la gente
if you congagate a verb after it is it the ustedes form
the end part of the sentence is
Panama es que el tiempo discurre con gran parisimonia y la gente___|__(se mueve o se mueven) con extrana
10 Answers
In Spain it would be considered unacceptable.
In Spain, would the translation of the above English be "La policía es su amigo"? If so, it sort of loses some of the personal quality that the other version has, at least to me. That is, it makes la policía an institution, rather than a group of individual people, and I'd rather have people as friends than an institution. Maybe that's why the writer of the sign used the plural.
James Santiago said:
Can "la policía" ever be used with son? I found a site discussing a sign reading "La Policía son sus amigos" in Quito, Ecuador. In English this is fine: "The police are your friends."
Academically speaking, I doubt it, but if it is common use in an entire country... well, it is a regional variation, whether the rest of the world likes it or not. In Spain it would be considered unacceptable. Maybe the reason is that they are shortening "(Los agentes del cuerpo de) la Policía son...".
Can "la policía" ever be used with son? I found a site discussing a sign reading "La Policía son sus amigos" in Quito, Ecuador. In English this is fine: "The police are your friends."
Natasha said:
Oops, sorry, that wasn't what I meant to ask. What I wanted to know was if there are such "plural nouns" in Spanish, where the construction of the noun doesn't appear plural, but it takes the plural verb form.
Not that I know of, except for examples like James', of course, but that would be "Los (señores) Guerrero", where "Guerrero" never change, and is not inherently plural anyway. So I don't think there is any.
However, with certain singular words expressing quantities (e.g. mayoría, mitad,...), followed by "de" and a plural noun, can optionally take a verb in singular and plural:
La mayoría de mis amigos quiere/quieren venir a la fiesta.
Most grammars recommend in most cases that the verb is used in singular, but they accept the plural agreement too.
What I wanted to know was if there are such "plural nouns" in Spanish, where the construction of the noun doesn't appear plural, but it takes the plural verb form.
I can think of one example: surnames. "Los Guerrero están de vacaciones." Not exactly what you're asking, because it takes a plural article, but close. I can't think of any Spanish nouns that appear singular, take a singular article, and take a plural verb, but someone else may come up with one.
James Santiago said:
Natasha said:
I have my own question to tag onto Elizabeth's. Do mass nouns exist in Spanish? If so, how are they handled?
From Wikipedia:
In English, mass nouns are characterized by the fact that they cannot be directly modified by a numeral without specifying a unit of measurement, and that they cannot combine with an indefinite article (a or an). Thus, the mass noun "water" is quantified as "20 liters of water" while the count noun "chair" is quantified as "20 chairs." However, mass nouns (like count nouns) can be quantified in relative terms without unit specification (e.g., "much water," "many chairs").
Assuming a similar definition in Spanish, yes, they exist in Spanish. Dinero, agua, etc.
Oops, sorry, that wasn't what I meant to ask. What I wanted to know was if there are such "plural nouns" in Spanish, where the construction of the noun doesn't appear plural, but it takes the plural verb form.
Natasha said:
I have my own question to tag onto Elizabeth's. Do mass nouns exist in Spanish? If so, how are they handled?
From Wikipedia:
In English, mass nouns are characterized by the fact that they cannot be directly modified by a numeral without specifying a unit of measurement, and that they cannot combine with an indefinite article (a or an). Thus, the mass noun "water" is quantified as "20 liters of water" while the count noun "chair" is quantified as "20 chairs." However, mass nouns (like count nouns) can be quantified in relative terms without unit specification (e.g., "much water," "many chairs").
Assuming a similar definition in Spanish, yes, they exist in Spanish. Dinero, agua, etc.
Elizabeth said:
does anyone know the rules reguarding la gente
This is a very common error among English speakers, because in English "people" is a plural noun and always takes a plural verb. In Spanish, however, it is a singular noun and always takes a singular verb.
La gente es muy amable.
The people are very nice.
When I listen to gringos speak Spanish, I often hear them make this mistake, but it sounds as strange in Spanish as "The people helps me do it" does in English.
Elizabeth, your question isn't very clear, but the words that should go in the blank are se mueve. The first part of the sentence doesn't seem quite right . . .
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I have my own question to tag onto Elizabeth's. Do mass nouns exist in Spanish? If so, how are they handled'
does anyone know the rules reguarding la gente
