some and about
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when does unos mean "some" and when does it mean "about"? i'm practicing nouns with articles and i thought "unos coches" meant "some cars" but the translation said "about cars."
1083 views
updated Feb 1, 2011
edited by 00494d19
posted by dulcinea1972
Pleaser remember that correct spelling and capitalization are mandatory on this site, welcome to the forum:) - 00494d19, Feb 1, 2011
3 Answers
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We would have to see the rest of the context to tell. Two words by themself can mean a lot of different things. I'm having a hard time imagining 'unos' meaning 'about', though.
Welcome to the forum.
updated Feb 1, 2011
posted by KevinB
The "about" was probably in the context of when you would use "some", an approximate quantifier. - 0074b507, Feb 1, 2011
I have about a dozen of them. I have some dozen of them. - 0074b507, Feb 1, 2011
I can see that. I'm having a hard time with 'unos coches' meaning 'about cars', though. Need more context. - KevinB, Feb 1, 2011
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Habia unos treinta coches. There were about thirty cars.
updated Feb 1, 2011
edited by kenwilliams
posted by kenwilliams
You mean thirty cars... - NickDan, Feb 1, 2011
He he, yes thanks for pointing that out. - kenwilliams, Feb 1, 2011
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Thinking about it, the construction unos + number + noun can still be translated as some in English, as well as about.
Había unos treinta coches en la calle. = There were some thirty cars in the street, or There were about thirty cars in the street.
Both are heard in English.
updated Feb 1, 2011
posted by KevinB
