Question 1

Why do we use estamos por here instead of vamos a?

Accepted Answer

The phrase estar por followed by an infinitive (like ascender) is a specific structure meaning to be about to do something. While vamos a ascender just means we are going to ascend at some point, estamos por ascender emphasizes that the action is imminent and will happen at any moment.

Question 2

Why does "we dropped the map" translate to se nos cayó el mapa?

Accepted Answer

This uses the accidental se construction, which shifts the blame away from the person. Literally, it expresses that the map fell from us. We use se to show it was an accident, nos to show who was affected, and cayó because the grammatical subject is actually el mapa.

Question 3

In se nos cayó, since "we" dropped it, shouldn't the verb be in the nosotros form?

Accepted Answer

No, because in the accidental se structure, the object that was dropped is the grammatical subject. Since el mapa is singular, the verb is conjugated in the third-person singular: cayó. If you had dropped multiple maps, the verb would be plural: se nos cayeron los mapas.

Question 4

We see por in estamos por and para in para hacer. Could I say estamos para ascender?

Accepted Answer

In Latin America, estar por is the standard way to express that you are about to do something. If you use estar para plus an infinitive, it often implies being in the mood for something or that a thing is ready to be used, rather than expressing a purely imminent action.

Se nos cayó el mapa, pero estamos por ascender para hacer la maniobra.

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