Would you explain why it is el hacha afilada, but it is una ave bonita, please. Both have feminine modifiers. I’m becoming more confused as I go.
Here’s an explanation that I found elsewhere:
“Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed "a-" or "ha-" sound in Spanish use the definite article "el" in the singular."
The example given is:
"Who's incredibly attractive; a real night owl. Sí, pero indica que no
es un ave de paso.”
The above example uses un, not una.
Hola Sherri
the lesson is saying that with the indefinite article un/una, words starting with a- or ha- which are stressed on that first syllable (a-gua, a-ve, ha-cha, á-guila...) you can use either un or una. Although it is preferred and more commonly used with "un", the feminine "una" is also accepted. So both are considered as correct. This is the rule established by the Spanish Royal Academy (RAE).
I hope this helped.
Inma
Thank you, Inma. Your explanation helps. However, un ave bonita is marked as a wrong answer, and that’s why I am confused. It appears that, according to your explanation of the rule, it should be considered correct. Am I still missing something?
Would you explain why it is el hacha afilada, but it is una ave bonita, please. Both have feminine modifiers. I’m becoming more confused as I go.
Here’s an explanation that I found elsewhere:
“Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed "a-" or "ha-" sound in Spanish use the definite article "el" in the singular."
The example given is:
"Who's incredibly attractive; a real night owl. Sí, pero indica que no
es un ave de paso.”
The above example uses un, not una.
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