atenerse

to abide by

atenerse(ah-teh-nehr-seh)

pronominal verb

1. (to comply with; used with "a")

a. to abide by

Los miembros que no se atengan a las reglas de la hermandad serán expulsados.

The members who don't abide by the rules of the brotherhood will be expelled.

b. to follow

Por favor, no te molestes. Simplemente estoy ateniéndome a lo que me ordenan.

Please don't be upset. I'm just following orders.

c. to obey

Tienes que atenerte a las órdenes de tu superior para ser buen soldado.

You have to obey your superior's orders to be a good soldier.

2. (to take into account; used with "a")

a. to bear in mind

Tendrás que atenerte a las consecuencias de tu negligencia.

You will have to bear in mind the consequences of your negligence.

b. to stand by

Puede que tu punto de vista haya cambiado, pero tendrás que atenerte a tu disertación durante la conferencia.

Your viewpoint may have changed, you'll have to stand by your dissertation during the conference.

c. to abide by

Se atuvo como un tonto al mismo argumento a pesar de haber un montón de pruebas de lo contrario.

He foolishly choose to abide by his same argument in spite of evidence to the contrary.

3. (to limit oneself to; used with "a")

a. to confine oneself to

Por favor, atente solo a corregir lo que te he pedido que corrigieras.

Please confine yourself to making only the corrections I've asked you to make.

b. to stick to

No añadas frases de más a la escena. Atente al texto.

Don't add any extra lines to the scene. Just stick to the script.

atenerse

pronominal verb

1. (general)

a.

atenerse ato stick to

atenerse ato bear in mind

Copyright © 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited

atenerse

pronominal verb

atenerse a

2 (ceñirse a)

aténgase a lo que se le pregunta confine yourself to answering the question

3 (cumplir)

atenerse a la ley to abide by o obey the law; aténgase a lo que se le ordena follow the orders; debes atenerte a lo acordado you must stick to what has been agreed

4 (remitirse a)

me atengo a mis declaraciones previas I stand by my previous statements; simplemente nos atenemos a lo que has dicho we are simply taking into account o bearing in mind what you said; contigo nunca sé a qué atenerme I never know what to expect with you; si lo haces atente a las consecuencias if you do it, you'll have to take the consequences

5 (adaptarse a) to keep within

atente a tus ingresos y no gastes tanto keep within your income and don't spend so much; viven ateniéndose a sus posibilidades they live within their means