Sentence does not make logical sense

Question

Hola: I am doing a worksheet on stem-changing "ir" verbs. I am a little confused with this sentence. Where I have put the verb in () is the verb that should be conjugated, and of course I need to supply the meaning.

Sentence: Los dos (conseguir) libros avanzados sobre álgebra.

My answer: los dos “consiguen” libros avanzados sobre álgebra. The two advanced books obtained about algebra.

Something doesn’t seem correct. The subject should be “libros”, but the sentence is not making sense. Am I missing something? Your help is much appreciated.

¡Le doy gracias por su ayuda!

Answer 1

Why do you presume that "libros" is the subject, Rolest? Perhaps the subject is "Los dos" (the two [of them, we would say in English, I suppose]).

Does your worksheet display the verb you are to conjugate right in that spot in the sentence or have you placed it there yourself?

Incidentally, I looked up "conseguir" to find - amongst the various meanings, the following "b" meaning which made me smile.

b conseguir + inf to manage to + inf; no consigo entenderlo I can't work it out

Great Answer! Thanks for the extra "teaching" also! The verb is before libros in the sentence. I see your point. I was thinking the 2 books, not 2 people. Thanks. - Rolest, Dec 5, 2009

grrrrrr. - jeezzle, Dec 5, 2009

Answer 2

Los dos = They both. They both got advanced books about algebra.

Thanks for setting me clear. I was thinking "the two books", not 2 people. Thank you. - Rolest, Dec 5, 2009