ponete las pilas

English translation: pull your socks up

12:16 Jul 4, 2010

Spanish to English translations [PRO]
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters

Spanish term or phrase: ponete las pilas

you use this expression if a student hasn´t been studying hard and the teacher wants him/her to do something about it. Sort of "pull up your socks". A similar expression would be : "pone primera" related to putting the gearstick into first gear and taking off.

Patsy Florit Not a translator KudoZ activity Questions: 214 (none open) (2 without valid answers) (12 closed without grading) Answers: 0
Local time: 07:51

English translation:pull your socks up

Explanation:
as you suggested.

Selected response from:

Fiona Kirton
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:51

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +4

pull your socks up

Fiona Kirton

5 +3

get going/ get moving/ get cracking

Lourdes Sanchez

4 +3

get your act together

Edward Tully

4 +1

get on the ball

worldenglish

pay attention

yolanda Speece

get a little gumption

Jenni Lukac (X)

3 +1

put your back into it

Bubo Coroman (X)

get with the program

Lydia De Jorge

Get with it!

margaret caulfield

Discussion entries: 8

Patsy Florit

ASKER

01:58 Jul 8, 2010

It´s an informal comment made to a kid at school and it´s NOT a negative comment in my country!

Henry Hinds

United States

Argentina?

21:03 Jul 7, 2010

It´s FROM Argentina. Who is it FOR? (I'm getting tired of asking).

Patsy Florit

ASKER

21:38 Jul 4, 2010

It´s for Argentina! The comment is meant to be informal. I am a teacher and we do say "ponete una pila" a lot! I´d also say "you´ll have to recharge your batteries" and the know what I mean.

Lydia De Jorge

United States

Target

21:32 Jul 4, 2010

You don't mention where it's for. If for the US, "pull your socks up" won't work. Regarding comment made by Lourdes, I disagree. I was a teacher for over 15 years and my 5 children went through the school system here (US). I can assure you that communication between students and teachers is usually very informal and telling a student to get his act together is very common.

Patsy Florit

ASKER

21:24 Jul 4, 2010

This could be added to a comment you make to a student at school who is clever but tends to be lazy. It´s definitely slang and it hasn´t got a negative connotation, it would make a kid smile but he/she knows perfectly well that it´s up to him/her. That he can handle it, he only needs to devote time to studying.

Lourdes Sanchez

18:06 Jul 4, 2010

agree, with Trixiemck. One of the issues here I think is the language that educators use in Latin America and the US. I can imagine a teacher in Mexico saying "ya ponte las pilas" or "que te pasa? por favor ponte las pilas" with the implication that you have to get your act together. In the US this is a language that teachers avoid. They can ask you to get going, or how they can help you solve the problem. They might suggest a number of things but they are very cautious about possible negative implications

Monica Colangelo

Argentina

For native English speakers

17:28 Jul 4, 2010

"Ponete las pilas" is not exclusively used by teachers (actually it sounds rather awkward coming from a teacher, as here they tend to be more standoffish). The phrase comes from putting (household) batteries to make a radio, torchlight, alarm clock, etc work. I've been using it with my daughters for over twenty years but it looks like they never find the right size battery.

Henry Hinds

United States

CONTEXT

16:09 Jul 4, 2010

Since this is a slang expression, and slang varies greatly from place to place, the CONTEXT needed here is the DESTINATION.

Answers

1 min confidence:

peer agreement (net): +4

pull your socks up

Explanation:
as you suggested.

Fiona Kirton
United Kingdom
Local time: 11:51
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 8

Grading comment

Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

6 mins confidence:

get a little gumption

Explanation:
Examples: Got Gumption? You will not succeed if you do not show initiative. I have ... I think we spend too much time talking about vision and too little ...
faculty.washington.edu/sandeep/d/mbaebook.pdf - Similares; Jun 2007 ... The hope is that students showing their work at Scene First will get ... has high expectations for his short film Little White Flowers, ... Merzbacher says, “Most showcases for student work rely exclusively on the gumption of student ... have let out for the summer, for student filmmakers from New ...
www.newenglandfilm.com/news/archives/2007/.../scene.htm - En caché

Jenni Lukac (X)
Local time: 12:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 166

11 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

get going/ get moving/ get cracking

Explanation:
Everyone will understand the first two

Lourdes Sanchez
Local time: 06:51
Native speaker of: Spanish

44 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +3

get your act together

Explanation:
get your act together
Meaning: If you get your act together, you greatly improve your attitude and peformance in relation to something such as your work, or to life in general. ...
www.englishclub.com/ref/.../get_your_act_together_292.htm - Cached - SimilarGet Your Act Together: English Idiom Definition
GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER means that someone needs to improve, especially because they are inefficient ... This idiom is similar in meaning to CLEAN UP YOUR ACT ...
www.1-language.com › ESL Idioms Index - Cached - Similaract - definition of act, by Macmillan Dictionary: Free English ...
If you want to be finished by Monday, you'll have to get your act together. Synonyms or related words for this meaning of act: fix up, manage, put your ...
www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/act - Cached

Edward Tully
Local time: 12:51
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 212

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)

agree

Noni Gilbert Riley: Also good!

42 mins

-> thank you Ace!

disagree

Lourdes Sanchez: get your act together has a negative connotation. I might indicate that you have problems to solve, or you need to (re)organize. Ponte las pilas is just about standing up and getting started

1 hr

-> No, "ponte las pilas" has exactly the same connotation in this context, as the asker has indicated.

agree

Bubo Coroman (X): Like Lourdes, I feel the expression should be an encouragement (like the Spanish idiom) and not a rebuke, because educational psychology demands it. But I think there is a lot of encouragement in this answer... it's equivalent to "mobilize yourself".

3 hrs

-> Thank you Deborah! ;-)

agree

Christine Walsh: As a practising teacher, I'd certainly use this!

4 hrs

-> thank you Christine! ;-)

agree

J Celeita (X)

5 hrs

-> thank you Jesi! ;-)

neutral

worldenglish: This term has a negative connotation but could be one translation. In the U.S. it's not really something a teacher would say, but maybe a drill instructor might. So it depends on the tone the asker is looking for.

2 days 7 hrs

-> "ponte las pilas" is neither encouraging or supportive, why do you expect something different from the translation?

53 mins confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

put your back into it

Explanation:
In psychological terms it works best to use an expression that does not rebuke the student for poor past performance (as in pull up your socks) but positively encourages him or her to try harder, exactly as "ponete las pilas".

Reference:

Put one's back into something (work at something with all one's energy)

· You have to finish this work by tomorrow, so put your back into it
http://www.perfectyourenglish.com/vocabulary/idioms-body-par...

Bubo Coroman (X)
Works in field
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 310

2 hrs confidence:

get with the program

Explanation:
of common use

Lydia De Jorge
United States
Local time: 05:51
Specializes in field
Native speaker of:

Spanish,

English
PRO pts in category: 187

2 hrs confidence:

Get with it!

Explanation:
A very common expression in these cases.

margaret caulfield
Local time: 12:51
Native speaker of:

English,

Spanish
PRO pts in category: 44

16 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +1

get on the ball

Explanation:
Try harder, make an effort.

worldenglish
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

7 hrs confidence:

pay attention

Explanation:
Be on your toes....Keep your eyes open. Be on top of it!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 hrs (2010-07-04 19:38:38 GMT)
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My favorite though is "look alive!"

It just means to be on top of your game because you have to be focus on what is happening!

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day6 hrs (2010-07-05 19:14:50 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

In English, re-charge your batteries means to take a break. It is obvious this person does not want the student to take a break but to focus and get the job done.

Use your noggin', apply a little elbow grease and get the job done!

yolanda Speece
Local time: 05:51
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 4

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English translation: pull your socks up

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English translation: pull your socks up

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