Quedarse Usage
When quedarse is used with a gerund, does it have the meaning of "to be" or "to keep/to continue"? Or, to put it another way, would it take the place of "estar" with a gerund or the place of "continuar" (if there is even a difference, I'm not sure there is...) For example, while I was reading, I came across this sentence:
Se quedó escuchando la tormenta y pensando...
Would this be translated as "He kept (or continued) listening" or "he was listening"? Or is it context dependent?
1 Answer
Hola!
I believe you are on the right track with "He kept (continued, remained) listening..." Another translation could be "He sat there listening...."
Here are some more example sentences using "quedarse" with the present participle (-ando, -iendo) from the SpanishDict dictionary:
me quedé estudiando hasta que cerraron la biblioteca
I carried on or stayed working in the library until it closed; yo me quedo un rato más viendo el museo
I want to stay and look round the museum a bit more; me quedé viendo la tele hasta muy tarde
I stayed up late watching TV se nos quedó mirando asombrado
he stared at us in amazement (indicando resultado) (con adjetivos, locuciones preposicionales) me estoy quedando sordo I'm going deaf ¿te estás quedando conmigo? are you trying to kid me? (familiar)
"Quedarse" is one of those verbs that can be translated many different ways depending on its context. It's a great skill to notice those patterns though... buena pregunta!
