Re: CHAT: Definite/Indefinite Article Distinction

On Sep/07/2002, John Cowan wrote:

> Well, in Spanish the masculine indef. art. is "un" (as in "yo soy un
> hombre sincero"), but the masc. number is "uno" (as in "tres mujeres
> y uno hombre", a phrase I got by googling).
        No, that's not correct. In spanish, indefinite article is
"un/una" (for masc./fem., respectively). "uno" is only used as a
pronoun, i.e.: "Uno menos para la cuenta atrás" ("One less for the
countdown"), "¿Tienes un perro? Sí, tengo uno" ("Do you have a dog?
Yes, I have one". I think that "un/una" and "uno/una" are used exactly
like english "a" and "one".

        That phrase you got by googling would sound *way* weird to a
spanish speaker, and surely you will be laughed at, naked, covered in
tar and feathers, pursued out of town by wild dogs, and thrown to the
river with a 500lb stone tied to your feet. Well, maybe not all this,
but you wouldn't like it anyway :-)

--
        Roberto Suarez Soto

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