Usamos esta frase cuando hacemos una pausa para pensar lo que vamos a decir, como simple relleno o incluso como llamada de atención antes de introducir un asunto.
Pongo ejemplos de escenarios en los que la uso:
1.- Principio de conversación.
«Oye, ¿qué te iba a decir? ¿Vas a poder ir a comprar tú esta tarde?»
2.- En mitad o final de conversación, para cambiar o no de tema.
«Entiendo, ya me ocupo yo de ello. Por cierto, ¿qué te iba a decir? ¿Qué tal llevas el informe sobre Canon?»
3.- Al principio, en medio o al final de conversación.
«¿Qué te iba a decir? (Pausa) Ah, sí, ya me acuerdo. ¿Has podido hablar al final con Rosa García?»
Busco traducción natural para todos los escenarios o cada uno por separado si es necesario. What was I going to tell you?, ¿vale para todos? ¿hay algo mejor? También saber si los hispanohablantes usan esta frase tan a menudo como yo (como quien dice a diario) o en otras situaciones.
¡Gracias por adelantado! ¡Saludos cordiales!
Para la 3: Diría «(Now) What was I going to say to you?» en vez de «… tell …» porque lo que sigue es una pregunta, no una frase afirmativa.
Un saludo
¡Hola Bill! ¡Muchas gracias! 🙂 ¿Y qué frase podemos usar en inglés para la 1 y la 2?
Saludos cordiales
Hola, Monic, Bill y todos:
Estaba esperando a que viniera algún otro angloparlante o persona que esté más acostumbrada a traducir o que haya aprendido el idioma traduciendo. Intento aportar algo, a ver lo que os parece.
Nada más leer la frase en inglés, pensé lo que Bill. Aunque yo lo diría incluso sin ese to you final, a ver si él u otros están de acuerdo. Creo que para la primera situación quizá valdría esta misma frase o, por ejemplo, un simple Listen, (you know,) … Me parece que habría distintas posibles frases que se pueden usar en la segunda, por ejemplo, That reminds me …; Oh, I wanted to ask you ….; Speaking of (which, etc) … (si tuviera relación con lo anterior); Oh, before I forget …; Aunque simplemente creo que en este caso valdría con, por ejemplo, By the way o Anyway.
Un cordial saludo.
¡Gracias Blasita! Esas frases me vienen muy bien de todos modos.
Abrazos
Hello everyone!
In my opinion, the best way to express this is: What was I going to say?
It is the most neutral. That is, it could refer to a question: What was I going to ask you?
or a statement: What was I going to say/tell you?
or even an imperative: What was I going to tell you (to do)?
any of which you have temporarily forgotten, or at least want to make it look as if you have forgotten.
bill’s addition of «now» works quite well, I think. Personally, I think I might also use it in number 1 myself.
I like all of Blasita’s options with the possible exception of «Anyway». You certainly hear this in American English but it is incorrect here. It really has the meaning of «well». As in «well, anyway» and expresses a certain resignation on the part of the speaker.
Ex.
Well, anyway, I thought I would ask…
(Here the speaker implies that expects some sort of negative comment answer to some previous question.)
I hope that makes some sort of sense.
Yes, it makes sense, Gerardo: thank you!! A big help.
I have a question for everyone: can we use «you know» with a similar meaning in this type of phrases?
monic–
I don’t understand your question regarding «you know».
Do you mean to replace «What was I going to say?» or in addition to that? Or were you referring to something I wrote?
Can you give us an example, please?
Thanks.
Gerardo, I am sorry that I did not explain it well. Yes, I mean to use «you know?» to replace «what was I going to say?» in the phrases that I wrote at the beginning of the thread. Can be used in any of the three situations? Thank you!
monic —
No worries. I just wanted to make sure I understood your question correctly before I started answering!
In my opinion, the two phrases are not interchangeable. I can not think of a time when I would use it in place of «What was I going to say?»
«You know,» is used in places where you are asking if the other person 1. is aware of something:
Ex.
1. The boss sounded really excited when I talked to him. His wife just had a baby, you know. (Here we are dealing with a statement, not a question.)
or
Most often it is used as a «filler» which basically asks if the other person is following your train of thought/comments, etc.
2. It’s 10 o’clock already, you know, and all I have been able to do is pay some bills. I still have to write that letter and I haven’t even started it.
I’m sure there are other uses. Let’s see what others say.
Saludos.
Hello Gerardo!
Although I consulted some dictionaries I had not clear the use of «you know». I read for example this in the Cambrige Dictionary and I thought that can be used with a similar meaning than «what was I going to say» when you are trying to think what to say:
Thank you very much for the information, Gerardo. Saludos
The comment that the phrase is one «with little meaning» is absolutely correct. It is a «filler», as I said above. It is the same as uttering, «Uh / Umm / Errr…..», etc. It is a audible pause in speech when you are looking for the correct words/ stuttering, trying to find the right words. (It is the «este» in Spanish.)
From above:
Well I just thought, I umm/eh/uh/errr/ should agree to it.
I am not happy with the situation but, well, I uh/um/ err, etc. there isn’t much I can do about it.
Thank you! Greetings.