To become

[ducviloxi]

Cual frase es correcta? Quiero traducir "to become" a español!

ejemplo #1:

[to become a professor it is necesarry to study at lot]
Para convertirte un profesor es necesario estudiar mucho!

Para llegar a ser un profesor es necesario estudiar mucho!

ejemplo #2:

[I have become wise]
He llegado a ser astuto

¿Cuando tengo que usar convertirse y cuando "llegar a ser"?

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

Some corrections and explanations below.

Originally Posted by ducviloxi

¿Cuál frase es correcta? ¡Quiero traducir "to become" a al español!

ejemplo #1:

[to become a professor it is necesarry to study at lot]
Para convertirte (second person fine if you're directly talking to someone about his/her personal situation, but if you're expressing a more general idea, an impersonal would be preferred ("convertirse") un en profesor es necesario estudiar mucho!
Also, "para volverse profesor..."

¡Para llegar a ser (un) profesor es necesario estudiar mucho!

ejemplo #2:

[I have become wise]
He llegado a ser astuto. "Astuto" is rather "smart"/"clever". "Wise" is better translated with "sabio".

¿Cuándo tengo que usar "convertirse" y cuándo "llegar a ser"?

"Llegar a ser" is used when some kind of effort is implied in the transformation process.

·Poco a poco llegó a ser mi peor enemigo.
(Also acceptable "Poco a poco se volvió / se convirtió en mi peor enemigo".)
Little by little he became my worst enemy.

·Cada semana ahorraba un poco, hasta que llegué a ser millonario.
(Also acceptable "...hasta que me convertí / me volví millonario".)
Every week I saved a little (money), until I became to be rich.


"Convertirse en" / "volverse" are used when something or someone is turned into something different than what it was.

·El sapo se convirtió en princesa.
The frog became a princess. (The frog didn't make any effort to become a princess.)

·La fiesta se convirtió/se volvió una pesadilla.
The party turned into a nightmare. (The party can't make any effort for becoming something different.)

·Los celos lo hicieron volverse muy agresivo. -> no "convertirse en" here, because "agresivo" is an adjective, not a noun. However, one can say: "Los celos lo convirtieron en un hombre muy agresivo".
Greed made him become stingy.



Final note: Please never forget opening question and exclamation marks, they're not gratuituous gratuitous.

[ducviloxi]

Angelica, otraz vez... ¡muchas gracias por su ayuda valiosa!

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

·El sapo se convirtió en princesa.
The frog became a princess. (The frog didn't make any effort to become a princess.)

But frogs never become princesses, only princes.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

They call it gender equality nowadays.

Ok... "El sapo se convirtió en príncipe" -> The frog became a prince.

Oh, by the way, please note in Spanish the prince is a toad and in English he's a frog.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

Oh, by the way, please note in Spanish the prince is a toad and in English he's a frog.

Good point. Do you think this is because it´s el sapo, but la rana? La rana would have to undergo a sex change to become a prince, which would be ridiculous, but el sapo wouldn´t.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I guess that's the idea... despite the fact that there are "sapos hembra" and "ranas macho".

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Perikles

But frogs never become princesses, only princes.

What about the fairy tales about a 'frog princess'?

Originally Posted by AngelicaDeAlquezar

I guess that's the idea... despite the fact that there are "sapos hembra" and "ranas macho".

I'll add that masculine and feminine nouns should be thought of as two types of nouns, completely removing the idea of gender.

[ducviloxi]

an additional question, if I wanted to say "I become tired after a little while":

llego a ser cansado despues un poco rato

[Rusty]

I would use the pronominal form of the verb, which means 'to become tired':
Me canso después de ...

after = después de

[micho]

Originally Posted by ducviloxi

an additional question, if I wanted to say "I become tired after a little while":

llego a ser cansado(todo eso es "cansarse") despues un poco rato

Me cansé después de un ratito, o mejor aún, Me cansé al poco rato.

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

@ducviloxi: Your intuition that "llegar a" may be used for "to become tired" is right, although it needs a little change; you can say: "Llego a sentirme cansado después de un rato" (I get to feel tired after a while) or "llego a estar cansado después de un rato" (I get to be tired after a while.)