El viento es favorable, así que el piloto está por empezar la maniobra.

Questions & Answers about El viento es favorable, así que el piloto está por empezar la maniobra.

Why use está por empezar instead of va a empezar?
Estar por followed by an infinitive is used to express that an action is pending or about to happen. While va a empezar simply means it is going to start, está por empezar emphasizes that the pilot is completely ready and the action is imminent.
Why do we use es in es favorable? Shouldn't changing wind conditions use estar?
While weather expressions often use verbs like hace or está, here we are categorizing the specific type of wind. The adjective favorable describes an objective quality of the wind for this flight. When you classify or describe the traits of a noun, even if the wind itself might change later, ser is the natural choice.
Can I use a different word instead of así que to mean so?
Yes, you could use entonces or por lo tanto. However, así que is an excellent and incredibly common conjunction to link a situation with its immediate, logical consequence, making it perfect for connecting the weather conditions to the pilot's action.
Can I use comenzar instead of empezar for starting the maneuver?
Yes, está por comenzar would mean the exact same thing. Empezar is typically more common in daily conversation, while comenzar sounds slightly more formal or technical, which would actually fit very well in an aviation context like this.

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