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Unos, unasThis is the place for questions about conjugations, verb tenses, adverbs, adjectives, word order, syntax and other grammar questions for English or Spanish. |
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#1
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Unos, unas
Hi everyone. My first question:
I understand that to translate 'some' unos and unas are used. This is straightfoward in cases like unos gatos negros (some black cats). But what happens with 'non-count nouns'? In English these are words such as 'weather,' 'garbage,' 'music' and so on. Is it correct to say 'unas musica' even though there is no agreement? |
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#2
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Hello, welcome!
In that case, we'd use a singular: Era una música insoportable. -> That was some unbearable music. That's some nice hair you have. -> Tienes un cabello muy lindo.
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#3
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As Angelica says, we use the singular article.
"Tuvimos un tiempo agradable" = "We had (some) nice weather"
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#4
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I see, thankyou. So: 'Hay una basura en la mesa'?
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#5
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No. That one is different, you'd say "hay basura en la mesa" or "hay algo de basura en la mesa" or "hay mucha basura en la mesa".
Also with other uncountable nouns like "azúcar", "sal", and the like, you use "un poco de..", "algo de", etc.
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#6
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Quote:
"Tienes un cabello muy lindo" is perfect Spanish and 100% comprehensible all over the Spanish speaking community, but it is not the way we would say it in Spain. In Spain we would say: "Tienes un pelo muy bonito". "Tienes un cabello muy lindo" sounds beautiful but, however, a bit "archaic". |
#7
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Quote:
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Last edited by Luna Azul; July 28, 2011 at 07:20 PM. Reason: typo |
#8
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I agree with what you have said. However, the "archaic" element is joining "cabello", which is the formal/technical way to refer to "pelo" with "lindo". Lindo is the archaic word and makes the sum up of both, "archaic" for a European Spanish native.
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#9
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In Mexico, "pelo" feels more colloquial than "cabello", which sounds more educated.
As for "lindo"/"bonito", both are commonly used; none sounds better than the other.
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♪ ♫ ♪ Ain't it wonderful to be alive when the Rock'n'Roll plays... ♪ ♫ ♪ |
#10
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I didn't know "lindo" was considered archaic in Spain. It's a word commonly used in Latin America. It's actually the word I normally use to translate "cute"..
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