Translations using the expression "... in the process of ..."Looking at the questions asked by Huw and by Ian - I wondered if it might be worth using an expression like "in the process of …" to distinguish between the two cases.
e.g. "Los libros estaban siendo colocados en las estanterías" >
> means (more or less?): "the books were in the process of being placed on the shelves"... It really does need some kind of special treatment, because there is not always a directly translatable equivalent in English (although here, we could actually say: "the books were being placed on the shelves"). The above sentence could usefully be compared with
Los libros fueron colocados en las estanterías
and
Los libros eran colocados en las estanterías
and
Los libros han sido colocados en las estanterías.
and [maybe !]
Los libros habían sido colocados en las estanterías.
Of course, each of those^ alternatives carries a different meaning.
[… What about: "Los libros estuvieron siendo colocados en las estanterías"? !]
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In your example: "The strawberries had been in the process of being collected" is probably a better illustration for my suggestion.
Looking at the questions asked by Huw and by Ian - I wondered if it might be worth using an expression like "in the process of …" to distinguish between the two cases.
e.g. "Los libros estaban siendo colocados en las estanterías" >
> means (more or less?): "the books were in the process of being placed on the shelves"... It really does need some kind of special treatment, because there is not always a directly translatable equivalent in English (although here, we could actually say: "the books were being placed on the shelves"). The above sentence could usefully be compared with
Los libros fueron colocados en las estanterías
and
Los libros eran colocados en las estanterías
and
Los libros han sido colocados en las estanterías.
and [maybe !]
Los libros habían sido colocados en las estanterías.
Of course, each of those^ alternatives carries a different meaning.
[… What about: "Los libros estuvieron siendo colocados en las estanterías"? !]
-----------------
In your example: "The strawberries had been in the process of being collected" is probably a better illustration for my suggestion.
Hello,
I was wondering why the sentence "in the evening..." is translated with "por laS tardeS...". Why is it plural here? Would "por la tarde" also be correct?
Thanks!
Suppose I wanted to say something like, "I wouldn't have minded if they got married, I was seeing someone else", or "I didn't care if the wrecked their's appetite with ice cream, I wasn't going to make dinner anyway" is there no combination of tenses that would admit the use o "por mí que"?
Does anyone know of a good free online language exchange?
pro ejemplo
Él fue alpinista en su juventud
Él era alpinista en su juventud
Cuál es corecto？Por qué_
Hola a todos,
Solo decir, Feliz Navidad y próspero año!
Gracias por todo
Clara
Los niños, jugando en el parque, nos recordanban a nuestra infancia.
The boys, playing in the park, reminded us of our childhood.
Hola,
I found this a lot to digest, so re-wrote the lesson to try to understand it better.
Would you be able to do me a big favour and check to see if I’ve understood it correctly?
Muchísimas gracias,
Another way of expressing a cause is with de tan, etcThe clause (de tan, etc) can be placed at the beginning of the sentence or at the end in certain circumstances.
The sub-clause ('de tan' bit) expresses the reason the main clause happens
Because he dances so well, he is going to be given a prize
Or
He is going to be given a prize because he dances so well
De tan is used with an adjective or adverb
Can be used sub clause first or second...
Because he dances so well, he is going to be given a prize
OrHe is going to be given a prize because he dances so well.
Sub clause first way...
Because he dances so well, he is going to be given a prize
De tan+ adjective/adverb + que/como + indicative (then the main clause)
De tan bien que baila le van a dar un premio
Or De tan bien como baila le van a dar un premio
Main clause first way...
He is going to be given a prize because he dances so well.
(Main clause...) + de tan + adjective/ adverb + que/como + indicative
Le van a dar un premio de tan bien que bailaOrLe van a dar un premio de tan bien como baila
De tanto/a/os/as is used with a noun/s
He got a stomach ache because of all those chocolates he ate.
(Main clause...) + De tanto/a/os/as + noun + que/como + indicative
Le dio un dolor de barriga de tantos chocolates como comió.OrLe dio un dolor de barriga de tantos chocolates que comió.
With this de tanto, noun construction, the sub clause is always second
The third way de tanto/ tan poco with verbs
He is going to get really fat because he eats so much.
The sub clause can begin or end the sentence
De tanto/tan poco que/como + indicative...
De tanto que come se va a poner gordísimo.
Or
Se va a poner gordísimo de tanto que come
It can be written again either 'de tanto que' or 'de tanto como'
Tan poco...
You will become a loner because you hardly go out.
Te vas a convertir en un solitario de tan poco que sales.
Or De tan poco que sales te vas a convertir en un solitario
Again, we can say 'tan poco que' or 'tan poco como'
I was confused by the hint given for the first sentence:
Use lo que + verb + subj for emphasis ...
I interpreted "subj" as "subjunctive", and made quite a mess of my answer !
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