"había perdido" or "había estado perdido" - please help

Question

Hi all,

I'm writing an article about alternative medicine and 'grandmother's remedies' but I'm unsure on a grammar point.

I want to say:

"My grandmother's generation lived in the city and so the knowledge had already been lost."

"La generación de mi abuella vivía en la ciudad así que el conocimiento ya había perdido"

I'm not sure about the last part of the sentence; should it be "ya había estado perdido" or is "ya había perdido" ok as it is?

Thank you

ya se había perdido. - LuisCache, Feb 17, 2011

Answer 1

Pardon me for interjecting. ya se había perdido is sufficient. No need to add another past participle.

That looks passive-reflexive to me (it just doesn't use the classic passive voice) - 0074b507, Feb 17, 2011

Answer 2

Thanks everyone. I learnt all about the passive voice in class today which helped!

So, "ya se había perdido" is sufficient, meaning "was already lost", whereas "ya había sido perdido" would be a little over-English in its structure, meaning "had already been lost".

It's nice when the puzzle pieces begin to form a picture, isn't i? - 0074b507, Feb 18, 2011

You got it...! - gone, Feb 18, 2011

It certainly is! - jaynescarman, Feb 18, 2011

Answer 3

Just to mention it, había sido perdido is passive voice, Ser+past participle + por [no agent]

with Estar, perdido is an adjective.

I had been sick.

Había estado enfermo.

Answer 4

I would agree with "ya había sido perdido", and "abuela" has only one "l",

otherwise seems fine!

Answer 5

I think the correct option is "había sido perdido", you could say "ya había sido perdido", but that sounds a little redundant.