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"there is" + present progressive

 

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  #1  
Old April 13, 2009, 08:45 AM
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"there is" + present progressive

I was reading about how está/estan is used instead of "hay" when saying that there is/are (something) in a particular place.

Like, if saying "There are red cars" ('Hay coches rojos'?), but if saying "There is someone in my car" ('Está alguien en mi coche'?). Right?

But what if you are saying that "There is (someone) doing (something)."
I know present progressive is conjugated with "estar" + (verb with "ando/iendo").

But what if I was saying "There is a man speaking with my brother."?
Está un hombre está hablando con mi hermano.

The two "está"s in that sentence look awkward.
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  #2  
Old April 13, 2009, 09:17 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
I was reading about how está/estan is used instead of "hay" when saying that there is/are (something) in a particular place.

Like, if saying "There are red cars" ('Hay coches rojos'?), but if saying "There is someone in my car" ('Está alguien en mi coche'?). Right?
You can always say Hay alguien en mi coche,
But what if you are saying that "There is (someone) doing (something)."
I know present progressive is conjugated with "estar" + (verb with "ando/iendo").Hay alguien trabajando, hay alguien leyendo, etc.
But what if I was saying "There is a man speaking with my brother."?
Está un hombre está hablando con mi hermano. Hay in hombre hablando con mi hermano.

The two "está"s in that sentence look awkward.
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  #3  
Old April 13, 2009, 09:22 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
I was reading about how está/estan is used instead of "hay" when saying that there is/are (something) in a particular place.

Like, if saying "There are red cars" ('Hay coches rojos'?), but if saying "There is someone in my car" ('Está alguien en mi coche'?). Right?

But what if you are saying that "There is (someone) doing (something)."
I know present progressive is conjugated with "estar" + (verb with "ando/iendo").

But what if I was saying "There is a man speaking with my brother."?
Está un hombre está hablando con mi hermano.

The two "está"s in that sentence look awkward.
I do not think this is correct, unless you think in English the following means the same, although I see there might be a possibility...

Is a man talking with my brother?
is there a man talking with my brother?

Are they the same in English?
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Old April 13, 2009, 09:27 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by chileno View Post
Is a man talking with my brother?
is there a man talking with my brother?
Yes, they are the same. But I was asking about a statement rather than a question. "There is a man talking with my brother."

I think poli answered my question; use "hay" in that situation. It looks like you also drop the conjugated form of "estar" in the present progressive?
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Old April 13, 2009, 09:29 AM
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These are all really close in meaning, and are analogous to the English version.

[Está alguien / Alguien está] en mi coche. = Someone is in my car.
Hay alguien en mi coche. = There is someone in my car.

Hay alguien caminando por el sendero. = There is someone walking down the path.
[Está alguien / Alguien está] caminando por el sendero. = Someone is walking down the path.

[Está un hombre hablando / Un hombre está hablando] con mi hermano. A man is talking with my brother.
Hay un hombre hablando con mi hermano. = There is a man speaking with my brother.
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  #6  
Old April 13, 2009, 09:29 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
Yes, they are the same. But I was asking about a statement rather than a question. "There is a man talking with my brother."

I think poli answered my question; use "hay" in that situation. It looks like you also drop the conjugated form of "estar" in the present progressive?
Both will be the same, then in Spanish.

Hay un hombre hablando con mi hermano en este momento?
Esta un hombre hablando con mi hermano en este momento?

Mean the same, said in another way.
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  #7  
Old April 13, 2009, 09:36 AM
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But if you drop the "There is" part, it would be;

Un hombre está hablando con mis hermano. "A man is speaking with my brother." ¿Verdad?
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Old April 13, 2009, 09:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fazor View Post
But if you drop the "There is" part, it would be;

Un hombre está hablando con mis hermano. "A man is speaking with my brother." ¿Verdad?
Sí.
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  #9  
Old April 15, 2009, 01:04 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tomisimo View Post
These are all really close in meaning, and are analogous to the English version.

[Está alguien / Alguien está] en mi coche. = Someone is in my car.
Hay alguien en mi coche. = There is someone in my car.

Hay alguien caminando por el sendero. = There is someone walking down the path.
[Está alguien / Alguien está] caminando por el sendero. = Someone is walking down the path.

[Está un hombre hablando / Un hombre está hablando] con mi hermano. A man is talking with my brother.
Hay un hombre hablando con mi hermano. = There is a man speaking with my brother.
La diferencia entre "haber" y "estar" en estos ejemplos es muy sutil, pero muy clara si cambio los ejemplos:

"Hay un hombre en mi coche" / "Juanito está en el coche"
"Hay un hombre hablando con mi hermano" / "Pepe está hablando con mi hermano"

Conocemos a Juanito y a Pepe, pero no al "hombre" que está en el coche o hablando con mi hermano.
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  #10  
Old April 15, 2009, 01:31 PM
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Me olvidé comentar que Juanito y Pepe son sujetos de la oración (al igual que "alguien" en el caso del sendero). En los otros casos, "hay un hombre", "un hombre" no es sujeto, sino OD (comparad: "hay varios hombres en mi coche" / "Juan y Pepe están en el coche"). El sujeto tiene que concordar con el verbo; en el otro ejemplo, el verbo "haber" es impersonal, no varía.
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