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.
Why do we need the indirect pronoun in this sentence at all as Flor is referred to by name?
Is it just for emphasis, would a natural speaker include it?
You have the same mistake here as I pointed out in the lesson about tener + participio. You refer to it being similar to haber plus infinitive rather than participio
I was recently given this sentence:
Eugenia (entender) ______ que no podamos ir.
I got it correct and know the form of "entender" to be used, but I have a side question: Why is "podamos" in the subjunctive here? Why not the indicative?
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.
Why are there 2 conjugations for El Imperfecto de Subjuntivo? Are they interchangeable? Do native speakers use both equally, or is one used much more than the other?
Nuestras vides produjeron mucho vino el año pasado. Our vines produced a lot of wine last year. but this was the answer you provided. Our vines produced a lot of wine this year. (HINT: Conjugate "producir" in Pretérito indefinido)
Hola,
Why is the personal 'a' not used in 'conocemos gente'? Would 'conocemos a la gente' be an acceptable answer here?
Thanks,
Benhur
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