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Meaning Changes - Ser vs. Estar

 

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  #11  
Old March 22, 2011, 03:19 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laepelba View Post
"sauer" - is that a BrE spelling? In the US, we spell it: "sour"....
We do too in BrE, what I wrote was German (as in Sauerkraut). I confess I was using a table of ser/estar differences from a Spanish grammar book written in German. (That is why one or two of the verbs don't really count, but they were in the list because it makes a difference when translated into German.)

There are some words in German and English which have almost identical pronunciation (like sour/sauer) and being a little dyslexic, I often confuse the two languages.
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  #12  
Old March 27, 2011, 05:44 AM
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No sé si éste sea útil o no, pero una chica mexicana con quien chateo en Skype acaba de poner este vídeo en línea:

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  #13  
Old August 27, 2011, 10:57 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perikles View Post
...
guapo/a
ser guapo/a: to be handsome, pretty
estar guapo/a: to look nice (even though normally ugly)
...
I might change this usage a bit:

ser: Ella es una niña guapísima. (a statement of fact)
estar: "Niña, ¡qué guapa estás!" (looks especially beautiful tonight)

same 'niña', but special occasion.

Last edited by swr999; August 28, 2011 at 01:44 PM. Reason: incorporate Rusty's corrections; some context for 'ser''y
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  #14  
Old August 28, 2011, 12:14 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by swr999 View Post
ser: Ella es una niña guapísima.
estar: "Niña, ¡qué guapa estás!" (looks especially beautiful tonight)

same 'niña', but special occasion.
Orthographic corrections, for those who might be learning.
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  #15  
Old December 22, 2011, 09:05 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Perikles View Post
guapo/a
ser guapo/a: to be handsome, pretty
estar guapo/a: to look nice (even though normally ugly)
It reminds of an observation I have made. If a woman tells a man "You look handsome today" the man says "thank you". If a man tells a woman "You look beautiful today" the woman says "What do I normally look like?".

I've always taken it as the difference in the ways that the sexes hear a statement, not in any way a comment on the nature of the English phrase. Most men figure out to omit the word "today", as it can accidentally turn an intended compliment into an insult.

I would like to know from a native Spanish speaking woman how the phrase "estas guapa" would be interpreted. Would you take it as a backhanded insult, or as a compliment.
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  #16  
Old December 23, 2011, 01:54 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pacomartin123 View Post
I would like to know from a native Spanish speaking woman how the phrase "estas guapa" would be interpreted. Would you take it as a backhanded insult, or as a compliment.
Good question. My guess is that it would be a compliment, an observation of her taste in clothes, hairstyle, makeup, etc., irrespective of her underlying ugliness/beauty.

But I'm guessing how a woman would react to something, and I'm old enough to know better.....
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  #17  
Old December 23, 2011, 08:02 AM
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It seems to me that if one knows that a woman has intentionally dressed up for some reason, then "estás guapa" would suggest that one has noticed and appreciated her effort. Tone of voice and expression undoubtedly help, too.
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  #18  
Old December 23, 2011, 08:50 AM
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Interspersing (is it that?) "...especialmente..." (or "...particularmente..." in Spanish) would do the trick, both languages
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  #19  
Old December 23, 2011, 12:58 PM
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I agree with wrholt.

If you say "estás guapa", it means you're making a compliment on how the woman looks at a certain moment. Same for "te ves bien/guapa/bonita..."
All of these express a compliment for a moment in time.

If you say "eres guapa/bonita/linda...", you're making a compliment on the permanent features of the woman.

Most women I know, however, if you say "estás guapa", "qué bien te ves" or so, would take it as a compliment and be glad that something made them look better at that moment.
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  #20  
Old December 26, 2011, 03:00 PM
pacomartin123 pacomartin123 is offline
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It seems as if "estás guapa" would be the correct compliment for a coworker. An added especialmente wouldn't hurt if it is your wife or girlfriend.

There is a decent Wikipedia article that states:
The Spanish verb "ser" is etymologically related to the English words "essence" and "is", and estar with "state", "status", "standing", "stance" and "stay".
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