Help with a sentence

[irmamar]

I want to say:

Las necesidades del ejército proporcionaron riqueza a las gentes del lugar.

Army's need provided wealth to local people.

Is it correct? I'm not sure if use plural or singular form for 'wealth' and 'need'.

Thanks.

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

I want to say:

Las necesidades del ejército proporcionaron riqueza a las gentes del lugar.

Army's need provided wealth to local people.

Is it correct? I'm not sure if use plural or singular form for 'wealth' and 'need'.

Thanks.

There is no plural of 'wealth'. If 'need' is singular, it is a specific need which would be known. General requirements are 'needs'. I would also say 'for', not 'to'

The Army's needs provided wealth for local people.

[irmamar]

Thanks, very helpful.

[JPablo]

Would it be okay to say,

The Army's needs provided riches for local people. ?
Or
The Army's needs provided the riches for local people?
Or
The Army's needs provided their riches to the local people?

[irmamar]

Is there any difference between riches and wealth?

[JPablo]

Shorter Oxford defines riches like this,
riches
Abundant means, valuable possessions or resources, wealth.
Formerly also, the possession of wealth, the condition of being rich; (treated as sing.) a particular form of wealth.

J. R. GREEN The...baronage turned greedily on the riches of the Church.
G. GREENE Astonished that such riches could exist in sight of such poverty.
fig.: M. GEE The riches I’d been promised, those feasts and satisfactions of the mind, were not there.

[irmamar]

Look here. What do you think?

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by irmamar

Look here. What do you think?

I think 'riches' would be completely wrong in this context. Here, the requirements of the army help the local economy, so that their standard of living increases. This is an increase in wealth, but not riches.

[JPablo]

It's an interesting viewpoint and a good way to point out the differences of nuances...

My opinion is that "riches" and "wealth" are very close synonyms... but of course, in every context you can make every word say one thing or another.

It is like two shades of green in a canvas, when you look at them as such, they look almost the same... put them in your painting and these colors in relation with the rest may strike you in a different way.

The article on your link is interesting.

Ah, thank you, Perikles.

[irmamar]

I'll try to study the difference more in depth. Thanks.

[poli]

A simple solution to this question:
Wealth is a much more common term, and is the better of the two words.
As JPablo says they have very close meaning. I would avoid the use of
riches, but it is good to be aware of the word.

The army's needs provided wealth to the local community.

[JPablo]

I guess it is always good to have a wealth of vocabulary, but I guess "riches" is mostly used in the idiom "from rags to riches" in the sense of going from poverty to wealth...

Paraphrasing a quote found in the web... or let's say 'plagiarizing', well, let's just say 'quoting' ...there is not adequate space to analyse the plethora of linguistic riches and semantic delights that are to be found in... whatever you want to read or study...

(Also remember José Zorrilla's Oriental: ¿Qué me valen tus riquezas, respondióle la cristiana, si me quitas a mi padre, mis amigos y mis damas? But that's a horse of another hue...)