Question 1

Why use vienen usando instead of han estado usando?

Accepted Answer

While both translate to the present perfect continuous (have been using), using venir plus a gerund adds a specific nuance. It emphasizes a gradual accumulation or a trend that started in the past and has been building up to the present. It paints a picture of a habit gaining momentum, which perfectly fits a linguistic trend. Han estado usando is just a neutral statement of a past continuous action.

Question 2

Could we use van usando instead of vienen usando in this sentence?

Accepted Answer

Not if you want to keep the exact same meaning. The structure ir plus a gerund implies a gradual action moving forward step-by-step into the future, like doing something bit by bit. Venir plus a gerund looks from the past up to the present moment. Since the trend started in the past and has accumulated up to today, we need vienen usando.

Question 3

Why does mucho go after the verb phrase? Could I say vienen mucho usando?

Accepted Answer

You should place adverbs like mucho after the entire verb phrase. In Spanish, a conjugated auxiliary verb and its gerund form a tight unit (a periphrasis) that generally cannot be split. Putting a word between them, like vienen mucho usando, is grammatically incorrect and sounds very unnatural.

Question 4

Why does the sentence use hablantes instead of habladores for speakers?

Accepted Answer

The word hablante is the precise term for a speaker of a language. The word hablador means someone who talks too much, like a chatterbox! Also, remember as a quick refresher that nouns ending in -nte are usually invariable for gender, so an all-female group would simply be las hablantes jóvenes.

Los hablantes jóvenes vienen usando mucho esta expresión.

Breakdown of Los hablantes jóvenes vienen usando mucho esta expresión.

Questions & Answers about Los hablantes jóvenes vienen usando mucho esta expresión.

Learn Los hablantes jóvenes vienen usando mucho esta expresión and more in Spanish