I need some help to diagram the sentence, “All you need is love.” My family and I are learning Spanish and often times encounter grammatical issues in English in our attempt to go between the two languages. Recently, (on Valentine’s Day) we heard the translation of the expression “All you need is love” in Spanish that made us think about the nuts and bolts of the grammatical structure of the sentence. The Spanish translation we heard were “Solo necesitas amor” and “Solo que necesitas es amor” both of which seemed strange.
One person (native English speaker and Spanish speaker) told us that “all you need” is the subject, “is” your verb, and “love” the direct object. I am not really satisfied with this answer, and thus, seeking your advice. Any help on this subject would be greatly appreciated.
All: subject
“(that) you need”: adjective clause modifying “All”
is: verb, copular/linking
love: predicate nominative (diagrammed a little differently from direct objects)
All, as in, “the only thing,” is the subject. “Is” is the verb, which is intransitive, and has no object. “That you need” is a restrictive clause. “Love” is a subject compliment. So much for a simple diagram.
I don’t know how to translate this into Spanish with any confidence. I would probably say something like “Amor es todo que se necesita.”
Not a native speaker, but a lazy one: “Solo se necesita amor” would be my stab at it, or maybe “Unicamente se necesita amor”? That probably comes off as kind of technical, though, without the warmth of the original (that’s why understanding and speaking a language doesn’t automatically make you a translator).
If the thread title had specifically asked for Spanish grammar help, it would attract native Spanish speakers who would definitively provide the straight dope, so to speak.
I’d use Lo solo que se necesita es amor as a reasonably precise translation using idiomatic Spanish.
First, I use the rather odd article ‘Lo’ – because constructions which make an adjective function as an abstract noun use ‘lo’ (otherwise a vanishingly rare form) to form the abstract concept. “The unique thing” is verbatim translated as “la cosa unica” but would more idiomatically be “lo unico” in just this way.
Second, idiomatic Spanish prefers the reflexive to the passive in most cases, an in particular in forming generalizations. And the English usage of dropping ‘that’ in short modifiers like “All [that] you need…” is not proper Spanish, which demands the que.
However, there may be better idiomatic ways to render this that I don’t know.
By the way, Johanna, you presence in the Native American Languages GQ thread would be invaluable.
Sapo is taking a short holiday after a [del]kangaroo court[/del] free and frank discussion of the significance of the acronym FOAD as it applies to Pit protocol. I can’t speak for Nava.
Polycarp, thanks for explaining about the use of the article lo– I’ve had a rough and ready familiarity with Spanish for years, but never knew about that subtlety.
Thank you for the compliment-- I read through the thread on American Indian languages, and found that whatever thoughts I would have wanted to add to it had already been said.
Poly–you know so much about such an odd and wide variety of subjects. It’s a pleasure to read most of your posts, whenever you feel free to join in. I’m sorry you don’t feel free-er.
The way we say it in Spain is “todo lo que necesitas es amor” or “solo necesitas amor” (“you only need love”). The translations given in the OP are also idiomatically correct. In the end, they all mean “the only thing you really need is love.”
Y salud, y dinero…
(I think Sapo is still banned)
“Lo solo” is not correct, or at least it makes my eyes twitch. Using that kind of structure, it would be “lo único.” The rest is good.
