Cuando artistas colaboran con inteligencias artificiales ( plural )
La IA continua continúa inspirando debates ( singular )
I don't understand what's happening here?
Tan solo unos pocos años después de surgir como una curiosidad tecnológica
I'm very confused by this as according to the lesson, the structure:
'A tan solo + (length of time) + de' is used to express an action occurring before another action.
I don't see why my answer ' a solo pocos años de.. ' is incorrect.
Gracias
Hola David L.
Thanks for your question, you’ve raised two very good points here.
First, regarding “IA”, both singular and plural usage are possible depending on meaning. When referring to the concept in general, Spanish tends to use the singular (“la IA”), whereas the plural (“inteligencias artificiales”) is used when talking about different systems or instances. So the variation you’re seeing is intentional rather than inconsistent.
As for “tan solo”, the issue is more structural. In this context, “tan solo” works as a fixed expression meaning “only / just”, so it needs to stay together. That’s why “tan solo unos pocos años…” is correct, while “a solo pocos años…” is not — the pattern “a + length of time + de” is a different structure and isn’t interchangeable with “tan solo”.
So your answer doesn’t quite fit the intended construction in this sentence.
We understand how the similarity between these patterns can be confusing, and we’ll review the explanation to make this distinction clearer.
Thanks again for your thoughtful feedback!
Saludos
Silvia
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