Expressing "to become" in Spanish

Question

Hello,

Am I correct in thinking that to express "to become" in Spanish, you would make the verb reflexive, i.e., "to become known> saberse"? What I am trying to say is "they become dependent on foreigh aid", so would this be "se dependen de la ayuda extranjera"?

In English, there is a subtle difference between "because of this, they are dependent on foreign aid" and "because of this, they become dependent on foreign aid" as the second implies that there was a time before when they weren't dependent, which is what I'm really trying to emphasise in Spanish.

Thanks for your help, I'm very grateful!

Nicola

Answer 1

In the foreign aid example, I think I would use llegar a ser. "Ellos llegan a ser dependiente...

There are several ways to say "to become" in Spanish.

Ponerse: Se van a poner furiosos. They are going to become angry.

volverse: Se volvió loca. She went (became) deaf.

Ponerse and volverse show a change in physical or emotional state.

Llegar a ser: Con el tiempo Elvis llegó a ser un símbolo nacional.

hacerse: Se hizo médica después de muchos sacrificios.

Llegar a ser and hacerse are used to mean "to get to be" over a period of time. Hacerse usually implies conscious effort, and llegar a ser may describe an effortless change.

Edited to add that I'm not a native speaker, but I just studied this and took the examples and explanations from my textbook. What do the natives say?

Answer 2

I'd like to mention one Spanish verb that hasn't come up yet but can mean "to become" in many contexts: quedarse. Just an example: ¿A qué edad se quedó sordo Beethoven?

I'm not a native speaker of Spanish either so I can't really tell if se quedan dependientes de ... as a translation of your example would work well.

Very good question, though

Answer 3

Thank you all for your detailed responses - I think I'm going to have to take some time to look through them all and have a chat with my tutor about which one is best given the context of my essay. They will also be very good reference notes for me in the future.

Thanks again,

Nicola

Answer 4

I don't think the reasoning about the semantics of your English is quite correct.

"because of this, they are dependent on foreign aid" could also be said if there were a previous time they had not been dependent on it. Your clause with they become is only different because it may call more attention to the role of an unnamed factor, not because it gives any different or additional information.

An answer to the Spanish part of your question may be the solution you need.

I see what you mean, I suppose I wanted to emphasise that there had been a time when they weren't dependent, unlike "they are dependent" which is ambiguous about this point. - jennyy101, Feb 22, 2011

Answer 5

"To become" can be expressed "Llegar a ser" and "Volverse"

To become known ....Llegar a ser conocido / Volverse conocido

They become dependent on foreign aid ...... Llegan a ser dependientes de la ayuda del extranjero / Se vuelven dependientes de la ayuda del extranjero

Thank you for confirming what I believed was correct through Paralee's teaching I had just remembered it but didn't think think that volverse was correct :as I understood it is used for dramatic and extreme changes - FELIZ77, Feb 22, 2011

And as Paco says, "convertirse" is another option - 005faa61, Feb 22, 2011

Paralee told us in her teaching videos that convertirse is only used for objects/things not people so how would it be applicable here? - FELIZ77, Feb 22, 2011

Feliz, I think you´re right although we can´t really know the intensity of change here without further context. As in most languages, you need to see the big picture in order to choose the exact word that fits - 005faa61, Feb 22, 2011

Answer 6

I would suggest," se vuelven dependientes de la ayuda extranjera".

"To become" is "convertirse" but also,at least in México, would mean "volverse".

Applied to this context, I would use the second option (volverse).

Answer 7

I am not a native speaker so I cannot answer your specific question. I think you are on the right track with the reflexive use of a verb. No doubt you have looked in the dictionary part of this site and seen that the first word Is convertirse which is not what you are looking for.

My gut tells me to begin by using hacerse (se hacen - they make themselves) in order to express the emphasis on those becoming dependent or to simply reword it ansd say that foreign aid makes them dependent (I'd have to look up the word for dependent) thus shifting the emphasis to foreign aid.

I hope this helps.

When I stated my answer there were no responses. I'm too old! - Jubilado, Feb 22, 2011

never too old! - pacofinkler, Feb 22, 2011