A question about "lejos"

Question

Why does the word lejos, meaning far end in an "s"? It's not plural, as far as I can tell... Or is it?

Answer 1

Welcome to the forum!

You are correct that :lejos" is not plural, although it obviously ends in the letter "s".

The word "lejos" is not a noun, and therefore the rules for "-s" denoting plural do not apply.

Just because a word ends in "s" does nopt mean that it is plural. For example, all the verbs that go with "tú" end in "s", but "tú" is a singular concept.

The "s" denoting plural applies to nouns. Example - "perro/perros".

I hope this has helped.

oops! slow typist! - mountaingirl123, Aug 3, 2010

And doesn't the -s denoting plural apply to adjectives as well? Or maybe "far" is an adverb.... Yay for jet lag - cymrulass, Aug 3, 2010

Yes, thanks for the adjective comment...you are correct that "lejos" is an adverb. - mountaingirl123, Aug 3, 2010

Answer 2

Hello, Cymrulass, welcome to the Forum.

Not everything that ends in "s" is plural, be it in Englis or Spanish. For example:

Catharsis, Chassis, gratis, axis, and so forth.

"Lejos" comes from the Latin laxius, and it simply inherited that "s" at the end.

Thanks! I haven't come across many singular Spanish words that end in -s, so I was kinda confused. - cymrulass, Aug 3, 2010

Answer 3

Jeje this good enough to be its own thread. Words that end in s but are not plural.

buenos

despues

antes

pues

entonces

...

lunes, martes, mi;ercoles, jueves - aprender100, Aug 3, 2010