I have a Vietnamese neighbor need English to Vietnamese translation

[abrody]

Dear Vdict community,
I have a neighbor next door to me whose fence is leaning into my yard because of a lot of material on the outdoor open shed shelves in his back yard. I wanted to convey to him in a nice letter to move his items not so close to the fence so it doesn't end up knocking over our fence. Can someone help me write a friendly letter asking him to move it? I don't know his name. He is rarely there when I'm at home, and his English is such that he barely understands what I want to say. Also if you could tell me in English what that letter says.

Thank you.

[HiHucCaoGio]

Dear Vdict community,
I have a neighbor next door to me whose fence is leaning into my yard because of a lot of material on the outdoor open shed shelves in his back yard. I wanted to convey to him in a nice letter to move his items not so close to the fence so it doesn't end up knocking over our fence. Can someone help me write a friendly letter asking him to move it? I don't know his name. He is rarely there when I'm at home, and his English is such that he barely understands what I want to say. Also if you could tell me in English what that letter says.

Thank you.

Why would you want to tackle the problems in a convoluted way like that? Should you just write a nice and polite letter in English? You would CLEARLY describe the items that are bothering you and suggestions on how to remediate them. Your neighbor lives in America, he must deal with many documents in English. Why would this matter required a letter in Vietnamese, unless you just want to impress him? Also doing this might back fire on you. After reading your letter, he might decide to come over and discuss the matter in Vietnamese with you "in depth" because he loves your proficiency in Vietnamese. Whoa!

I would also suggest that you do not hint at any threats. Just a write it in a nice and friendly tone -- but not overly friendly. Do not hand write the letter. Print the letter using your computer and put it in an envelope so it looked "official". One of those culture thing, you know.

Good luck.

[MANH NGUYEN]

....I would also suggest that you do not hint at any threats. Just a (1) write it in a nice and friendly tone -- but not overly friendly. Do not hand write the letter. Print the letter using your computer and put it in an envelope so it looked (2) "official". One of those culture thing(3), you know.

Good luck. (By HihucCaogio)

HihucCaogio,

My suggestions:

(1) Just write it in a nice and friendly tone. (omit "a")
(2) ...so it looks ""official." (for consistency)
(3) One of those culture things, you know. (those===>plural)

Notes:
I just want to excel our English!

[HiHucCaoGio]

....I would also suggest that you do not hint at any threats. Just a (1) write it in a nice and friendly tone -- but not overly friendly. Do not hand write the letter. Print the letter using your computer and put it in an envelope so it looked (2) "official". One of those culture thing(3), you know.

Good luck. (By HihucCaogio)

HihucCaogio,

My suggestions:

(1) Just write it in a nice and friendly tone. (omit "a")
(2) ...so it looks ""official." (for consistency)
(3) One of those culture things, you know. (those===>plural)

Notes:
I just want to excel our English!

1. You can have the a or not in this case, it's a matter of preference. Nothing in usage nor grammar dictates this use. Without a, it's a softer suggestion.
2. "looked" is used here as a shorten passive mode. I could write it in full ....put it is an envelope so it's looked "official" ... The letter is an inanimate object, it's looked upon. Sorry for the confusion.
3. Completely agree with you. My omission! things is correct.

I welcome any suggestions and thanks for taking your time

[MANH NGUYEN]

HihucCaogio,

I would also suggest that you do not hint at any threats. [B]Just a write it in a nice and friendly tone -- [/B]

1. You can have the a or not in this case, it's a matter of preference. Nothing in usage nor grammar dictates this use. Without a, it's a softer suggestion.


Sorry, "a" does not fit in here at all, because "it" (following right behind write) is a direct object of verb to write!!! On the other hand, there is no such a noun like this but "a writing"

"Chuyện người thì sáng, chuỵện riêng mình thì tối" nhưng ở đây chuyện Anh Ngữ là chuyện chung! Cheers!

[HiHucCaoGio]

HihucCaogio,

I would also suggest that you do not hint at any threats. [B]Just a write it in a nice and friendly tone -- [/B]

1. You can have the a or not in this case, it's a matter of preference. Nothing in usage nor grammar dictates this use. Without a, it's a softer suggestion.


Sorry, "a" does not fit in here at all, because "it" (following right behind write) is a direct object of verb to write!!! On the other hand, there is no such a noun like this but "a writing"

"Chuyện người thì sáng, chuỵện riêng mình thì tối" nhưng ở đây chuyện Anh Ngữ là chuyện chung! Cheers!

I do see the typing error I made by re-reading my original text - fully agree with your correction, the first "a" should not be there. That was a typo, I got side tracked by the way you highlighted the "a". I glanced at your confusing editing/quoting method and thought the "a" you wanted me to delete is the "a" before "nice". I thought you added an extra "a" to clarify your point. It was my fault, albeit a typo.

Anyway, you seem to get a kick out of reading tea leaf. No big deal, if you could find more of my mistakes, point them out. As I've told you before, I always welcome the corrections.

Actually, in a document which has 909 characters, you pointed out 3 items that you disagree with:

1. A typo -- I left a single character behind while edited the document: fault!!!.
2. Your suggestion is wrong by not paying attention to the context and my implied usage.
3. Missing one "s" : my fault.

So, after your tea-leaf reading over 900 characters, you found 1 real mistake of mine, one typo of mine, and one wrong suggestion of yours. Not too bad on my part huh?

Again, I don't mind at all if you or anyone else critic my writings. When I correct the mistakes for others, this is NOT implied that I write error free. Far from it, I am not a native speaker as I indicate on my profile. However, when you've gone below the belt and written "Chuyện người thì sáng, chuỵện riêng mình thì tối"; it shows the pettiness and lack of class. The comment is a cheap shot and uncalled for. I've made many suggestions to other posters, never with any sneering remarks. I've seen your writing errors also, in both English and Vietnamese, but I decided not to make suggestions on them. My thinking is: only making suggestions to posters that might benefit from the suggestions. I don't think, by reading your posts, you are that kind of a person. However, all bets are OFF now. I wish you luck with your quest of having "perfect English" as you stated in the previous post.


PS: I've been busy with works this week and decided to stop posting for awhile, but works can wait for this ...