Buen Alma...a grammar contradiction?

Question

Estoy confundido acerca del uso de la palabra "Buen". When I type the word "Bueno" into lthe dictionary, it says the " Buen" is used instead of "Bueno" before singular masculine words. However when I type " Buen" into the dictionary it gives the example " Buen Alma" and says that "Buen" is used before substantive femine words beginning with an accented "a". IT THEN AGAIN SAYS USED ONLY WITH MASCULINE SINGULAR

Qué pasa aqui!

Answer 1

We use "buen" when the adjective is modifying a noun. For example:

"Buen día", "buen chico", "buena comida", etc.

We use bueno when you are describing a noun and is the complement of the verb.

"El día esta bueno", "El chico es bueno", "La comida esta buena"

There are some exceptions that cola_jet gave to you for nouns that starts with a and are masculine in the singular, but femenine in the plural. This is made mainly to avoid the use of two "a" together, lA Agua, lA Alma. And that is because in the plural you won't encounter that problem because you have an S to "disrupt" this conjuction.

Buena explicación. Sólo agregaría que se usa "el" cuando la sílaba tónica del sustantivo en cuestión recae en esa "a" inicial. Por ejemplo, siempre decimos "la amIga", porque en ese caso la sílaba tónica no recae en la "a". - -cae-, Dec 11, 2012

Bien, olvidé eso. Esto de escribír desde la oficina tiene sus contras jaja. Gracias Cae. - Hokuten, Dec 11, 2012

Answer 2

It is complicated even for native welcome to the world of th antonic a. to avoid the repition of a sounds words like alma are masculine in the singular form, hence it would be buen instead buena. However in the plural it is femine . It would have been easier if Spanish adopted the apohstrophe for this like Italian and French did.

Pues ya ves, somos un poquito caprichosos. Yo, en particular, ni aunque lo dictaran en alguna ley usaría el apóstrofo para crear contracciones (l'agua, l'alma, l'área). =P Hay gente que lo hace, pero eso se suele asociar a un bajo nivel educativo. - -cae-, Dec 11, 2012

Me refiero, claro está, al español. =) - -cae-, Dec 11, 2012

Nunca lo había visto con ese apóstrofe (aca se le dice apóstrofe no apóstrofo =p), me suena "muy francés" jaja. Pero bueno, en algunos paises tendrán ese hábito. - Hokuten, Dec 11, 2012

Answer 3

"Agua" is feminine, but, in its singular form, the article is masculine -- for aural aesthetics, I suppose. "El agua" becomes "las aguas" if plural.

Just an example of another such word!

Answer 4

I've always understood the use of "buen" as an informal form of bueno. In fact, in a visit to Argentina, many people greet with "Buen día" which I found nice and utilize often myself. I'm not the strongest grammar nazi though so I'll let someone else carry on that parade.