Perfective-Imperfective (2) - Habitual

[Patrick C. Ryan]

Dear Miguel and IEists:

 ----- Original Message -----
From: Miguel Carrasquer Vidal <mcv at wxs.nl>
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 1999 5:48 PM

> "Patrick C. Ryan" <proto-language at email.msn.com> wrote:

>> As for soler, a Spanish expert would have to make a judgment here but I
>> suspect strongly that soler in the present tense can be exactly rendered
>> by *another* English idiom:

>> 'to be used to V+ing', as in

>> 'Lisa is used to smoking', which looks at habituality from its affect on
>> the agent.

> That would be "Lisa esta acostumbrada a fumar".  "Lisa suele
> fumar" can be translated as "Lisa usually smokes", or simply
> "Lisa smokes".

Thank you for your input.

My Spanish dictionary (Simon and Shuster's International Dictionary 1973),
although admittedly not a scholarly one (at circa 1600 pages, it is not
exactly a pocketbook either), in the listing under <soler>, glosses it as
"to be in the habit of, be accustomed to".  And, of course, under
"accustomed", the first listing is <acostumbrado>.

Is it therefore appropriate to say that:

'Lisa suele fumar'

can be interpreted as: 'Lisa is accustomed to smoking'?

And if 'Lisa is used to smoking' is equivalent to 'Lisa is accustomed to
smoke', is it possible, in some contexts, for 'Lisa suele fumar' to be
interpreted as virtually equivalent to 'Lisa esta' acostumbrada a fumar'?

Pat

PATRICK C. RYAN | PROTO-LANGUAGE at email.msn.com (501) 227-9947 * 9115 W. 34th
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