Quote:
Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar
"To know" may mean "conocer" or "saber", and "to be" means "ser" or "estar". It was funny when I started learning because I couldn't understand why such different actions would correspond to the same verb in English.
Well, it is definitely not a problem for a Spanish speaker because the verb has those meanings (and probably two or three more) and unless we have to explain the exact meaning of the sentence, we don't stop and dissect the verb. The translator might have a problem though, because of the fact that the public had to wait for the verdict to be pronounced and people also were expectant about it. Including both verbs would result in a clumsy sentence; that's why I'd go with "anticipated", which for me is closer to "esperar", as it also kind of mixes "to await" and "to expect".  |
But the difference between your problem with the English verbs and mine with the Spanish one is that yours do not present an ambiguity. Not all the time, but there is an overlap with esperar which I find confusing, and I'm puzzled why this does not appear to bother other people.
How would you say 1) I expect to die tomorrow and 2) I hope to die tomorrow
?