Sorprenderse vs Estar SorprendidoThe title of my question is only an example of several variations I've found on the same theme: when to use reflexive and when to use estar+participle?
Me sorprendí cuando me propuso matrimonio
Estaba sorprendida cuando me propuso matrimonio
It seems to me that the reflexive above suggests more of an action (it surprised me...), while estar+participle suggests a state (being in a state of surprise).
Could you explain and demonstrate by example how one might be chosen over the other?
Also, the reflexive seems to be prompting me to add que+subjunctive (Me sorprendí que me propusiera matrimonio), but the participle version does not.
As you see, I'm a little confused and I wonder if my confusion comes from learning Latin American Spanish? The participle seems to occur more often when I read that variant.
Saludos a todos
Here in Puerto Rico, it was suggested to me that one had the flavor of "perhaps" and the other "maybe", but I always forget which is which.
How to decide to use por (for because) versus porque (as in the example above):
Would it be correct to use porque in these examples? How would one know which to use (por vs porque)?
Ha salido en la televisión por tener quince minutos de fama.
He's been on TV because he was famous for fifteen minutes.
Va a estudiar medicina por seguir la tradición familiar.
She is studying medicine because it's family tradition.
Why isn't it en EL verano?
I often hear both forms on the radio… “las noticias que tú deberías saber” as well as “las noticias que debes saber” Can you explain the difference. When is it appropriate to use deber in the present tense to me (you should)
Yo veía lo que el hacía/hizo.
Would the first verb mean that e.g. I saw how he was building something and the second that I saw the reault... e.g. a house? Thank you.
Is this an acceptable construction for "let me know" or does it need to be "déjame que sepa"?
The title of my question is only an example of several variations I've found on the same theme: when to use reflexive and when to use estar+participle?
Me sorprendí cuando me propuso matrimonio
Estaba sorprendida cuando me propuso matrimonio
It seems to me that the reflexive above suggests more of an action (it surprised me...), while estar+participle suggests a state (being in a state of surprise).
Could you explain and demonstrate by example how one might be chosen over the other?
Also, the reflexive seems to be prompting me to add que+subjunctive (Me sorprendí que me propusiera matrimonio), but the participle version does not.
As you see, I'm a little confused and I wonder if my confusion comes from learning Latin American Spanish? The participle seems to occur more often when I read that variant.
Saludos a todos
I am wondering why in the question "Which of the following expressions are followed by the subjunctive?" the option "Parece que" was marked as incorrect? There is no any information about it in the explanation. However it is followed by the subjunctive, isn't it?
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