Breakdown of ¿Qué estará jalando ahora ese mimo?
estar
to be (location/state)
ahora
now
qué
what
ese
that (masculine)
el mimo
mime
jalar
to pull
Questions & Answers about ¿Qué estará jalando ahora ese mimo?
Why use the future tense estará when the sentence specifically says ahora (now)?
This is the future progressive used for present conjecture. By combining the future of estar with a gerund like jalando, you express a guess, doubt, or wondering about an action happening right at this moment. It is the Spanish way of saying "I wonder what he is pulling" or "What could he be pulling?"
I previously learned tirar for "to pull". Is jalar common?
Yes, in Latin America, jalar is the most common, everyday verb for pulling a physical object. For example, if you look at doors in Mexico or Colombia, the sign for "Pull" will almost always say Jale instead of Tire.
Could I just ask "¿Qué está jalando ahora ese mimo?" instead?
You could, but it changes the meaning. Using the present progressive (está jalando) makes it a direct request for factual information: "What is that mime pulling now?" Using the future progressive (estará jalando) turns it into a speculative guess: "What on earth could he be pulling?"
Why is the subject ese mimo placed at the very end of the question?
In Spanish questions, it is standard to invert the word order so the verb comes before the subject. Since estará jalando acts as a single, inseparable verb phrase, it stays together immediately after the question word qué, pushing the subject ese mimo to the end of the sentence.
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