Question about Word of the Day "adaptar"

Question

"Adaptó el libro para el cine. - He adapted the book for theaters."

I see that "el cine" is singular, but "the theaters" is plural. Why is that?

Answer 1

Hola.

"El cine" can mean "the movies" in general. "Voy al cine" could mean that I'm going to a particular movie theater or that I'm "going to the movies" in general.

Answer 2

Hi,

That's a very observant question. There are a number of differences between English and Spanish regarding pluralization. However, in this case it's the same.

In English, we say,

"He adapted the book for the cinema." But we don't say,

"He adapted the bood for the movie." Rather we say, "the movies."

In Spanish, one says,

"He adapted the book for the cinema," just like in English.

I think you could just as well say,

Adaptó el libro para las películas."

• Both are correct in English also. the movie...the specific movie made about the book. movies...the movie industry in general - qfreed Sep 30, 2011

Answer 3

Thanks to both of you.

I thought it might be the case that "el cine" in this context is a synonym for "the movies", but because there are some important differences between Spanish and English, I wanted to have it clarified.