How would you say, "Along for the ride"?

Question

I'm writing a paper right now that's due in the next few hours, it would be nice to have this phrase in there, especially because I've always wondered how to say it... anyone know how to translate it??

Answer 1

I got this from a thread at wordreference.com...

to join in an activity without playing an important part in it

I thought was a pretty good English explanation of the phrase. The person who wrote that suggested something like He venido aquí para estar dibujado, no participar (I have come here to be painted, not participate). But I have no idea how good that is.

Another thread recommends dar el paseo (among other things). Again, not being Spanish-speaking, I can't speak as to how good such statements are for the English idiom.

If it's for a grade, and a Spanish-speaking person doesn't confirm any of our suggestions, I would try to translate the idea behind the phrase. - webdunce, Sep 20, 2010

that is probably best - nizhoni1, Sep 20, 2010

Answer 2

"adelanta para el paseo" is what the translator gives

Answer 3

I`d say "hacer acto de presencia" in Spanish

Maybe for some cases, though not as a general meaning. "Hacer acto de presencia" refers to the act of showing up, like for a meeting, a party etc.., but "along for the ride" can be used in more situations, IMHO. - bill1111, Sep 20, 2010

Answer 4

There's several verbs or expressions that can be useful to translate "along for the ride" depending on the context. If you simply wanna say that something or someone joined an activity (or not), then I'd probably translate it as "unirse" or "acompañar". eg: "after discussing it for a couple of minutes I didn't have any problem getting my friend to come along for the ride", "después de hablarlo un par de minutos no tuve problema en convencer a mi amigo para que me acompañase (para que se uniese)". If the meaning is more focused on "not being an important part of the activity", I'd probably use an expression such as "pasar el trámite" or "cumplir el expediente". eg: "Michael Schumacher's not just along for the ride", "Michael Schumacher no ha venido sólo a pasar el trámite (no ha venido solo a cumplir el expediente)".

If you have a particular sentence with the expression I'd be happy to translate it for you.