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¿Por qué el hombre tendrá ese paso apresurado? ¿Estará preocupado?

¿Por qué el hombre tendrá ese paso apresurado? ¿Estará preocupado?
Why might the man have that hurried pace? Might he be worried?
From Lesson 175:Present probability (estará)·Spanish (Latin America)

Questions & Answers about ¿Por qué el hombre tendrá ese paso apresurado? ¿Estará preocupado?

Why are we using the future tense verbs tendrá and estará if we are wondering about something happening right now?
This is the core of the future of probability. In Spanish, you can use the future tense to guess or wonder about a present situation. Even though tendrá normally means "will have," here it translates to "might have" or "probably has." Similarly, estará means "might be."
What does paso apresurado mean in this context?
While paso often means "step," it is also used to describe a person's "pace" of walking. Apresurado means "hurried" or "rushed." Together, they mean a "hurried pace."
Why does the second question use estará preocupado instead of the future tense of ser?
We use the verb estar for temporary conditions, feelings, and emotions. Since being worried (preocupado) is a temporary emotional state rather than a permanent characteristic, we must use estar rather than ser.
Could I place el hombre after the verb instead of before it?
Yes, you could. In Spanish questions, word order is flexible, so ¿Por qué tendrá el hombre ese paso apresurado? is also perfectly correct. Placing el hombre before the verb just helps establish who we are wondering about right away.

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