4 ms·

The "is being" construct also exists by using the two verbs ("estar a ser") but it's not the same. Basically in order of permanence: ser -> a mostly permanent

by pedrocr 10y ago

The "is being" construct also exists by using the two verbs ("estar a ser") but it's not the same. Basically in order of permanence: ser -> a mostly permanent characteristic estar -> a current characteristic that could change in the future estar a ser -> a characteristic of the specific interaction

raldi 10y ago
Is that last one like, "I am to be married on Saturday"?
- pedrocr 10y ago
  Not really, that's just a future tense. Here's the correspondence instantiated: "I am tall" -> "sou alto" (ser) "I am broke" -> "estou falido" (estar) "I am being boring" -> "estou a ser aborrecido" (estar a ser) What english doesn't have as easily without context is the distinction between the first two forms because it has a single verb for both.
wolfgke 10y ago
In https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12879933 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12879933 you gave an example of "estar a ser" for Portuguese. Since I currently try to learn both Spanish and Portuguese: Does a form similar to "estar a ser" also exist in Spanish or is it specific to Portuguese?
- schoen 10y ago
  I think that pedrocr is from Portugal so in case you're learning Brazilian Portuguese you should consider that Brazilians usually use "estar + present participle" where the Portuguese use "estar a + infinitive" (for example "estou a falar" vs. "estou falando"). Brazilians thus have "estar sendo" which can be used in many cases where English has "is being", but as a non-native speaker I'm not sure what I can claim about its connotations or whether it's the same as "estar a ser". But my initial guess is that the Portuguese say "estou a ser" just as they say "estou a falar", while Brazilians say "estou sendo" just as they say "estou falando". Spanish-speakers in turn have "estar siendo" with the Spanish present participle of ser, like "estoy siendo". I suspect this is the standard form of this construction in all kinds of Spanish.
  - wolfgke 10y ago
    Thank you for the explanation. This clarifies why I haven't (consciously) seen the "estou a + infinitive" form yet - the Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese forms look more familiar to me. :-)
    - schoen 10y ago
      You might have an amusingly confused time in Portugal, as I did! "O comboio está a chegar." (plus different phonology)
  - pedrocr 10y ago
    Yep, that's exactly it. "is being" and "estar a ser"/"estar sendo" are pretty much the same thing. What english doesn't have is the "ser"/"estar" distinction, both map to "to be".

by pedrocr 10y ago

raldi 10y ago

Is that last one like, "I am to be married on Saturday"?

pedrocr 10y ago
Not really, that's just a future tense. Here's the correspondence instantiated: "I am tall" -> "sou alto" (ser) "I am broke" -> "estou falido" (estar) "I am being boring" -> "estou a ser aborrecido" (estar a ser) What english doesn't have as easily without context is the distinction between the first two forms because it has a single verb for both.

wolfgke 10y ago

In https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12879933 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12879933 you gave an example of "estar a ser" for Portuguese. Since I currently try to learn both Spanish and Portuguese: Does a form similar to "estar a ser" also exist in Spanish or is it specific to Portuguese?

schoen 10y ago
I think that pedrocr is from Portugal so in case you're learning Brazilian Portuguese you should consider that Brazilians usually use "estar + present participle" where the Portuguese use "estar a + infinitive" (for example "estou a falar" vs. "estou falando"). Brazilians thus have "estar sendo" which can be used in many cases where English has "is being", but as a non-native speaker I'm not sure what I can claim about its connotations or whether it's the same as "estar a ser". But my initial guess is that the Portuguese say "estou a ser" just as they say "estou a falar", while Brazilians say "estou sendo" just as they say "estou falando". Spanish-speakers in turn have "estar siendo" with the Spanish present participle of ser, like "estoy siendo". I suspect this is the standard form of this construction in all kinds of Spanish.
- wolfgke 10y ago
  Thank you for the explanation. This clarifies why I haven't (consciously) seen the "estou a + infinitive" form yet - the Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese forms look more familiar to me. :-)
  - schoen 10y ago
    You might have an amusingly confused time in Portugal, as I did! "O comboio está a chegar." (plus different phonology)
- pedrocr 10y ago
  Yep, that's exactly it. "is being" and "estar a ser"/"estar sendo" are pretty much the same thing. What english doesn't have is the "ser"/"estar" distinction, both map to "to be".