Double past participles

Question

In English the past participle for ser or estar is the irregular been. I suppose that because of this, we have phrases in which we can double past participles.

But then, how would you translate sentences such as the following:

I have been humiliated... I have been enslaved...

Is it incorrect to use two past participles like so: He sido humiliado....He sido enesclavizado?

And while I am at it, what is more appropriate for past uses such as these, sido or estado?

zachary, please unaccept the answer,the answer with estar would be incorrect+ - 00494d19, Oct 22, 2010

Answer 1

Yes... it's correct...

I think it has to be "sido", always...

it's esclavizado. He sido esclavizado

Just to add some clarification on the subject...

we never use estar in this case...

El castillo ha sido tomado

in some cases... where estar might sound right... it can be changed for permanecer

Ella ha sido callada (She has been silenced)

Ella ha estado callada (She has remained silent)

Ella ha permanecido callada (She has remained silent)

great tony, thanks a lot, tus respuestas son fantasticas, gracias - 00494d19, Oct 22, 2010

Is it because it is a thing/ feeling etc. that happened in the past and so is an unalterable condition regardless of whether estar might be used in the present? - Zachary-Santamaria, Oct 22, 2010

Yeah... I think that's the reason... - Tonyriva, Oct 22, 2010

Answer 2

It's OK to use 2 past participles in a row if one of them is being used as an adjective, which is what is happening here.

I think it has to be ser... "la tierra ha estado tomada" sounds terribly wrong... "la tierra ha sido tomada" it's ok - Tonyriva, Oct 22, 2010

He's talking about examples of being humilated or enslaved...wouldn't we use "estar" in those examples? - --Mariana--, Oct 22, 2010

No... we would use ser... he sido esclavizado, he sido humillado... those sentences with estar sound wrong - Tonyriva, Oct 22, 2010

good job tony, wonderful answers - 00494d19, Oct 22, 2010

Would you say "soy humiliado"? - KevinB, Oct 22, 2010

No... but you can say it in the past tense... "fui humillado" - Tonyriva, Oct 22, 2010

For some reason I find that odd. I need to stop thinking and just start listening. - KevinB, Oct 22, 2010

Answer 3

I have been humiliated... I have been enslaved...

Where you see two "past participles", I see a past tense (I have been) plus a past participle, where the past tense (present perfect) happens to be formed with the past participle. If those sentences are perfect in English, why would they be completely wrong in Spanish? You are over-analysing, believe me.

Lazarus, are you one of those people who love to try to make others feel anal and rediculous? There are two sides to every coin: A technical and an intuative. I like to utilize both as it is the least biast and most realistic way to approach learning. - Zachary-Santamaria, Oct 22, 2010

I think Lazarus has gone so far into analyzing languages that he's come out the other side and now advocates a more natural approach to learning. I tend to agree with him, though I have a hard time letting go. - KevinB, Oct 22, 2010