Ser vs Estar confusion This article talks about using El Presente to express general facts, simple enough...
... however my qualm is with the use of Ser vs Estar. My understanding was that ser would be used to generally describe things which don’t change over a prolonged period of time, eg. Relationships, jobs, generally accepted facts etc.
Therefore I was terribly confused when the correct response to one of your questions was:
“Francia está en Europa”.
Whereas the example on this page states:
“Roma es la capital de Italia.”
Both of these seem like general facts with a geographical theme... where do I draw the line?
Apologies for the essay! Haha
Is it just as common to say “un par de pantalones” as it is to say “unos pantalones”? Thanks.
"las personas que van al club son latinas". Las "n" al fin de "van" y "son" suena como "vang" y "song". estan correcto pronunciacion?
Hello,
A couple of questions:
1. How to tell when to use an article in cases like this:
Kwizbot Mañana vamos a ir a la Sierra de Atapuerca.
You Mañana vamos a ir a Sierra de Atupuerca.
2. Why “there” does not translate to “allá”
and many people travel there
Kwizbot y muchas personas viajan a este lugar
You y muchas personas viajan allá
Thank you Inma,
So does that mean that even if "siglo" is singular, you can also use the plural? i.e. "a comienzos de..."
does that mean then that you can use the singular "al comienzo de.." if "siglos" was plural?
Do you have any example sentences for these 2 uses?
Do you have any more info on this use? also is this a Peninsular Spain usage? or universally used?
Thank you. Your replies a very appreciated! Nicole
Hello, when I want to translate "they hit her" (occurring in the past for a period), it is translated as "le pegaban" or "la golpeaban". Why is it an indirect object pronoun for pegar but direct for golpear?
Hiya,
It seems to me that you can use ito/ecito fairly interchangeably...can you explain whether there is a difference? I believe ecito is more common in Spain than Latin America?
Thanks :) Nat
This article talks about using El Presente to express general facts, simple enough...
... however my qualm is with the use of Ser vs Estar. My understanding was that ser would be used to generally describe things which don’t change over a prolonged period of time, eg. Relationships, jobs, generally accepted facts etc.
Therefore I was terribly confused when the correct response to one of your questions was:
“Francia está en Europa”.
Whereas the example on this page states:
“Roma es la capital de Italia.”
Both of these seem like general facts with a geographical theme... where do I draw the line?
Apologies for the essay! Haha
Hi,
I thought I had answered this correctly by choosing the subjunctive of terminar: termine. But it was marked wrong with what I think is just another variation on subjunctive for terminar: terminase. (See below.)
Am I wrong? What am I missing here?
Thanks!
Dijeron que nos pagarían las horas extra trabajadas cuando ________ el mes.
They said they'd pay our overtime when it was the end of the month.
terminase
terminaba
terminó
termine
For this question: Es improbable que los niños ________ la puerta. These options show as correct: hayan roto / rompieran. I understand hayan roto, as the impersonal beginning signifies "subjunctive", and the event is in the past. However, I learned at a language school in Cuernavaca that present tense statements (es improbable) could only match with haber + participle, and that only past events (eg "era improbable" could match with imperfect subjunctive (rompieran). The teachers made a big deal out of that. However here it shows up as a legitimate option. Can you explain? Thank you.
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