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- Topic: Spanish >
- "El pantalón es amarillo."
130 Comments
Not sure why you got downvotes. That seems to make sense. In American Vernacular, we just add leg to pant to clarify.
It's the same in English, pants can be the one pair, or multiple just like Spanish. Any number of pairs can be thrown in for clarification, but this is only required in formal English.
Not quite. Pants is a rare noun that does not exist in the singular. It's rare but it does happen. Maybe the word pant (as in the clothing article) once existed as a singular noun, but not anymore. The same quirk is true for billiards, measels, annals, victuals, etc. Not every plural has a corresponding singular. (Think of it this way... if pants could be singular, then the sentence "that pants is nice" would be correct)
1999
I put "The pants is yellow" and Duolingo says it's wrong and says it should be "the pant is yellow" but then I look at this comments section above and it has "The pants are yellow" what in the world am I missing here?
23
You are judging it from the English way of speaking. The lesson is trying to get across what is normal and acceptable in Spanish; español.
23
The pants are yellow is a translation of el pantalón es amarillo and not a word for word rendering. It's intended to show that it is acceptable in Spanish to refer to a pair of pants in the singular. The pant is yellow and the pants are yellow is synonymous when using pantalón. But pantalones is used to refer to both a single pair and multiple pairs of pants. That's the difference.
23
It may be incorrect when it comes to English but in Spanish it is acceptable to refer to a pair of pants in the singular. That's what the lesson is trying to get across and that's why "El pantalón es amarillo", " The pant is yellow is the accepted translation for "The pants are yellow." In actual conversation Los pantalones son amarillos could also be used but I think the lesson is trying to show that referring to them in the singular is also an accepted translation in the Spanish language.
Somos estudiantes de español. :-)
196
I think a good way to think of it is this: "pantalon" technically means "pant leg". So, a pair of pants would be pantalones.
196
A seamstress might talk of just one pant leg. Or, if you cut your pant leg, or it caught on fire. I know it would be rare, but it could happen.
In English "pants" refer to both the singular and plural form of the item of clothing and uses both singular and plural verbs. We do not use "pant" when referring to clothing, "pant" in English is a form of breathing! Duolingo you need to address this! "The pants is yellow" is the correct translation.
371
The trouser is yellow is given as correct, trouser is not used in English it is always trousers
I believe the Duolingo sentence and translation are incorrect grammatically. The correct translation for "the pants are yellow" is "los pantalones son amarillos". If Duolingo wants to say "el pantalon es amarillo" , it must be translated as " the pair of pants is yellow", since pair is a singular word.
Duolingo should get rid of this sentence, because it only causes confusion.
2543
The pants IS yellow. In this case you are translating El pantalon (singular), not los pantalons, there the english equivalent is also a single pair of pants = is. Also amarillo is singular.
In English, pants is plural because originally the two legs were separate pieces, hence "a pair of pants" just like a pair of socks. The form of clothing changed, the way it was referred to did not. However, in the fashion world or high-end clothing, people do say "a pant" very often--watch "Project Runway."
I went with "the pant is yellow" and found out I was wrong
Then I came across "El calcetine es rojo" and this time because I had learnt my lesson, I chose to go with "the socks... "
Guess what...
I was wrong again Correct translation - the sock is red
Who even refers to a solo "sock" ?
This lesson gave me a quite a culture shock
23
We're supposed to be learning Spanish, not trying to turn Spanish into English. Why do so many "students" try to tell qualified instructors and native speakers what is or is not acceptable? Spanish is Spanish and English is English.
1011
I put "The pant is yellow" and it marked me wrong, saying I should have used "The pants are yellow". I'm reporting this because according to dictionary.com, pant is a word, short for pant leg.