Por tener (conjunction)

English translation: "it couldn't even do without a select colony of..."

06:49 Nov 1, 2000

Spanish to English translations [Non-PRO]
Art/Literary

Spanish term or phrase: Por tener (conjunction)

Hong Kong contaba con X, Y, Z. POR TENER, Hong Kong tenía incluso una selecta colonia de estranjeros dedicada a la exportación.

I don't know how to translate the conjunction POR TENER. This is all the context I've got.

siulach

English translation:"it couldn't even do without a select colony of..."

Explanation:
It's one way to say it. Another: "on top of (having) that, HK even had..." Basically, it means "as if that wasn't enough", "talking about having/possessing stuff".
Good luck, :)

Selected response from:

Paul Roige (X)
Spain
Local time: 15:03

Grading comment

Thanks Paul, also Serena (it's good to have it pointed out that the original is 'lamentable', gives one a bit of leeway)
3 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

to come?

Elinor Thomas

"it couldn't even do without a select colony of..."

Paul Roige (X)

Talk about having,

Jose Marabotto

Answers

7 mins

to come?

Explanation:
Hong Kong counted on XYZ to come?

Habría que ver qué es XYZ (personas, objetos, bienes) para traducirlo correctamente.

De todas maneras la redacción en castellano de por sí es lamentable.

Suerte! :)

Elinor Thomas
Local time: 10:03
Native speaker of: Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 247

15 mins

"it couldn't even do without a select colony of..."

Explanation:
It's one way to say it. Another: "on top of (having) that, HK even had..." Basically, it means "as if that wasn't enough", "talking about having/possessing stuff".
Good luck, :)

Paul Roige (X)
Spain
Local time: 15:03
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

Catalan
PRO pts in pair: 442

Grading comment

Thanks Paul, also Serena (it's good to have it pointed out that the original is 'lamentable', gives one a bit of leeway)

1 hr

Talk about having,

Explanation:
HK had x, y, z. Talk about having, HK even had a select...

That POR TENER says that if you want to talk about having resources, HK had even this and that.

Jose Marabotto
United States
Local time: 09:03
Native speaker of:

Spanish
PRO pts in pair: 23

Login or register (free and only takes a few minutes) to participate in this question.

You will also have access to many other tools and opportunities designed for those who have language-related jobs (or are passionate about them). Participation is free and the site has a strict confidentiality policy.

Return to KudoZ list

KudoZ™ translation help

The KudoZ network provides a framework for translators and others to assist each other with translations or explanations of terms and short phrases.

See also:

ProZ.com term search

Search millions of term translations