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yo no creo ser aburrida

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ElmerRamone
United States of America

yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by ElmerRamone »

I don't understand this sentence construction. Why 'ser'? (The Duo translation is 'I don't think I'm boring.")

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SweNedGuy
Belgium

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by SweNedGuy »

1) why use an infinitive? In Spanish infinitives are used more often, whenever the subject of the main sentence is the same as that of the subordinate clause. You might also translate "No creo ser tan aburrida" as: "I don't believe being such a bore." In this case the English translation is grammatically closer.
2) why use ser?
Using 'ser' you point to something permanent or innate. Whenever you indicate any specific circumstance, you should use the verb 'estar'. E.g. Deja de estar tan aburrida. = Stop being such a bore.

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Julian_L.
Argentina

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by Julian_L. »

  • ser aburrido/a = to be boring

  • estar aburrido/a = to be bored

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SweNedGuy
Belgium

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by SweNedGuy »

We shouldn't forget to mention the verb: 'aburrirse'.
In (peninsular) Spanish, you often hear: ¡Se aburre como una ostra!
In cool seawater, an oyster opens its shell to eat. It seems to be yawning.

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b05aplmun.ca
United States of America

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by b05aplmun.ca »

ElmerRamone wrote: Thu Apr 21, 2022 9:08 pm

I don't understand this sentence construction. Why 'ser'? (The Duo translation is 'I don't think I'm boring.")

This may be a silly question, but doesn't this sentence need a "que" and appropriate grammatical changes - i.e. "Yo no creo que sea aburrida"? It's really two clauses.

b05aplmun.ca
United States of America

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by b05aplmun.ca »

Incidentally, where does the original sentence come from?

Cifi

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by Cifi »

b05aplmun.ca wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:05 pm

This may be a silly question, but doesn't this sentence need a "que" and appropriate grammatical changes - i.e. "Yo no creo que sea aburrida"? It's really two clauses.

No, it doesn't seem silly to me at all. For what I know, Spanish would often favour infinitive constructions over subordinate clauses if both verbs have the same subject.

This being said, I think you well can use subordinate clauses in some situations. E.g. "me temo que llegaré tarde" doesn't seem wrong or off to me (if it actually is, I hope for corrections).

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ElmerRamone
United States of America

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by ElmerRamone »

The original quote comes from a Duolingo lesson. I was confused by the use of the infinitive, but thank you all for your help.

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gmads
Mexico

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by gmads »

b05aplmun.ca wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 4:05 pm

doesn't this sentence need a "que" and appropriate grammatical changes - i.e. "Yo no creo que sea aburrida"? It's really two clauses.

The original sentence "yo no creo ser aburrida" used the infinitive "ser" because same subject: yo (I) is in both clauses, that is, there is only one subject in the whole sentence.

Maybe it would be awkward or a bit unnatural, but it would not be terribly wrong to say "yo no creo que yo sea aburrida," but as it should be clear, this second sentence is more elaborate than the first one:

  1. yo no creo ser aburrida
  2. yo no creo que yo sea aburrida

Notice that in the second sentence the second "yo" is necessary because otherwise it would not be clear who is the boring person, "yo" or "ella":

  1. yo no creo que [yo] sea aburrida
  2. yo no creo que [ella] sea aburrida

Therefore:

  1. use the infinitive, when there is one suject:
    -- [ellos] quieren comer
  2. use the "que" + subject + conjugated verb, when there are two subjects:
    -- [ellos] quieren que tú comas


:hash:  ㆍespañol ㆍgramática ㆍSentenceDiscussion

Last edited by gmads on Mon May 01, 2023 4:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

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gmads
Mexico

Re: yo no creo ser aburrida

Post by gmads »

Cifi wrote: Sat Apr 23, 2022 6:32 pm

This being said, I think you well can use subordinate clauses in some situations. E.g. "me temo que llegaré tarde" doesn't seem wrong or off to me (if it actually is, I hope for corrections).

Perfectly fine!

I think that the one-subject "rule" also has to do with the kind of verb used: some types of verbs allow the "que..." while others do not --at the risk of getting unnatural-sounding sentences.

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