Present Tense of Ser and Estar vs. Other Verbs

Question

Conjugation I have seen on various web pages seem to treat ser and estar different from other verbs in the present tense. For example, I can look up the verb "caminar" (link) and "yo camino" is translated as either "I walk" or "I am walking". However, if I look up "ser", I find that "yo soy" is only translated as "I am" (link) rather than both "I am" and "I am being".

So, what I am wondering is if the present tense of ser and estar can be translated as both "I am" and "I am being" ("you are", "you are being", etc..) or only as "I am" ("you are", "he is", etc..)?

WHAT LED TO THIS QUESTION: In addition to wondering why the conjugation charts present "ser" and "estar" differently in the present tense, I came across the following sentence while doing some Spanish lessons: "Estas latas son recicladas". Obviously, there is a big difference here depending on translation of "son". If "son" is translated as "are", it means the cans have finished the recycling process. If "son" is translated as "are being", the cans are still in the recycling process (perhaps at the beginning of the process still). The translation given by the software I am using is "These cans are being recycled" ("son" translated as "are being"). The accompanying photo also supports the translation "are being" as it shows cans in a crushed state. But, this goes against the conjugation charts and other web material I have seen on "ser" and "estar" which only show a translation for "son" as "are". I would appreciate some help on this. Thank you.

Answer 1

I guess you missed or were misled by that "being"

I am = (yo) soy (being, inherent quality of being kind, for example)

I am = (yo) estoy (state, placement as in I am here (placement) I am hot (state, tengo calor)

Would that help with your question?

EDIT:

These cans are being recycled = Estos tarros estan siendo reciclados.

Now the kicker!

These cans are recycled = Estos tarros son/están reciclados.

Can you differentiate the last statement?

Answer 2

I think that speakers of languages that don't have the ser-estar difference should consider that words have several acceptations, and in English the verb to be used for both denoting something exists and occupies a place in its existence.

Using you example with the recycled cans, think of it this way:

Estas latas que están acá son recicladas, aquellas que están allá no lo son.

Answer 3

Or to put it another way, I would think that "recicladas" is a condition, not a characteristic even though that is kind of a iffy situation. A condition, of course, requires the use of "estar". If you were to say that the cans are aluminum, "Las latas son de aluminio", that would require the use of "ser" because composition (what something is made of) is one of the things that requires the use of "ser".