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How would I say for example “I mean, it’s not like they’ll let me go”? Meaning it’s not likely they’ll let me go, realistically they won’t let me go, etc.

Also, how would I say for example “I’m glad you finished it, not that I thought you wouldn’t!”

Do these phrases have any fixed equivalents?

4 Answers 4

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I completely agree with stbr's answer for the first sentence, that's how I would have said it (in case it gets deleted or edited, I copy it here):

Je veux dire, ce n'est pas (c'est pas) comme s'ils allaient me laisser partir

For the second one I would prefer to use a slightly more elegant sentence using "Non (pas) que" and avoiding the repetition of "pas":

Je suis heureux que tu aies fini ça, (non) (pas) que j'en doutais mais ...

Note that "non" and "pas" are between parenthesis because each could be omitted, but not both at the same time. Omitting one or the other changes slightly how formal the sentence is. Here's my ordering (based on my feeling) from least to most formal:

  1. Pas que j'en doutais
  2. Non pas que j'en doutais
  3. Non que j'en doutais
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"I mean, it’s not like they’ll let me go”

Je veux dire, ce n'est pas (c'est pas) comme s'ils allaient me laisser partir

“I’m glad you finished it, not that I thought you wouldn’t!”

Je suis heureux que tu aies fini ça (que tu en aies fini avec ça), ce n'est pas que je n'y croyais pas (plus) mais...

That's how I would translate these sentences.

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  • En fonction du contexte, j'aurai aussi retiré la négation du "ce n'est pas" pour laisser un "C'est pas comme s'ils allaient..." Aug 7, 2019 at 7:07
  • Oui exactement @Kenichi-san enlevé le n' sonne plus naturel, j'ai voulu la faire plus "formel"
    – user20904
    Aug 7, 2019 at 7:26
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“I mean, it’s not like they’ll let me go”

  • Il y a peu de chances qu'on me laisse partir.
  • Ça m'étonnerait qu'ils me laissent partir.

“I’m glad you finished it, not that I thought you wouldn’t!”

  • Tu l'as fini, je suis content, mais j'étais sûr que t'allais y arriver.
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Here is a formal way to translate the second sentence:

Je suis content que tu aies terminé, mais loin de moi l'idée que tu aurais pu échouer.

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