Passive structure with verb ingresar

David L.C1Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Passive structure with verb ingresar


Tomorrow by this time I will have been admitted to hospital  is translated as Mañana a estas horas habré ingresado en el hospital

I've also seen  "ayer fue ingresado en el hospital"  and "el médico lo ingresó en el hospital" so it seems to behave like a transitive verb.

Why then isn't it " habré sido ingresado" ?

Gracias


Asked 8 months ago
SilviaNative Spanish expert teacher in KwiziqCorrect answer

Hola David

You've made some insightful observations about the verb "ingresar" and its use in Spanish. Certainly, it can function as a transitive verb, where it takes a direct object, as in "el médico lo ingresó en el hospital" (the doctor admitted him to the hospital). However, it's also commonly used intransitively, meaning it doesn't need a direct object to complete its meaning, as in "Mañana a estas horas habré ingresado en el hospital" (Tomorrow by this time I will have been admitted to the hospital).

The choice between "habré ingresado" and "habré sido ingresado" depends on the perspective you wish to convey. "Habré ingresado" (I will have entered/admitted) emphasizes the action from the subject's viewpoint without specifying who performed the action, making it sound like a personal initiative or a neutral statement about an event's occurrence. This construction doesn't specify who admits the subject into the hospital, which can be inferred from the context or deemed unnecessary.

On the other hand, "habré sido ingresado" (I will have been admitted) uses the passive voice, explicitly indicating that the action is performed on the subject by someone else. This construction makes it clear that the subject is being admitted by another party, typically understood to be hospital staff or a doctor.

In summary, both are grammatically correct but offer different nuances in meaning. Therefore, I have also accepted your answer "habré sido ingresado" in the exercise. Your choice depends on the context and the emphasis you wish to convey.

¡Espero que esto aclare tus dudas!

Saludos

Silvia

InmaNative Spanish expert teacher in Kwiziq

Hola David

This is because the way this verb works in Spanish and English are a bit different. In Spanish we don't tend to use the passive like in English. In Spanish this verb "ingresar en el hospital" generally functions in the active: Yo ingresé en el hospital ayer; Mañana ingresaré en el hospital..., etc... The person is doing the action of "going into hospital", whilst in English, it's using the passive "to be admitted into hospital", as in the patient is a passive subject "he/she is admitted", hence the different ways to say it. 

You can also use it in the passive in Spanish, like in your sentence: "Ayer fue ingresado en el hospital", although this is a bit less common. 

This is the reason why we avoided the passive "habré sido ingresado" and used the active voice instead "habré ingresado". I hope this clarified it.

Saludos cordiales

Inma

David L. asked:

Passive structure with verb ingresar


Tomorrow by this time I will have been admitted to hospital  is translated as Mañana a estas horas habré ingresado en el hospital

I've also seen  "ayer fue ingresado en el hospital"  and "el médico lo ingresó en el hospital" so it seems to behave like a transitive verb.

Why then isn't it " habré sido ingresado" ?

Gracias


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