(no subject)

[nadyezhda.livejournal.com]

A couple of grammatical questions for you; hope you can help. I don't understand the "то есть" structure, as in the following sentences:

Через полчаса, тó есть без четверти восемь, я уже в поликлинике. Обычно я прихожу в приёмную без десяти минут восемь, то есть за десят минут до начала работы.

How would you translate this? Is уже serving as an emphatic indicator (i.e., I'm already at the clinic)?

Secondly, I'm having trouble with a couple of time indicators, especially the "quarter to" structure. Does "Четверть восьмого" mean "quarter to 8"?

Спасибо большое.

Comments

[verushka.livejournal.com]

I wrote may be translated and not should be translated if you didn't notice. In some contexts it's rather helpful.

[nbuwe.livejournal.com]

"то есть" == "that is" == "id est" verbatim.

"that is" may mean "I mean", but I guess the native speaker already knows that :).