Apenas

[lingos]

hello

where does "apenas" is placed in a sentence?

Mi chica apenas habla. or Mi chica hablas apenas. ?

I know that the opposite (bastante) is placed after the verb, but what about apenas?

thanks

[pjt33]

"Apenas habla" me suena mejor.

Google: "apenas habla": 13,900
"habla apenas": 2,890

[ookami]

"habla apenas" sounds bad, unless you use it with the other meaning:
"habla apenas la maestra entra a la clase"
-
"he talks as soon as the teachear comes in the class"
; or unless you use it in poetry/rimes.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I think both are correct, although "apenas habla" sounds better... I kind of agree with ookami that "habla apenas" might need a temporal complement.


Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
I have just heard that there was an earthquake this morning.

Ese color es muy claro. Apenas se ve.
That colour is too light. It's barely seen.

El armario apenas cupo por la puerta. Es demasiado grande.
The cupboard almost didn't make it through the door. It's too big.

Me da gusto que esa cicatriz apenas se nota. El cirujano hizo un buen trabajo.
I'm glad that scar is barely noticed. The surgeon did a good job.

[EmpanadaRica]

I'm glad lingos asked this because I have been wondering about this word also.

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
I have just heard that there was an earthquake this morning.

So when it is combined with a past tense (pretérito only, because of the suddenness of the action and it being a single specific moment or incident you are talking about/referring to ??? ) it can be used as more or less equivalent to 'acabar de' ?

Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
Acabé de enterarme de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.


Edit: hmm I think this is not right after all, somehow 'acabar de' sounds strange in this sentence.
Is 'acabar de' used only then there is a specific action involved by the way?

By the way, is there a difference in the use of 'enterarse' and 'oír'?
i.e. would 'oír' be more 'to hear' in general, and 'enterarse' more 'to hear about something'/ 'to know about something' ?

Ese color es muy claro. Apenas se ve.
That colour is too light. It's barely seen.

El armario apenas cupo por la puerta. Es demasiado grande.
The cupboard almost didn't make it through the door. It's too big.

Me da gusto que esa cicatriz apenas se nota. El cirujano hizo un buen trabajo.
I'm glad that scar is barely noticed. The surgeon did a good job.

So in most cases 'apenas' would be uased as 'barely' or 'hardly'?

The preferred place in the sentence furthermore seems to depend on how much emphasis you wish to give it, i.e. how important it is?

In the first example e.g. the colour is central, i.e. the most important thing so the conclusion of the first sentence following in the second after 'apenas' makes that it is better to put 'apenas' at the beginning of the sentence - is that correct?

However in the last sentence e.g. you being glad about the scar not being very noticeable is followed by the statement the surgeon did a good job. I.e. you being happy about the good job the surgeon did is central, and the statement that the wound is barely visible (as a reason for the happiness) seems secondary.

Would this be a correct way to assess which place would be better to put 'apenas' in the sentence?

[irmamar]

Originally Posted by EmpanadaRica

I'm glad lingos asked this because I have been wondering about this word also.



So when it is combined with a past tense (pretérito only, because of the suddenness of the action and it being a single specific moment or incident you are talking about/referring to ??? ) it can be used as more or less equivalent to 'acabar de' ?

Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
Acabé de enterarme de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.

Surely it's a Mexican or Latin American usage, in Spain that sentence would mean that I didn't notice the earthquake.


Edit: hmm I think this is not right after all, somehow 'acabar de' sounds strange in this sentence.
Is 'acabar de' used only then there is a specific action involved by the way?

By the way, is there a difference in the use of 'enterarse' and 'oír'?
i.e. would 'oír' be more 'to hear' in general, and 'enterarse' more 'to hear about something'/ 'to know about something' ?

Yes, enterarse means "to know about something", although I know sometimes you translate it as "hear"


So in most cases 'apenas' would be uased as 'barely' or 'hardly'?

Yes, you're right.

The preferred place in the sentence furthermore seems to depend on how much emphasis you wish to give it, i.e. how important it is?

In the first example e.g. the colour is central, i.e. the most important thing so the conclusion of the first sentence following in the second after 'apenas' makes that it is better to put 'apenas' at the beginning of the sentence - is that correct?

However in the last sentence e.g. you being glad about the scar not being very noticeable is followed by the statement the surgeon did a good job. I.e. you being happy about the good job the surgeon did is central, and the statement that the wound is barely visible (as a reason for the happiness) seems secondary.

Would this be a correct way to assess which place would be better to put 'apenas' in the sentence?

I must leave, I can't go on. I'd like to add that you can say "casi no" instead of "apenas"

[ookami]

About:
"Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana."
is as irmamar said, it'll be something as
"I hardly noticed that there was an earthquake this morning"
The common synonym of "acabo de" would be "recién" there.

If you continue the sentence you have the as soon as meaning:
"Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana[,] llamé a mi familia."
"As soon as I noticed that there was an earthquake this morning, I called my family."

--------------
-I don't know if it is better to put it at the beggining because of the reason you gave, because saying "se ve apenas" would be exactly the same. It is just a question of usage, it'll be strange to say it that way, I think there isn't another reason.

-Me da gusto que esa cicatriz apenas se nota. El cirujano hizo un buen trabajo.
(Angélica, ¿no sería "note" en vez de "nota"? mire como lo mire no lo puedo hacer sonar bien)
For me the central sentence is the first one, the second would be as a justification of the first one, but I believe that with this information you can't know for sure wich is the central.
Now that I look at it, I'm almost sure there isn't a formal rule :P

[chileno]

Mi chica apenas habla = My girl (daughter) is starting to speak or My girl hardly speaks.

Mi chica habla apenas = My girl speaks with difficulties, hardly audible etc

Mi chica habla apenas tú entras en la pieza. My girl speaks upon you entering the room.

There are other examples, of course.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@Empanada: Your intuition about a suitable "acabar de" and the wrong "acabé de" are correct.

Apenas me enteré de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
I have just heard that there was an earthquake this morning.
(I didn't notice it in the morning and people have just told me there was an earthquake)

To be used with "acabar de": Acabo de enterarme de que hubo un temblor en la mañana.
Used in past tense ("acabé de") cannot be used in this context. Simple past is only used when you actually finish something.

For using it in a past situation::
Acababa de enterarme de que había temblado en la mañana, cuando empezó a temblar de nuevo.
I had just heard there had been an earthquake in the morning, when a new earthquake started.


@Irma: I expected the idea expressed in English would avoid confusion on the meaning... It doesn't sound like a Mexican usage to me, but may well be.


@ookami: No objeto el subjuntivo, pero me gustaría más en el caso de que se hiciera algo para ocultar la cicatriz, lo que no es necesario, porque el cirujano hizo un buen trabajo. De cualquier manera, quizás éste sí sea un uso "mexicano".

[EmpanadaRica]

¡¡¡Muchas gracias a todos!!!

Your explanations all helped a great deal understanding the use of 'apenas' a lot better.

Thanx a lot Angelica for your elaborations and explanations also with the different use of tenses, that clarifies matters a lot. In fact I am still getting acquainted with the proper use of the preterite (simple past) as opposed to the imperfecto. It's difficult to realize the consequences of this sometimes as I am not used to specific use of tenses this way.

Thanx also Chili for showing the differences in meaning in changing the wordorder (it seems I will have to be very careful ) and thanx a lot Ookami and Irmamar for all your information and feedback !!