Alguno and algunos

Question

¿Probaste muchos platos exóticos en el evento gastronómico? Sí, probé ALGUNO.Ricardo fue a París a ver museos y visitó ALGUNOS.I can’t see the difference. Can anyone help?

John O'Leary · Answer

Hola Peter,There are times when you want to capture the idea of "a bit of this and a bit of that." A situation like a buffet or "gastronomic event" would be perfect for this usage .. so you use the singular form alguno/a [note that it still must agree in gender]. If you have a look at the lesson there is a reference to this.For the second example of "museos" then it is a straight forward decision to use algunos.I hope that helpsJohn

Peter Watson · Answer

Thanks, I did look at the lesson but it didn't seem to match the above examples. I'll keep trying.

Inma Sánchez · Answer

Hola Peter

If you go back to the lesson you will see a big note explaining this, the note starts by saying : BUT BE CAREFUL... and then it explains how we sometimes use the singular forms even when you see a plural referent. This is when the meaning is "a random something", "the odd one"...

Saludos

Erika Kretzmer · Answer

Una pregunta de quiz es "Traje bastantes especias de La India, ¿quieres alguna?"

Yo respondí, "Traje bastantes especias de La India, ¿quieres algunas?"

¿Mi respuesta es incorrecta en absoluto? Imaginé que alguien tiene varias especias y quiere compartir una surtida.

Garry Montgomery · Answer

Sometimes, when alguno and alguna are used in affirmative sentences, they have a specific nuance that has no direct/literal translation in English that means "some random something/someone", "one or two" or "the odd one".

With the leading word being "sometimes" and the clarification "has no direct/literal translation ", surely then the choice of alguna/algunas must be subjective, no? Or is it actually a rule?

Inma Sánchez · Answer

Hola GarryI'm not sure what you're referring to with "sometimes" (I haven't seen any test question using this). So you mean that we always have to say "algunas veces" for "sometimes"? Yes, we use the plural for this. If you've seen any specific sentence please let me know so I can give you a more direct clarification. Saludos

Garry Montgomery · Answer

This is an ongoing source of confusion for me. "BE CAREFUL: alguno / alguna" states an exception to whatever the plural rule actually is and whichever I choose, the answer is always the opposite!!! It's like a trap with no resolution . . .