Ser vs. Estar with -ado and -ido

Question

I am confused with which would be used. "I am allowed."

Also: "It needs to be washed." Would it be estar because to be is an action? The "to be" is kinda acting like the estar with -ando and -iendo. "It needs to be washed." "It is being washed."

Answer 1

"Necesita estar lavado" would mean that when you take it to a second-hand shop or you take it to charity or you give it to a friend etc. AT THAT MOMENT it should be clean . Maybe you are seeing the garment or not at the moment of speaking.
.

"Necesita ser lavado! would mean that you are seeing the garment and you see it's dirty and you say it should be washed because it's dirty.

Thanks, polenta. I wouldn't have guessed that. - AnnRon, Jun 20, 2017

Answer 2

Estar with -ido a -ado (this is, participles) refers to the result of an action: "I am allowed". Something needed to be allowed, it was allowed, no you are allowed to do it. That is "Tengo permitido ir" (in Spanish you need to say what you are allowed to). That "permitido" is an adjective that comes from the action "permitir". Same case with "It need to be washed" (as polenta mentioned).

When we use ser + participle, we are using the passive voice. This means, the object has become the subject. We put the emphasis on what is passively affected by the verb, not what's active.

"The towel is dirty, It needs to be washed" "La toalla está sucia, necesita ser lavada" in this sentence, with "necesita ser lavada" we are not describing the towel but mentioning an action that will passively affect it. Whoever washes it will be the active element of the sentence.

Let's contrast passive and active: Passive voice: La toalla necesita ser lavada (por mí) Active voice: (yo) Necesito lavar la toalla (between brackets you can see the active roles, even if you don't need to add those to the sentence).

Basically, you will use "estar + participle" when you describe how the subject is supposed to be (as an adjective) and you will use ser + participle when you describe what action will, is or had passively affected the subject (that will become the direct object if you paraphrase the sentence into active voice).

Answer 3

Hello!

This link from 2011 might be the answer to your question. Usage of "haber" and "-ido"/"ado"

Hope this helps.

Regards!

Very helpful. Thanks. :) - rac1, Jun 20, 2017