alguno/algún

Question

Hola, this is my first question here, and I hope it isn't a stupid one...

I understand that algún should be used in front of masculine singular nouns instead of alguno, but I don't understand why questions such as 'do you have any books?' (books being plural) should translate to: ¿tienés algún libros? instead of ¿tienés algunos libros?

Could you use either? Which is better, and why?

Thank you for your guidance!

Answer 1

¿tienés algún libros?

Actually torrontes75, it should be ¿tienés algúnos libros? (Do you have any books?) or ¿tienés algún libro? (Do you have 'a'/'some kind of' book?)

Did you see ¿tienés algún libros? in a book or lesson? Or did you hear someone say it?

I heard it in a lesson... it sounded wrong so I looked it up on google - silly thing to do! I had thought 'algunos libros' was right, so am relieved to hear you say that! Thank you - torrontes75, Nov 24, 2009

It is also written as 'algun libros' on the spanishdict.com page for alguno: http://www.spanishdict.com/translate/alguno - torrontes75, Nov 24, 2009

Answer 2

it is what it is... and the most popular question is "why, why, why". As with english is straightforward so is any other written criteria. Just go with the flow and don't try to make your own criteria. Follow the rules of other languages and learning will become alot easier for you. I know because I questioned when I first started learning this language too, That was over 20 years ago..

There's certainly nothing wrong with asking 'why'. :-) - chaparrito, Nov 24, 2009

Having spent my teens babysitting, I'm aware that asking 'why' is often futile!! However, was confused so thought I'd ask! - torrontes75, Nov 24, 2009