pantalon pantalones
Hi I have a question about the word pantalon (with the accent mark over the o). Can pantalon and pantalones be used interchangebly, meaning "a pair pants"? Is pantalones always pants and pantalon always pant? I have a sentence that says: "La mujer lleva un pantalon negro." I'm assuming it means "The woman is wearing a black pair of pants" rather than "The woman is wearing a blank pant." Why do they use the singular form rather than the plural in this sentence? Is there a rule about when you use the singular and when you use the plural... as you can see I have a lot of questions. I would really appreciate some help! Thanks
-Leah
1 Answer
Both singular and plural are used in Spanish, with no difference in meaning.
Trivia: The reason we use the plural in English is because pants used to consist of two separate leg pieces, which were connected at the top by a codpiece (similar in shape to a man's Speedo). Even after the two pieces were integrated, we continued using the plural.
