Comment from jan vriend

Very useful!
Another subject along these lines: the multiple uses of estar and ser!! A minefield…

Comment from Barry Forrest

Very useful, is it possible for you to provide something about the construction formed by “llegar a ser”, as this also can be used to construct “become” statements like Yo quise llegar a ser un medico. Is this “llegar a ser” construction in some way special?

Thanks

Barry

Comment from Ben

@Jan – We have an Inspired Beginners podcast for that, here:

http://www.notesinspanish.com/2008/06/18/inspired-beginners-spanish-podcast-23-ser-y-estar/

It’s great no matter what your level!

Comment from Rachel

I study Spanish as part of my university degree back in England, and I’m currently living in Spain. I’ve been here for a month now and at the beginning it was hard because no Spanish people wanted to share a flat with me, so I’ve been panicking that I won’t be speaking much Spanish.
This is why I invested in the Advanced worksheets – and I definitely haven’t been disappointed. They’re so flawlessly well-written, you can’t help but want to keep pulling useful phrases from each podcast and challenging yourself to slip them into everyday conversations.
I have also organised some intercambios here in Bilbao and I hope to slowly get there over the next 5 months, so that I don’t utterly fail my oral exam back at university!
I would also like to add that I think Ben and Marina have the best job ever – and I hope they continue!

Comment from Phil

Thanks Ben – another NiS winner!

Just one thing – can you give any guidance on when to use ponerse and when volverse – for example, you suggested ‘ponerse serio’ and volverse distante’. Is there a way of knowing which is the correct form to use – or are they essentially interchangeable?

Phil

Comment from deebee

Thank you Ben and Marina. The word ‘become’ is so easy to use in English, but very frustrating to find the right verb in Spanish. I have printed out your helpful hints and will take them with me next week when I will be in Tenerife, to practice on site, as it were. I wonder how one would say that in Spanish, como sea, perhaps.
Thanks. Hope you are both well.

Comment from Marina

@Barry:

No es una construcción muy usada, al menos en España, pero aquí tienes algún ejemplo:

Aquí tienes los pasos para llegar a ser una cantante profesional – Here you have the steps to become a professional singer.

For me it would be more natural to say:
Aquí tienes los pasos para convertirte en una cantante profesional.

@Rachel, THANKS for you feedback! And have a great time in Bilbao

@Phil, I’m afraid they are not interchangeable and you just have to learn which one goes with the adjective that follows:

Comment from ejay

Also interested to know as much as Barry about “llegar a ser”. It’s a construct I use a lot in place of ‘become’ and have been told it’s appropriate by native speakers whenever I use it. I find it odd that it’s not included in the pdf.

Comment from ejay

nevermind! Marina I didn’t see your post, thanks

Comment from Jean-Pierre

(From a French perspective, and I don’t know to what extent it hold the Spain’s roads)
I thought a difference between: ponerse and others could be that

ponerse: involves a change of state sudden, involuntary and transitory like : (ponerse rojo)
hacerse: involves time and development
Volverse : se ha vuelto loco (involves a change that is unreversable)
Quedarse : se ha quedado sordo (would involve a change that is involontary)
Llegar a ser : quiere llegar a ser médico (would convey a sense of an achievement through effort: to arrive at being doctor)

Marina, you have answer :
I’m afraid they are not interchangeable and you just have to learn which one goes with the adjective that follows

are the differences that I thought were guiding their use valuable?

I share with so many others the enjoyment of witnessing how much your way of teaching Spanigh is effective.

Comment from Betty

I’ve been trying for 20 minutes, to get this list of ways to say “become” but even though it gets to the page where you have to click on the 23 ways, it NEVER appears. All I get is the title in the the website line and the Favorites box, and NOTHING! I hope you can repair this page, and don’t delete this message.

Comment from Carla

Muchas gracias, me ha resultado muy interesante.

Comment from israa

mucho Gracias

Comment from Clemma

All the examples are useful, but I agree that it can be difficult to choose which verb to use in which context. Here are some ideas I learned previously-
1. Use ponerse for short-lived changes of mood eg se puso triste
2. Use volverse for more permanent changes eg Te has vuelto muy difícil a entender
3. Convertirse can imply an even greater change of nature eg
Su sueño se convertió en realidad
4. Use hacerse for conversion to a different belief or a profession that required considerable study/efffort eg Después de seis años Juan si hizo contador
My dictionary seems to suggest that there is some flexibility in the choice of verb but I’d be interested to know if these suggestions are any use.

Comment from Clemma

¡Of course I meant to type Después de seis años Juan se hizo contador!

Comment from Ben

@Betty, it works from here – if clicking on the report doesn’t work, can you try right-clicking (option click on a Mac) and choosing the ‘save link as’ option to save it to your desktop? Let me know if you still have no luck and we can try something esle. Anyone esle having any trouble getting the report?

I’ll get Marina to answer the other more grammatical questions tomorrow! Ben

Comment from Brian

MUCHAS GRACIAS BEN Y MARINA!

El uso de “to become” es una pesadilla para los alumnos de español. Hay tantos verbos que pueden utilisarse.

Hola de Canadá!

Brian

Comment from Hussein

Dear Ben and María

Really I would like to thank you for the material with which you help us. As if you were reading my mind, this pdf helped me a lot as I have been looking for the same info a for a long period of time

Thanks again

Hussein ;D

Comment from Alice J Stevenson

Is the Special Super Spring Sale only available to people who are already members of Notes in Spanish, or can I pass along the sale information and coupon code to friends who might be interested in getting started with Notes in Spanish?

Comment from Ben

@Alice – please do pass on details to friends, it’s open to everyone!

Thanks to everyone else for all the great comments!

Comment from JB

You didn’t mention quedarse, as did Jean-Pierre so I would like to hear more about that. Here are some other notes have, be happy to receive comments:
—
Llegar + [ser | gustar | tener] + cargo, profesión
This form is usually used for gradual and/or social changes and usually for positive changes. Implicit in the use of this form is that the person in question had some sort of purpose, goal or objective (meta, objetivo, propósito). I listed the verbs ser, gustar and tener but I think the form might also support the use of other verbs which reflect ability or desire.
—
Convertirse en + ___.
This form is basically the same as llegar + ser + profesión. But, it can also be used in a way that form cannot, specifically it can be used in situation when someone has encountered a more or less permanent change, but one which didn’t require much effort and/or which didn’t necessarily follow from an intention or goal. For example, if someone won the lottery, we would use convertirse en rico/a to describe the newly rich status as it happened instantly and didn’t require any more effort than buying a ticket.
—
Hacerse + profession o ideología.
This form is also like the two above (llegar, convertirse) and is also used to describe changes that were decided by the subject (e.g., there was an intention or goal). Like llegar + ser, the use of this form also implies that a considerable effort was required. I believe that this form is used more commonly than llegar + ser.
—
Volverse + “forma de ser”.
This form is usually used for negative changes but can be used as well for positive changes that weren’t planned or didn’t require effort. In most cases it refers to a change that was involuntary and/or sudden.
—
6. Terminar | Acabar + gerundio + ___.
This form is usually used when someone turns out to be something contrary to expectations. I have written gerundio (gerund) above but the most common gerund used is siendo (ser). The changes described with this form are usually gradual and social in nature and are almost always negative in nature.

e.g., Él terminó siendo un borracho. – He became a drunk.

Comment from Ben

@JB – Great additions, we went for 23 of the most common ways of saying become, but of course, as you point out, there can be many more!

Comment from Betty

I’ve been trying for 2 days, to get the 23 ways to use the word ‘become’ in Spanish, to no avail. Also, there is no “contact us” place to send you a message. This is my only recourse, and hopefully it will get to you. I’m a Senior Citizen, on a fixed income, so no money to buy anything other than the basic necessities, so the free Spanish helpful terms, phrases, vocab., etc. are my only access to learning Spanish. Please send me the 23 ways to say ‘become’ in Spanish, as it is NOT availabe through the regular means.

Comment from Robert

Just glancing through. Sometimes it´s best not to over think it, don´t translate directly. For example, sometimes “become” is implied. The example used in this string a few times is “I want to be a doctor.” Simply saying “Quiero ser medico” means not just that you want to be/become a doctor. More than likely it´s understood in the conversation. So, you have to go with context. More than likely, in this situation, you are in university or thinking of going – or just talking about careers and your future. Well, that´s my two cents. I´ve been speaking and studying Spanish (Castellano) for 35 years and one is always a student – as I am of my native language, American English. Good luck!

Comment from Robert

Oops, I meant to edit a line above in my post. I meant to say: Simply saying “Quiero ser médico” means/implies that you want to be/become a doctor. It is in the future and It´s understood that you would have to do what it takes to “become” a doctor. Do you think so Marina and Ben?

Comment from Ben

@Robert, re your last clarification, yes, that sounds right!

@Betty, I’ll email it to you personally, please check your inbox and spam folder. The download link above works fine for me from here though, so it is very odd that you can’t get it to work. Also, yes, you can always contact us via the ‘support’ link above, from where you’ll find another link to a form to email us direct.

@everyone else! I’m sorry if we haven’t had the chance to answer all the comments personally this week, things have been a bit hectic here, but we are reading them all and really appreciate your input! Ben

Comment from Marina

@Ejay, it is definitely correct to use “llegar a ser” and it is mostly interchangeable for “convertirse”, but you are right that it should have been mentioned in the report.

@Jean-Pierre, thanks for your explanations. I agree with them mostly except with Volverse. Volverse can be used with things that are indeed reversible:

Pedro se ha vuelto muy impaciente / borde últimamente – Pedro has become very impatient / moody lately.

Maybe, as Clemma says, it is used for longer term changes than ponerse.

In general terms I think these explanations are good to get a general idea of the use of become but in any case you need to see a lot of examples and practise with them to be able to apply these rules correctly.

@JB, here you have a few more examples with quedarse:

Quedarse sordo – To become deaf
Quedarse ciego – To become blind
Quedarse cojo – To become lame
Quedarse tonto – To become thick-headed, e.g. after a bump on the head. Quedase paralítico – To become paralyzed

Comment from Chris

Another great PDF – thanks!

Just a question: should the example for “to become available” be
Te informaremos tan pronto como la nueva edición se encuentre disponible” since it is an anticipated situation? Just wondering – perhaps I am confused. Thanks!

Comment from Marina

Chris, your example is perfect!

Comment from Marina

Sorry Chris, I didn’t realise yes there is a mistake in the pdf.

Thanks for pointing it out!!!

Comment from Andrew

Very cool, thank you!

Cheers,
Andrew