Breakdown of Quizás el piloto está por desatar la cuerda.
estar
to be (location/state)
por
for / by / through / in/during (part of the day)
la cuerda
the rope
quizás
perhaps / maybe
desatar
to unleash
el piloto
the pilot
Questions & Answers about Quizás el piloto está por desatar la cuerda.
What is the difference between saying está por desatar and va a desatar?
Doesn't quizás require the subjunctive? Why is it está instead of esté?
Words like quizás and tal vez (maybe) can actually take either the indicative or the subjunctive mood. Using the indicative here (está) means the speaker feels fairly confident in their guess. If they had used the subjunctive (esté), it would imply much more doubt about what the pilot is doing.
I've also heard estar para used for imminent actions. Why use estar por here?
In Latin America, estar por is the standard way to express that someone is about to do something. While estar para is sometimes used for imminent actions in Spain, Latin Americans mostly use estar para to say they are in the mood for something, like no estoy para bromas (I am not in the mood for jokes).
Learn Quizás el piloto está por desatar la cuerda and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free