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tener que ver (con) |
The expression 'tener que ver (con)' is very closely related in meaning to the English construction 'to have to do with'; however, there are several scenarios in which an alternative translation may be called for.
Tener que ver con: "estar relacionada una cosa con otra"1.
1) In affirmative and interrogative sentences, it can generally be translated as 'to have (got) to do with'.
-¿Qué tiene que ver eso con lo que estamos hablando? — What's that got to do with what we're talking about?
-¿Qué tiene que ver la piel de naranja con mi líbido? — What's orange peel got to do with my sex drive?
-El jefe quiere verte. Tiene (algo) que ver con el robo de ayer — The boss wants to see you. It has (something) to do with yesterday's robbery
-¿Qué tiene que ver el tocino con la velocidad? — What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? [Fixed expressions to show that the speaker sees little relationship between two things]
2) When used along with a subordinate clause, there are several possible constructions. Similar to the phrase el hecho de que (see discussion), the subjunctive is used when commenting on something (most common), while the indicative is used when informing/declaring.
-No apruebo ni uno -Tendrá algo que ver (el hecho de) que no estudies [Subject]
→(El hecho de que) que no estudies tendrá (algo) que ver (con que no apruebes) [Normally the information following 'con que' is the result rather than the cause]
¿Por qué se ríen de mí? -Igual tiene (algo) que ver que vistas como Elton John [Subject and cause]
→Que vistas como Elton John puede tener algo que ver (con que se rían de ti)
-Veo que cocinas bien - Sí, quizá tenga algo que ver (el hecho de) que de pequeña tenía que ayudar a mi madre en la cocina— -I see you're a good cook Yes, it might have something to do with the fact that when I was younger I had to help my mum in the kitchen [Result-cause]
-(El hecho de) que tuviera que ayudar en la cocina de pequeña tiene algo que ver con que cocine bien ahora [Cause- result]
3) In the negation, however, when used with nada, the expression takes on an additional meaning:
No tener nada que ver : "No existir relación o semejanza entre dos cosas o personas".2
In other words, not only is there no relationship between the two things, but there is also no similarity. Normally, the meaning can be inferred from the context; however, in some contexts there may be more than one interpretation.
-Eso no tiene (nada) que ver con mi estado de ánimo — That has (got) nothing to do with my mood [No relationship]
-Yo no tuve nada que ver con el robo — I had nothing to do with the robbery
-Esa paella no tiene nada que ver con la de mi madre — This paella is nothing like my mum's [No relationship or similarity]
-Estos dos teléfonos no tienen nada que ver — These two phones bear no resemblance to each other/are nothing alike
-Un Porsche no tiene nada que ver con un Ferrari — A Porsche is nothing like a Ferrari
-La amnesia no tiene que ver con el alzheimer — Amnesia has nothing to do with Alzheimer's [They are similar but unrelated]
→La amnesia no tiene nada que ver con el alzheimer — Amnesia is nothing like/has nothing to do with Alzheimer's [They are not similar or related]
4) The expressions no hay color and dónde va a parar can be used to emphasize the lack of similarity between two things.3
-Este ordenador va mucho más rápido que el otro - Sí, la verdad es que no hay color — This computer goes a lot faster than the other -Yes, the truth is there's no comparison
-Esta paella no tiene nada que ver con la de tu madre -Hombre, ¡dónde va a parar! — This paella is nothing like your mum's -There's no comparison! / There's no doubt about it! /Of course, it's way better!
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-tener que ver (con) significado en inglés-
