Breakdown of Después de desplegar el globo, están por encender la llama del quemador.
de
from / of
estar
to be (location/state)
del
from the / of the
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
encender
to turn on
después
after / afterwards
el globo
the balloon
desplegar
to unfold
la llama
the flame
el quemador
the burner
Questions & Answers about Después de desplegar el globo, están por encender la llama del quemador.
Why is the sentence using están por encender instead of just van a encender?
The phrase estar por + infinitive is exactly what this lesson is about: it means an action is imminent, translating perfectly to 'about to' do something. van a encender just means they 'are going to light' it at some point in the future, while están por encender adds the nuance that it is happening right this second.
Why does the Spanish use the infinitive desplegar when the English translation uses the -ing word 'unfolding'?
In Spanish, whenever a verb directly follows a preposition like de (as in después de or antes de), it must be in the infinitive. While English switches to the gerund (-ing form) after prepositions, Spanish sticks to the unmodified infinitive.
Could I use están para encender instead to mean they are about to light it?
In Latin America, you should stick to estar por + infinitive for imminent events. Using estar para + infinitive is the standard for 'about to' in Spain, but in Latin American Spanish, estar para usually implies being 'in the mood for' or 'ready for' something, rather than being on the absolute verge of doing it.
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