Ella tiene ____ 50 dolares.

Question

I found this sentences in References. But I have question here.

Ella tiene ____ 50 dolares.

The answer there is unos, but I would choose not to fill anything in. Why it's unos?

I think , without exact amount, should be fill in unos.

For example:

Ella tiene unos dolares.

Am I wrong?

Answer 1

No, you are exactly correct. The unos is there to mean about or approximately.

I have around $50. (The $50 approximation is just more exact, than saying I have some money).

We would never say "I have some dollars" in English. (Just a matter of speech pattern, not anything to do with grammar). It may be acceptable in Spanish.

Answer 2

Tienes unos 5 perros?

You could say this if you thought somebody had about 5 dogs but weren't sure of the exact number.

I see, so it's just kind of guessing? - zhmelissa, Feb 13, 2011

Informed guessing. You know a ballpark figure, but not the exact figure. - 0074b507, Feb 13, 2011

Answer 3

It sounds very werid to me, when it has exact number, but still with unos, I think its wrong.

So, can I say

Tienes unos 5 perros?

That is the point. It is not an exact number. You are not trying to say "I have $50.00", but $48.53 or $52.05. - 0074b507, Feb 13, 2011

Unos is used when you don't know the exact figure for sure. - 0074b507, Feb 13, 2011