Past Participle, Preterit?
Earlier in the week I read this post by Lazarus
Who writes... in spanish, you normally cannot use the continuous tenses with verbs of state.
Is caer considered a verb of state in the following context.
Paris Hilton lo dice esto como un paquete de cocaína cae de su bolsa......Te juro oficial que esta bolsa no es mío.
Paris Hilton says this as a vile of cocaine falls from her purse.......I swear officer this purse is not mine.
Should this be.....Paris Hilton lo dijo esto cuando un paquete de cocaína se cayó de su bolsa.
Or, Paris Hilton lo dijó esto cuando un paquete de cocaína caerse de su bolsa.
....... había caído de su bolsa?
The opening statement seems to be continuous (dynamic) and I do not know which, if any of these are gramatically correct?
3 Answers
Is caer considered a verb of state in the following context.
"Caer" is not a verb of state, but a verb of motion, if anything. Verbs of state are those where you STAY (=state) where you are, not when you fall and end up somewhere else after losing your balance. Notice that I said (literally): "remain in that position". You don't remain in the same position after falling, do you?
By the way, none of your examples use the continuous tense. They demand the verb "estar" + Spanish gerundio (English present participle). Examples of continuous (or progressive forms) in English:
- I'm running (to be + to run)
- I'm watching TV (to be + to watch)
Examples:
- Estoy cantando (estar + cantar)
- Estoy escribiendo (etar + escribir)
Muy bien. Gracias. Basado en lo que usted me ha dicho cómo sería esto.
Mientras la cocaína está cayendo (espolvoreando?) de su bolsa, ella está diciendo al policía. Te juro que esta no es mi bolsa.
While the cocaine falls (is falling) from her purse Paris Hilton says (is saying) to the police. I swear that this is not my purse.
