through vs from

[Offroad]

Dear teachers

Could you help me understand the difference, if any, between these two?

We can make A from B
We can make A through B.

The former works well if, for example, A is ice and B is water. The same wouldn't work for the second sentence. However, if I changed the context:

We can make a larger amount of juice through the mechanical processing of fruits.

It seems to me that 'from' would work here too.

Very much appreciated

Offroad

 

[konungursvia]

You're right, from usually denotes an origin, meaning you transform the material FROM A to B, or that B originates with A.
Through is a metaphorical use, as it means inside, across, and out the other side; so here it indicates the means, rather than the matter itself. There is quite a lot of flexibility and modularity with English prepositions, though, and you'll see lots of examples that seem to belong to the other category, but which are frequent enough to sound 'dominant.'

 

[konungursvia]

Maybe you can answer something I've always wondered. I learnt Portuguese in Setubal, south of Lisbon, but had a Brazilian girlfriend (!!!!!!!!!!!!) for a year or so -- after -- falling in love with Joao Gilberto, Maria Bethania, and Jobim and the gang.

How I listened to Brazilian music has always been very private -- I just gradually interpreted the meanings myself, as I slowly became more aware of the words. In the unofficial anthem, Aquarelas do Brasil, I always pictured "inzoneiro" as meaning something like a sorceror or enchanter, and I always thought of "ginga" as a sort of a dance. But I can't find a reliable dictionary entry on these.


Brasil
Meu Brasil brasileiro
Meu mulato inzoneiro
Vou cantar-te nos meus versos
Ô Brasil, samba que dá
Bamboleio, que faz gingá
Ô Brasil do meu amor
Terra de Nosso Senhor
Brasil! Brasil!
Prá mim... prá mim...

What do the two bold words mean to a Brazilian?

 

[Offroad]

falling in love with Joao Gilberto, Maria Bethania, and Jobim and the gang.

You have excellent taste!

I looked up those words and found these definitions:

inzoneiro
in.zo.nei.ro
adj (inzona+eiro) Que inzona. sm Intriguista, mexeriqueiro. In English, these would be 'scheming' and 'gossipy', respectively.

As for the second, I think you're right, it has lots to do with dance rhythms.
I would like to point out that if it had been written 'gingar', with an R at the end, it'd have made more sense.

Regards

Márcio

EDIT: I think you will like this dictionary:
http://michaelis.uol.com.br/moderno/portugues/index.php

 

[Offroad]

É a primeira vez que vejo a palavra 'inzoneiro'. Onde eu moro, os seguintes equivalentes são mais comuns:

Tirador de onda = Alguém que tira onda, zomba, tira zona.

Não é exatamente o que a música descreve mas é bem próximo.

You'd be surprised how many dialects we have here!