Breakdown of Dudo que el hombro esté siendo tatuado hoy.
ser
to be
estar
to be (location/state)
hoy
today
que
that / than
dudar
to doubt
tatuar
to tattoo
el hombro
shoulder
Questions & Answers about Dudo que el hombro esté siendo tatuado hoy.
Why is it esté siendo and not está siendo?
The phrase Dudo que expresses uncertainty, which triggers the subjunctive mood for the following verb. That's why the indicative está becomes the subjunctive esté.
How does the progressive passive structure work here?
It is built using a conjugated form of estar (here, esté), followed by siendo (being), and finally the past participle tatuado (tattooed). This structure is used to emphasize that an action is currently being done to the subject.
Why does tatuado end in -o?
Would native speakers actually use this exact passive structure in conversation?
While grammatically correct and useful to know, the estar siendo + participle structure can sometimes sound formal or like a direct translation from English. In casual Latin American Spanish, it is very common to use the passive se instead, like this: Dudo que el hombro se esté tatuando hoy.
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