
agree  Lydia De Jorge: The fact that they are both commonly used does not make them both correct.
28 mins
  -> Thanks Lydia.
disagree  Jack Doughty: In UK English at least, "If you don't mind me asking" is the normal conversational way of putting it, even if "my" is more grammatically correct.
28 mins
  -> Interesting. I've never heard it said like that and I hope I don't. Thanks, Jack.
agree  Claire Chapman
1 hr
  -> Thank you.
disagree  Henry Hinds: In my experience, both are good. Precisely in response to Jack Doughty's comment, to reinforce that fact that both are used in the USA as well.
1 hr
  -> Both are NOT used in the US except when someone mis-speaks.
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22 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +6
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
"my" es lo correcto pero no todos lo utilizan


Explanation:
se tiene escribir "my asking" tal como se explica en la referencia. Pero todos no estudian la gramática, por eso existe una tendencia a no seguir la regla.

Gerund as direct object:
They do not appreciate my singing. (The gerund is singing.)
They do not appreciate my assistance. (The gerund has been removed)
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/01/


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 28 mins (2008-08-30 16:51:21 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Hay muchas otras referencias que avalan la de arriba:

http://www.google.es/search?hl=es&q="use a possessive pronou...

Bubo Coroman (X)
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 428
Grading comment
Muchas gracias a todos por sus enriquecedoras intervenciones. Al parecer las dos formas son usadas pero en atención a la gramática "My" es lo correcto, sin que se pueda descalificar "me" por su uso extendido tanto en USA como en UK.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Jennifer Levey: Yes . Although grammatically incorrect, 'me asking' is very common 'where I were brung up' (Essex, UK).
15 mins
  -> thanks, enjoy your weekend! :-) Deborah
agree  jack_speak
25 mins
  -> thanks Jack, hugs :-) Deb
agree  NancyLynn
1 hr
  -> thanks Nancy, happy weekend! :-) Deborah
agree  Mariana Peralta: Excellent explanation!
3 hrs
  -> thanks Mariana, have a great weekend! :-) Deborah
agree  Sp-EnTranslator: Eso es.
5 hrs
  -> muchas gracias Claudia, que pases muy bien tu fin de semana :-) Deborah
agree  Daniel Coria: Yep!
8 hrs
  -> thanks Daniel, enjoy your Sunday! :-) Deborah
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48 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +3
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
Either is correct


Explanation:
I can speak only for UK English, since I see another answerer based in the USA has never heard of the "me" version, but here "If you don't mind ME asking" is more widely used in normal conversation here, even though "MY" may be more grammatically correct.

Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:38
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Bashiqa: What people seem to forget is that "spoken english" and "written english" are not necessarily the same. "Both are corret"
4 hrs
  -> Thank you. In spoken English, either is correct, but I think ME is probably more common, and this phrase is only likely to occur in written English when it is spoken English which has been written!
agree  Ian Davies: Absolutely!
6 hrs
  -> Thank you.
agree  Daniel Burns (X): I hear them used equally often in my part of the U. S.
11 hrs
  -> Thank you.
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2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5 peer agreement (net): +1
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
Si no le incomoda mi pregunta


Explanation:
MY is more polite (so, you have to choose it depending on the context)

María Estela Ruiz Paz
Argentina
Local time: 12:38
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Richard C. Baca, MIM
14 mins
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1 day 5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
if you don´t mind my/me asking..
si permites que (yo) te pregunte


Explanation:
Referencia:

Collins Robert Unabridged Spanish/English Dictionary

Barbara Cochran, MFA
United States
Local time: 11:38
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 27
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Reference comments


8 mins peer agreement (net): +2
Reference

Reference information:
Especially in writing, I'd suggest to stick to the possessive my instead of me. It has long been customary to consider possessive forms (my, his, our) of personal pronouns better than the object forms (me, him, us) as subjects of a gerund, regardless of the grammatical differences there might be, Good luck, Jairo.

Rodrigo Tejeda
Argentina
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
Note to reference poster
Asker: Gracias por tu aporte Rodrigo. Este el tipo de respuesta que requiero


Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Catherine Winzer: yes, this sounds right to me. "me" sounds perfectly OK to me in spoken English (British, at any rate), but I think "my" would be grammatically more correct & more acceptable in writing
29 mins
  -> Thanks, Catherine! Enjoy your day
agree  NancyLynn
2 hrs
  -> Gracias!!
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31 mins peer agreement (net): +1
Reference

Reference information:
"me" es pronombre y "my " es posesivo. Se considera que la forma posesiva es más elegante y literaria. De todos modos, se pueden usar las dos versiones.
Ej. : Do you mind their/them coming too?
Espero haberte ayudado un poquito. ¡Buen finde!

nahuelhuapi
Argentina
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in SpanishSpanish
PRO pts in category: 89

Peer comments on this reference comment (and responses from the reference poster)
agree  Rodrigo Tejeda: on se porque me suena a algo que estudie en la facultad hace poco, estoy buscando la referencia, pensamos parecido.
1 hr
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