Tattoo It was then that i carried you

[sophiewalker]

Hi!

I was wondering how accurately "It was then that I carried you" could be translated into latin?

Could someone translate the phrase for me? And would it be translated back into English as the exact phrase or would it have to change in order to be correct in Latin?

(If any of that makes sense ha!)

Many thanks! X

 

[Pacifica]

Hi,

I guess it's a reference to this poem?

I would suggest tum te portavi, which back-translates literally to "Then I carried you" or "Then did I carry you". The wording "it was then that" can't really translate word for word into Latin.

 

[syntaxianus]

Perhaps the imperfect might be a good option here?

tunc te portabam = at that point I was carrying you.

 

[sophiewalker]

Hi,

I guess it's a reference to this poem?

I would suggest tum te portavi, which back-translates literally to "Then I carried you" or "Then did I carry you". The wording "it was then that" can't really translate word for word into Latin.

Yes it is a quote from "Footprints in the Sand"!

Ok thanks for your help!

 

[syntaxianus]

The closest classical phrasing I can find is Ovid, Met. 2.680: illud erat tempus quo (that was the time when...). The perfect tense follows, so this suggests: illud erat tempus quo te portavi.

 

[Bitmap]

I think the original tum is more precise for the English cleft sentence.