I am being...

Question

To say this I am guessing you would use the present continuous tense; Which would look something like

Estoy estando - correct?

When i put this in the translator it came up saying "I am still" but that's not really what I was after, I was after I am being... Is this a translator error, or is there another way to say it?

Can someone help please?

• Buena pregunta. :-) - chaparrito Dec 22, 2009

Answer 1

Estoy estando

No, a verb can't follow it's own auxiliary, so you won't see "estar estando".

And you also have situations where you would use ser rather than estar.

I think you need to decide what it is you want "to be" and then find a way to say it, rather than finding a catch-all "to be"phrase as it seems you are doing.

Is there something in particular you are trying to say that you are being?

Answer 2

I think in English we use 'I am being' quite a bit. But it seems to me that the most common way to express that would be literally: "Something is doing something to me..." (Think of the difference between 'I like...' and 'Me gusta...')

For example: "I am being treated for asthma." would be "Estoy recibiendo tratamiento para asma."

Or: "I am being judged." would be "Se me está juzgando."

There are cases where we could use "Estoy siendo..." such as "Estoy siendo probado." Would be "I am being tested (as in patience, etc.)"

But as Goyo says, "Estoy estando..." just isn't right.

• Great examples. - Goyo Dec 22, 2009

Answer 3

I'm curious about this too. When I enter "Yo estoy molestando" I get "I am bothering," but when I enter "Yo estando molestando" I get "I still bothering..." You pose a great question! What are the rules here?

Answer 4

Ah, there isn't anything in particular but I just realised, so if for example, I were to say I am being annoying - you would use estoy and the present participle of to annoy? But then that's just missing out the being part... I'm trying to think of a situation where you would need the "being" part...

Thanks

Answer 5

Ah great, thanks for all the replies Seems quite fun, hehe

Answer 6

"I am being" makes no sense in English. You must specify what your are being..In other words, "I am being X. (where X is some sort of adjective e.g. annoying /silly/lazy).Spanish, like English, requires that you complete the thought.

One can't simply (in the general case) translate part of a sentence.

• i understand what your getting at:) - Notice my elipsis when I typed "I am being.." showing a part of the sentance is missed out. But I understand that someone cant translate part of a sentance in this case. - Sammy16093 Jan 6, 2010