Aprovechar

[Luna Azul]

This is a very commonly used expression in Spanish: "aprovechar que...." or "aprovechar (something)".

I've been trying to find an English expression that conveys the exact meaning in Spanish and I haven't been able to do it.

The one that's closest is "to take advantage of..." But somehow it doesn't sound good to me.

My question is: If I say in Spanish "Aprovecha que dejó de llover para ir al banco".. Is there a way of saying this in English without changing the nuance of the Spanish expression?

I want different opinions, if possible

Thank you very much!!

Luna Azul

[conejodescarado]

Just some ideas for quasi-synonyms.

to profit from (somebody/something)
to take advantage of (somebody/something)
to benefit from (something)
to make good use of (something)

[poli]

On the positive side, aprovechar often means to enjoy or to make the most of. On the negative side, it means to take advantage of (aprovecharse de)
I don't think there is verb in English with the same ambiguous meaning.
The terms seize the oportunity and go for it comes close but not quite, because enjoyment doesn't fit the meaning of the two phrases.

The more I think of it to take advantage of is the closest synonymn because it is an ambiguous term.

[ROBINDESBOIS]

My question is: If I say in Spanish "Aprovecha que dejó de llover para ir al

Make the most of it now that stopped raining and go to the bank
MAYBE

[pinosilano]

The Concise Oxford Spanish Dictionary © 2005 Oxford University Press says:
aprovechar (verbo transitivo)
a.‹tiempo/espacio/talento› to make the most of;
aprovecha tu juventud make the most of your youth;
no aprovechan los recursos que tienen they don't fully exploit the resources at their disposal;
dinero/tiempo bien aprovechado money/time well spent;
es espacio mal aprovechado it's a waste of space
b.‹oportunidad› to take advantage of;
voy a ~ que hace buen tiempo para … I'm going to take advantage of the good weather to …;
aprovecho la ocasión para decirles que … I would like to take this opportunity to tell you that …
c.(usar) to use;
aproveché los restos para … I used the leftovers to …;
éstas todavía se pueden ~ these can still be put to good use;
no tira nada, todo lo aprovecha she doesn't throw anything away, she makes use of everything

aprovechar (verbo intransitivo): aproveché para venir a verte I thought I'd take the opportunity to come and see you;
¡que aproveche! enjoy your meal, bon appétit;
aprovechen ahora, que no tienen niños make the most of it now, while you don't have children

aprovecharse (verbo pronominal)
a.(abusar) ~se de algo/algn to take advantage of sth/sb, to exploit sth/sb
b.(abusar sexualmente) ~se de algn ‹de una mujer› to take advantage of sb;
‹de un niño› to abuse sb


Diccionario Espasa concise inglés-español © 2000 Espasa Calpe says:
aprovechar (verbo transitivo)
1 to make the most of: hemos aprovechado mucho el rato, we've done a lot in a short time
2 (la situación) to take advantage of: aprovechamos la ocasión para explicarle nuestro proyecto, we seized the opportunity to explain our project to him

aprovechar (verbo intransitivo)
¡que aproveche!, enjoy your meal!, bon appétit!

Copy/paste work

[poli]

Originally Posted by ROBINDESBOIS

My question is: If I say in Spanish "Aprovecha que dejó de llover para ir al

Make the most of it now that stopped raining and go to the bank
MAYBE

Yes, that's OK. Or: take advantage of the fact that it stopped raining and go to the bank.

[Cloudgazer]

Nice stuff! Here are a couple more options off the top of my head:

[Now that|Since] the rain's stopped, [use|avail yourself of] the [opportunity|chance] to go to the bank.

[Tomisimo]

"to take advantage of" is the best translation in many cases, *but* in English it carries some negative connotations that it doesn't have in Spanish.

Translating the meaning, I'd say:

Aprovecha que dejó de llover para ir al banco = It stopped raining. Now's your chance to go to the bank.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by Tomisimo

"to take advantage of" is the best translation in many cases, *but* in English it carries some negative connotations that it doesn't have in Spanish.

Translating the meaning, I'd say:

Aprovecha que dejó de llover para ir al banco = It stopped raining. Now's your chance to go to the bank.

Would that be like "aprovecharse" de alguien?

[Luna Azul]

Originally Posted by chileno

Would that be like "aprovecharse" de alguien?

Yes, it is. That's why it doesn't sound quite right.

"aprovechar" and "aprovecharse" don't mean exactly the same.

"aprovecharse de...." has that same negative connotation the expression in English has.

[poli]

Take advantage of can be positive although in English most of the time it's a negative term. Examples of it used in the positive:
Take advantage of the sale. You can save 50%.
Take advantage of the good weather and enjoy youself.
Take advantage of your bonus and buy a car.
Youth is something that should not be wasted. Take advantage of it.

Because English speakers habitually use words with fewer syllables, you may more frequently here: now's the time/now's your chance.
Tomisimo is right about that.

[Luna Azul]

I like "now it's your/my chance..." That's probably the one that conveys best the expression in Spanish.

[pinosilano]

Se aprovechó de la distracción de los gendarmes para escapar.
Aprovechó el día de sol para ir a la playa.

[Luna Azul]

Originally Posted by pinosilano

Se aprovechó de la distracción de los gendarmes para escapar.
Aprovechó el día de sol para ir a la playa.

Yo diría "aprovechó la distracción de los gendarmes para escapar"..