tenía trato

English translation: scarcely fraternized with/ barely had contact with/ kept company with

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:tenía trato
English translation:scarcely fraternized with/ barely had contact with/ kept company with
Entered by: Sabrina Sattnin

18:47 Aug 18, 2017
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Art/Literary - History
Spanish term or phrase: tenía trato
fragmento: " Los días de permiso solía acudir a Dijon a almorzar, a beber oporto y a dormir en un pequeño hotel en el que también se alojaban otros oficiales de bajo rango, sus compañeros, con los que apenas tenía trato."
Sabrina Sattnin
Local time: 05:06
scarcely fraternized with/ barely had contact with/ kept company with
Explanation:
The meaning of "tener trato con" is to have dealings with, or in this case, not have dealings with, "apenas tener trato con".

There are several ways to say this. With whom he ....

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Note added at 22 hrs (2017-08-19 17:47:34 GMT)
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Glad to be of help, Sabrina, and have a great weekend too!
Selected response from:

Marie Wilson
Spain
Local time: 09:06
Grading comment
Thanks a lot!


4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +6scarcely fraternized with/ barely had contact with/ kept company with
Marie Wilson
3whom he was only just getting to know
Robert Carter


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
con los que apenas tenía trato
whom he was only just getting to know


Explanation:
Just posting this as a possible alternative to Marie's idea and because it raises an interesting nuance that hadn't occurred to me at first.

My sense of this was similar to Marie's, but when I asked my (native speaking) wife what she thought, her understanding was that "apenas" was temporal rather than quantitative, i.e., she said "que apenas se conocían, que empezaban a conocerse", which also made sense to me given it's usage here.

I'd be interested to know what other native speakers think of this. Perhaps it's only applicable to Mexico?

Robert Carter
Mexico
Local time: 02:06
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 12
Notes to answerer
Asker: Hi Robert, First of all thanks for taking part here. I would like to say that I got your point and I think it's also the idea, I mean we are talking about people who don't have any kind of "close" relationship or are barely colleagues. Thank you for caring once more and have a great weekend! Best Regards Sabrina


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Beatriz Ramírez de Haro: Hola Robert: tu primera idea era la buena. En este caso "apenas" es un adverbio de cantidad. Aquí puedes ver otros usos http://www.wikilengua.org/index.php/apenas
2 hrs
  -> Gracias por la aportación, Bea, saludos!
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26 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +6
scarcely fraternized with/ barely had contact with/ kept company with


Explanation:
The meaning of "tener trato con" is to have dealings with, or in this case, not have dealings with, "apenas tener trato con".

There are several ways to say this. With whom he ....

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 22 hrs (2017-08-19 17:47:34 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Glad to be of help, Sabrina, and have a great weekend too!

Example sentence(s):
  • Griffin was surprised that the man leading the expedition, who scarcely fraternized with the sailors, should address him in the tone of someone wanting to ...
  • He barely had contact with anyone outside of the office, spending his ...
Marie Wilson
Spain
Local time: 09:06
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 20
Grading comment
Thanks a lot!

Notes to answerer
Asker: Dear Marie I've got your answer yesterday and it was exactly what I was looking for. Actually, I've added already your suggestion to the translation and just didn't close the question yesterday because Proz advise us to wait 24 h before doing it. And I think it was good for everybody who got involved somehow. Thank you for your help! Have a great weekend! Best Regards Sabrina Sattnin


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Robert Carter: I have to agree with this since it was my first thought too. Saludos Marie!
2 hrs
  -> Thanks, Robert, that usage never occurred to me but as you say, depends on the country. Saludos!

agree  Muriel Vasconcellos
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Muriel.

agree  Beatriz Ramírez de Haro
4 hrs
  -> Thanks, Beatriz.

agree  Charles Davis: I think this is the meaning.
13 hrs
  -> Thank you, Charles.

agree  franglish
13 hrs
  -> Thanks, Franglish.

agree  Helena Chavarria
22 hrs
  -> Thanks, Helena.
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