"He is between my brother and my sister."

Translation: Ele está entre meu irmão e minha irmã.

[timshnell]

Could ser be right here if you're talking about their ages? For example, if your siblings are 12, 14, and 16 and "he" is the 14 year old?

[Paulenrique]

We wouldn't use that... we normally say "O irmão do meio" (lit. Of the middle)

[HELENHAWKE1]

Why can't I use "ele é entre meu irmão e minha irmã "

[Kevin291603]

I don't know but it makes sense to me as he will always be between the brother and sister i.e. it is permanent.

[GregoryFie10]

I did the same thing, but apparently the example is about position, not ages.

[AndersonGlas]

If its sbout position, fica is just as good or better.

[OlivierLondres]

Ficar is for permanent things like bathrooms and houses, isn't it?

[OlivierLondres]

I thought it was about age so I used é but I realise i could just be referring to a guy who is standing between my siblings at a cocktail party or is in a race in between the two of them, for instance.

[geert.barbier]

which you wouldn't express with 'to be' in English. I totally agree

[JOHNRAINEY6]

i think that the english sentence suggests the age difference ( the person referred to does not have to be related) and as this is always the case the verb ser is the correct verb

[MfonUdoiny]

What's the difference between 'e' as in "Ele e..." and 'esta' as in "Ele esta..."?

[blollipop]

É is used for things that are permanent for example, 'ela é uma menina' but está is for things that are temporary like, 'ela está ali'. This sentence is referencing location so it is temporary, 'ela està entre...

[Sue873841]

Without context, it's not clear whether to use 'é' or 'está'. What about if you were looking at a photograph? 'Is Fred in the photo?' 'He is between my brother and my sister.' Surely then it would be 'é' as he's not going to move?

[OlivierLondres]

I have the suspicion that in the case of your photo it would be está. He did move after that photo!

[psiphiorg]

If you wanted to say "This is between my brother and my sister", in the sense of "This issue/problem is of concern to them, and to nobody else", would the word "entre" still be used? Or does that sense of the word translate differently?

[PhillipBro6]

Entre can be used both literally and figuratively

[Luckyh13]

Can we say "meus irmão e irmã" instead of repeating the possessive pronoun?

[Paulenrique]

Then, it is best to use singular: "meu irmão e irmã". But remember it can be ambiguous, for exemple, "Pedro é meu irmão e irmã", like he plays the role of you brother and your sister in your life.

[deactivated user]

Are these valid alternatives?

• Ele encontra-se entre meu irmão e minha irmã.
• Ele acha-se entre meu irmão e minha irmã.

[Paulenrique]

Pronouns attract object, so your sentences would be "Ele se encontra/acha...."

[deactivated user]

Thanks, I keep making that mistake. Darn it ! =)

Pronouns attract object !!! I have to drill it into my head =)

[Gravitier]

Is this about ages or would this also kind of weirdly fit in the "Flirt" section?

[Paulenrique]

It has a more literal sense of placement.

[Freddy22768]

I do not see why it has to be está and not e. Usually you would say such a sentence referring to the age of the three person. Hence e should be accepted. Please correct

[DaveGarrar]

It is not clear here if the 'is' is a permanent state requiring 'é' or a position requring 'está' so both should be correct.

[Mame982985]

Not fair! I used é entre because I thought it was referring to order of birth.