ir vs. estar
hola compañeros!!!!
ok, yo no sé porqué pero estoy teniendo problemas con estar y ir. los verbos.
por ejemplo...
they were smoking....estaban fumando o iban fumando?
no tengo problemas con ser y estar.......
otro ejemplo.i was robbed....fui robado, o estuve robado?
gracias por ayudarme!!!!!
chavofeliz!!!!!
4 Answers
Estaban fumando. The past progressive is constructed with estar plus present participle.
I think (but am less sure) the second one is fui robado, because it is passive voice, which uses ser.
The chief confusion lies in the fact that you are mixing up two very different constructions.
There is a tense called the "progressive" and it is "estar + verb" where the verb ends in "ando" or "iendo". This often means " to be -ing".
For example: Estoy buscando mi libro = I am looking for my book.
He was dancing when he died: "Estaba bailando cuando murió".
This tense doesn't exactly have the same uses as the English equivalent, but it captures roughly the same sense. Click here to check out more about it
There is another construction called "the passive voice". English sentences using the passive voice are for example: "I was hit", "My car got stolen", "The store was destroyed by the typhoon" and "It was done by Jeff" .
There are many different ways to do the passive, each being used in diferent circumstances. One of the (more outdated and literary) ways to do it is:
"Ser + VERB" where the VERB ends in "-ado" or "ido".
It was stolen = Fue robado
I was killed by Jeff = Fui matado por Jeff
Note that "Fui" and "fue" are the past tense of "SER". They look just like the past tense of "IR" but they mean different things.
they were smoking....estaban fumando o iban fumando?
The choice of usage depends on context, ie: They were were smoking when one of them suffered a heart attack .... Estaban fumando cuando uno de ellos sufrió un infarto.
They were going to the store (while) smoking when one of them suffered a heart attack .... Iban fumando a la tienda cuando uno de ellos sufrió un infarto.
They went around smoking all day like idiots ..... Andaban fumando todo el día como idiotas.
Andar can also be used when no action takes place, but the nuance is one of activity, ie: Ando bien ocupado el día de hoy .... I´m very busy today.
otro ejemplo.i was robbed....fui robado, o estuve robado?
Yes, "fuí robado" is the correct choice between the two for grammar purposes, but we normally say in a more natural way "Me robaron" or "Me asaltaron."
Rogspax is correct that the present progressive is most often formed with estar and the present participle but other verbs of motion can be used in this manner as well. Ellos siguieron fumando. They continued smoking. I know the verb Andar can be used like this as well and I think Ir can as well. So estar would be most likely but I would not say that ir is wrong, depending on what you are trying to communicate.
On the second I think fui robado sounds right but I do not know why. But there is nothing passive about I was robbed.
