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Another pack of questions. Native speakers, help please! This problems appear as I check the translation of a Russian game's dialogues to English. Thank you for help! 1) Is there a phrase "pale shadow"? If a person doesn't see the sense in life, can other people be just "pale shadows" to him? 2) When something grows fast, we say "grows as mushrooms after the rain". Does this phrase exist in English? 3) If you have a disease that can be the reason of your death (f.e., poison in games), a doctor cures you, not heals you, right? 4) A senseless life or a meaningless life? 5) Can I say about a creature, like an electric eel, for example, that it "generates electric shocks"? Or should I better say it in another way? 6) Can you check this sentence: "But what's wrong with smoked chiken wings, which are prepared by your owner every day?" (said to a cat)Can you also check these lines? 1) I'm Agni. Just the daughter of the King of Hell. 2) I’m the daughter of the King of Hell. 3) I’m Agni. The daughter of the King of Hell. 4) Ah… I’m Jane. So, you are the daughter of the King of Hell, aren't you? 5) I'm Agni. Just the daughter of the King of Hell. 6) Hey. I’m Agni, the daughter of the King of Hell.

Answers · 6

3
Guy gave you some good ones, I'll just add a few comments from the US point of view. - I know of a "pale shadow" being used as something or someone that is not nearly as good as another earlier version. I could say that the band "Green Day is a pale shadow of The Clash". Or a person who becomes a worse person in some way, physical or mental, can become "a pale shadow of himself". - There is an expression "popping up like mushrooms". You might say "Suddenly, Apple's iPhones were popping up like mushrooms, everybody seemed to have one". - Senseless has several meaning. When you beat someone senseless, that is either a really heavy beating or more likely that person lost consciousness. When you say something senseless, that basically means that you said something stupid. Also, it can mean that something happened for no apparent reason, like a "senseless murder". I would use "meaningless" for life, because it means exactly that: it has no meaning, it's pointless, it's empty, it's a waste. Monty Python's Meaning of Life. - An eel generates electricity. You get shocked only when you touch it. - The additions with "just" sound weird. Using "just" sounds like Agni is putting herself down and saying that that is all she is, a daugther. I'm just his daughter, nothing else.
3
I want to preface this by saying I am from Australia, so some of the phrases I use may not be used everywhere. If anyone from other countries wants to confirm that they are used where they come from, feel free. 1) I have never heard this used before, but I would easily understand what you meant if you were to use the phrase. 2) I am almost certain this is an Australian thing, but a lot of people say that something that has grown quickly has "shot right up." I have never heard "grows as mushrooms after the rain" but this is another thing I would easily understand if you were to use it. 3) You are correct there, in the case of poison or disease you are cured. Generally healing refers to mending injuries. It sounds a bit awkward to say that a doctor healed your flu for example. 4) A senseless life and a meaningless life mean pretty much the same thing depending on the context. For example "He lived a senseless life because he accomplished nothing" and "He lived a meaningless life because he accomplished nothing" would mean the same thing. 5) This makes sense, but if you use scientific terms it would be "It generates an electric current" 6) "But what is wrong with smoked chicken wings that are prepared by your owner every day?" The additional lines are all grammatically correct if you assume some context.
2
First, for reference, I speak American English. The previous responses are good and answer your questions well. I just have a couple of additional comments. 3. The others answered this well. Generally the word heal would refer to an injury or a part of the body. For example "The doctor healed my broken leg." or "My knee has healed." Disease or illness would more often be said to be cured. In your additional lines, numbers 1 and 5: generally if you say "just the daughter of the King of Hell" rather than "the daughter of the King of Hell" it would imply that she is nothing more than the daughter of the King of Hell, and that this is an important point being communicated. So if it is in a context where there is a possibility that she is more than this, or if she means for the statement to emphasize that she is nothing more, you would use "just". This can be a little bit of a stylistic usage also. I hope this helps.

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