Two conjugated present tense verbs side by side
Can someone explain the sentence structure where there are two verbs conjugated in the present tense residing side-by-side (...se trata es...) as in the following:
De lo que se trata es, sencillamente, estar del lado correcto de la historia.
2 Answers
Hi Cdunn3, and welcome to the SpanishDict "Answers" forum!
De lo que se trata es, sencillamente, estar del lado correcto de la historia.
"What it's about is, simply, being on the right side of history."
The sentence might be less confusing to you if you first consider that it is composed of three distinct components. Knowing this, we can reposition each component so that we might better be able to tell how each component breaks down:
Being on the right side of history is what it's about.
Estar del lado correcto de la historia es de lo que se trata.
Grammatically, you have a noun phrase connected to a prepositional phrase by a copular or linking verb. In this case the prepositional phrase describes an attribute of your noun phrase.
Noun Phrase:
Estar del lado correcto de la historia ? Being on the right side of history
Copular verb:
es ? is
Prepositional phrase:
de lo que se trata ? what it's about.
You might notice that in English, this expression does not appear to be a prepositional phrase—that is the preposition "about" occurs at the end of the phrase; whereas, in Spanish, the preposition "de" occurs at the beginning. This difference, is attributable to the fact that in Spanish, the dictum, "Never end a sentence/clause with a preposition" is a hard and hast rule; whereas, in English, this rule is often broken in colloquial speech.
If the grammar terminology seems confusing, you could always break down the sentence into a much simpler sentence by replacing the noun phrase with a simple pronoun:
Being on the right side of history is what it's about.
This is what it is about. (Esto es de lo que se trata)
or more in line with the original structure:
What it is about is this (De lo que se trata is this.)
Again, the main difference between the English and the Spanish, in terms of overall sentence structure, is simply the placement of the preposition.
¡Hola!, Cdunn3:
Your profile page does not indicate your proficiency in Spanish or English so it is presumptuous of me to assume your English is better than your Spanish. But, against this brief apology, here is an answer for you.
We set up this same kind of sentence structure in English. As I understand your Spanish expression,"De lo que se trata es, sencillamente, estar del lado correcto de la historia." it may be interpreted to mean "What it is is, simply, to be on the right side of history"
I did an internet search and found several examples in English where this structure is used and I suggest you will understand each example. Here are a couple:
- "The game will be a surprise, and the only way to know about what it is is to be there". and
- "Karen's first novel, It Is What It Is, is to be released this summer.", and
- " The cause is something which acts creatively, and what it is, is to be learned in the light of what it does."
What you will notice is that in the 2nd and 3rd example the words "what it is" and the words "is to be" are separated by a comma and that may lead to a better understanding of the construction. The 1st example without a separating comma still has the same meaning.
To try to answer your question, whether in English or in Spanish, two conjugated verbs do not often appear side by side, but, it is possible in these unusual circumstances.
How comforting was that.?
Muchos saludos/Best regards,
Moe
