- - (We) need to either get our passports back or get new ones.
What purpose does the “ya sea” serve here? The phrase seems to stand on its own without that. Thanks!
Steven-W15
May 25, 2022
What purpose does the “ya sea” serve here? The phrase seems to stand on its own without that. Thanks!
Scott_C
May 27, 2022
It adds the “either”. Without the “ya sea” I translate it to “We need to get out passports back or get new ones.”
Steven-W15
May 31, 2022
The interesting part is the use of the subjunctive. I suppose in English, we could use the same as in the following: “Be it getting our passports back or getting new ones, we need them.”
Liss-Rocket-Languages-Tutor
June 7, 2022
¡Hola Scott_C y Steven-W15!
Indeed, while it's easier and more natural to translate ya sea … o to “either … or” in modern English, technically, ya sea would actually be closer to “be (it)” or even “(whether it) be.”
This is a good example of one of those places where the Spanish phrasing seems quite old-fashioned when you translate it directly into English, but it sounds perfectly normal in Spanish! :)
Saludos,
Liss
Steven-W15
June 8, 2022
Thanks, Liss & Scott_C!