By way of background I lived in Uruguay when I was a child and became fluent but then we moved to Brasil and I had to forget my Spanish and then a few years later we moved to Spain where I had to re-learn my Spanish so as you can probably guess my Spanish grammar is ok but not great. The one good thing is I never lost the accent. I always confused “estar” versus “ser” but now remember that estar is temporary while ser is permanent so you are, of course, right about “estar roto.” Thanks for all the clarifications.
Hi, Brad! It is, in fact, "estar hecho polvo", o "hacerse polvo", means, in this case, to be broken. (Yes, there is another expression ("echar un polvo*****) which is in fact an expression *not suitable for children".) (If any of you want to know its meaning, I can answer you by email. 😊)
And you are right, that would be "to be broken". 😊👍
By way of background I lived in Uruguay when I was a child and became fluent but then we moved to Brasil and I had to forget my Spanish and then a few years later we moved to Spain where I had to re-learn my Spanish so as you can probably guess my Spanish grammar is ok but not great. The one good thing is I never lost the accent. I always confused “estar” versus “ser” but now remember that estar is temporary while ser is permanent so you are, of course, right about “estar roto.” Thanks for all the clarifications.
¡Qué interesante, Brad! You've traveled a lot! ¡Has viajado mucho!
So, guess the point now is... practicing! 😊
And you are right, "estar" is temporary and "ser" permanent. The question is getting to make it fluent when speaking. And tha'ts just practice!
Welcome, Brad! And start using your Spanish! We share, we learn! 😉👍
I should have added that you learn something new every day. Is the phrase “es roto” out of style or archaic?
Oh, sorry, I forgot! In fact "es roto" can be use in passive voices sentences such as:
"El vaso es roto por el niño". (The glass is broken by the child.)
Although passive voice is not common in use in Spanish! So we'd say instead: "El niño ha roto el vaso." (Active voice).
Hi, Brad! 😊🤗
In fact we need to use "estar" = "estar roto", instead of using verb "ser".
And, "estar roto" is completely colloquial and correct, not out of style at all.
So we can either say "está roto" o "se ha hecho polvo", although the second one is much more colloquial.
Hope this helps!
I have to be honest. I’ve never heard of the phrase “echar a polvo,” which to me means turn to dust. I would have said that the phone “es roto.”
Hi, Brad! It is, in fact, "estar hecho polvo", o "hacerse polvo", means, in this case, to be broken. (Yes, there is another expression ("echar un polvo*****) which is in fact an expression *not suitable for children".) (If any of you want to know its meaning, I can answer you by email. 😊)
And you are right, that would be "to be broken". 😊👍