Serás desgraciado

Question

She catches him sneaking out and says "Serás desgraciado". I could understand "Será desgraciado" = that would (will be) be unfortunate. But "serás desgraciado" you will be unfortunate, or more like - that's gonna go badly for you? Gracias.

Also, since des seems to mean "un" usually , it seems like agraciado is unrelated here to desgraciado? Attractive, fetching, or can it also mean fortunate? I know desgracia (disgrace) is also (por desgracia = unfortunately) and gracia (grace) is also humor (no tiene gracia) but I'm unsure if desgraciado and agraciado are extensions of that. Gracias.

Answer 1

The future tense can be used colloquially in emphatic expressions to highlight someone's shortcomings, or simply to insult. "Desgraciado" means, among other things, lacking attractive, disgusting, or seen with contempt. I'd translate that sentence more or less as:

¡You can be such a poor wretch!

Notice that wretch too can refer to an unfortunate person, or a bad person, like "desgraciado".

Gracias. - jeezzle, Oct 31, 2010

Answer 2

The RAE grammar says about this construction:

...característica de las exclamaciones de la lengua conversacional, en las que se resalta alguna característica -casi siempre negativa- de algo o alguien...

Pretty much what I explained: almost always negative.

Answer 3

Desgraciado can mean something like miserable wretch. I agree with Lazarus on this one (like I'm going to disagree with him). "You will be a miserable wretch", but not necessarily in the future, More like, "No matter what, you will insist on being a miserable wretch."

You are welcome to disagree with me if you think I'm wrong. I make mistakes, like everyone else. - lazarus1907, Oct 31, 2010

Answer 4

What if I said "Serás agraciado", does that mean "you can be so fetching" or does it only work in the negative sense?

I've tried to read the sentence a few times, and I can't see how it can be interpreted in a positive way. - lazarus1907, Oct 31, 2010