I’m not talking on the phone and driving anymore

hi guys, this is just a very informal journal entry. I find that writing in English is a great way to improve my vocabulary and fluency, especially when I can get the writing corrected. That really helps! So if any of you guys can help me spot the mistakes in here, please do so.


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Yeah I know I shouldn’t drive and talk on the phone at the same time, but I figured I’d be ok as long as used the Bluetooth hands-off function. I only figured.
Turns out that parking, especially in a tight spot, requires a lot of attention. So I found out! As I was keeping the conversation going (by the way not an urgent matter, not by a long shot) I hit a hydrant. It was just a slight collision, but the damage to my front bumper was considerate.
Besides painting, the car will probably need some tin-shop service as well. I was happy though, that I didn’t break the headlight. Those headlights are crazy expensive!
Fortunately, I haven’t hurt anyone, or myself, but I’ll be a few hundred dollars back. That is bad enough, but even more so now that my wife and I have just had a baby and could spend that money better.
I actually know of a place where they wouldn’t charge me a fortune to get the car fixed, but because it’s a company's car, I can only go to authorized (expensive) mechanical workshops.
I guess sometimes, we only learn things the hard way.

AMPLIANDO O VOCABULÁRIO
Isa Mara Lando é uma referência entre os profissionais de tradução. Ela já traduziu mais de 100 livros, entre eles estão obras de autores aclamados, como: George Orwell, Salman Rushdie e Walter Isaacson (a biografia de Einstein). Nesta aula gratuita, Isa dá várias dicas de vocabulário. ACESSAR AULA
3 respostas
Ordenar por: Data
Yeah, I know I shouldn't drive and talk on the phone at the same time, but I figured I'd be OK as long as I used the Bluetooth hands-off function, little did I know... Turns out that parking, especially in a tight spot, requires a lot of attention and so I found out while keeping the conversation going (by the way, It wasn't an urgent matter, not by a long shot.) and ended up hitting a hydrant. It was just a slight collision, but the damage to my front bumper was considerable. Besides painting, the car will probably need some tin-shop service as well. I was happy though, once the headlight has not been damaged. Those headlights are crazily expensive! Fortunately, no one has been hurt but I'll be a few hundred dollars back. As if it wasn't bad enough, having a newborn baby with which the money could be better spent just helps to aggravate the situation. I actually know of a place where they wouldn't charge me a fortune to get the car fixed, but because it's a company's car, I can only go to authorized (expensive) mechanical workshops. I guess that, sometimes, we only learn things the hard way.
Juliana Rios 24 105 397
If I may offer a suggestion, I would reword the following sentence to read:
I was happy though, since the headlight had not been (or was not) damaged.
While it's quite true that both "since" and "once" can be translated as "uma vez que", we should only use the former ("since") to express causation. Further discussion on the topic can be found here.

Best of luck.
Indeed, thanks for the heads up Juliana. I was thinking about " I'm happy though, since the headlight has not been damaged." as well.