2nd Arabic translation exercise: An Arabic proverb Part 2

[bm897]

The pleasure of the people is a want which does not reach. but it does make more sense in english to use the passive and say "The pleasure of the people is a want which is not reached/attained"

[MegaDes01]

In the Qur'an the verb "'adraka" is used with a direct object (10:90). It is therefore rather surprising that "tudriku" has no complement in this proverb. One might expect to find a noun meaning "goal" or "target" (hadaf?) here. Is "'adraka" used without a direct object in MSA? If it is, it probably functions in the same way as the French verb "aimer". "Aimer" is normally used with a direct object, but that object may be omitted in sentences like "Vous avez aimé?" (Did you like it?)

[MegaDes01]

There are similar adages in French and German: "On ne peut pas plaire à tout le monde" / "Man kann es nicht jedem recht machen." In English you could also say "You can't be everybody's darling".

[MegaDes01]

Literally, this means "Pleasing people is a desire which does not attain". Since "attain" is a transitive verb, we might say "Pleasing people is a desire which is never attained" (passive). In good English this would be "You can never please people". The main clause is an equational structure, and the subordinate clause is a "sifa" or asyndetic relative clause.