Translation question

[Rinilex]

There's a guy talking about another man's personality, and he says:

彼は不必要だと思える事には消極的です。

I'm not sure about how it's phrased. "Things that seemed unnecessary were pessimistic"? Doesn't really make sense. Or is it talking about the man feeling unneeded? I'm not sure what 消極k的 refers to.

And in this sentence, I'm really unfamiliar with this word and not sure if it fits the context:

彼のそんな不器用さはお前の前では丸で形無しだった。
"His awkwardness completely (...) in front of you."

Literally translated I get "spoiled" or "ruined" for 形無し (I'd probably say the awkwardness disappeared) but I don't know if it does work here or if I've misheard it.

 

[tokkyo]

彼は不必要だと思える事には消極的です
He's reluctant about things that appear not necessary
or a bit more naturally
He's reluctant to do he things he thinks aren't important

You need to ask yourself what does 彼は connect to here, and in this sentence it connects to 消極的, so he must be reluctant about something..ie about 不必要だと思える事


彼のそんな不器用さはお前の前では丸で形無しだった。
Your clumsiness put his to shame / His clumsiness was nothing compared to yours
This one is a bit harder to explain..and I hope that translation is right! but using 前では形無し etc. is usually a comparison or contrast

As an example, I pulled this from an online dictionary:
彼の頭の良さの前では私など形無しだ
"His intellectual attributes put mine in the shade."

 

[Rinilex]

I see! Thank you, I was confused by how that sentence would work.

I'm not sure about the second one... the person he's talking to isn't clumsy or awkward at all and it's not mentioned. He's talking to a girl about a guy who had a crush on her, and what he was like around her. I don't think he's talking about *her* awkwardness. It goes:
"[A description of the man's awkward, scientist-like personality]...でも彼のそんな不器用さは。。。"

Maybe it was nothing compared to "you", as in, his awkwardness couldn't last in front of her?

 

[tokkyo]

Hmm then maybe your translation was closer than mine in that case (ie his awkwardness disappears in front of you)
but we won't know for sure until a native comes along and comments