hi,
how to use these words and what’s the difference between them, please?
if a couple is not living together any more, are they ‘‘separated’’ or ‘‘separate’’?
thanks.
Separated is the past tense of the verb separate.
However, separate can also be an adjective.
So, a couple who have ‘broken up’ are separated, and living separate lives.
I know that such spouses are referred to as estranged spouses
Is that true?
Thanks!
hi,
if I simply want to say “they’re separated/separate”, which one should I use?
thanks.
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Say “They’re separated.”
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Sure. “Estranged” carries a sense of bitterness or hatred, i.e. the breakup/divorce/separation was not amicable and pleasant. If you’re referring to an estranged spouse, it means they’re divorced, also.
Calling them separated just means they’re living apart, the breakup or separation wasn’t necessarily a nasty, mean, hateful battle.
Also, if you refer to a husband and wife as separated, that normally means they’re not yet officially divorced, just no longer living as husband and wife. They may finalize the divorce, or they may get back together after resolving their problem(s).
Also, he/she is separated from her/him. How about: Don Quixote finally became separate for he had got separated from all his friends.
The phrasing “he became seperate” is very odd.
It would take a weird example, like twins who did everything together for years and were simply thought of as one unit, until they both started trying to showcase their individual identities. “I’m trying to become more seperate from my sister” – but even so, it’s a stretch.
I know. That’s why I used Don Quixote. But it’s possible, right?
Separate: Archaic. Withdrawn from others; solitary.
An archaic use doesn’t sound more plausible when used to refer to an older era. It just doesn’t sound right, period.
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Wasn’t Don Quixote written in Spanish? I imagine there have been quite a few English translations over the centuries. I wonder whether an archaic use of ‘separate’ would be found in modern translations – or more likely in the centuries-old ones. 
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Wasn’t it one of the first novels in the 16th century? I remember trying to read Don Quixote when I was a boy, and I really struggled with the book before i put it down. A few years ago, I read a new translation, and it made for an amazing read!
This is a little off-topic, but I thought the Wikipedia write-up about the most recent translator (of Don Quixote) was interesting:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edith_Grossman
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Hi Amy,
What a quote! I’ve just started a new thread.
Exactly, Ralf. Unfortunately I came across that English version but ended up being made interested in it… 