# Las gentes eran muy amable / amables



## jessica2690

does *amable* become *amables* in this sentence? why (not)?

Los gentes eran muy simpáticos y *amable*


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## QUIJOTE

Hello Jessica, is "gente" not "gentes" the phrase should be 

"La gente eran muy simpaticas y amables"

That's what I think.


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## danielfranco

I always have trouble with the correspondence of adjectives and adverbs when you have this "singular pluralities"... Is it "La gente (many persons, or one thing?) era muy simpática y amable", or is it all plural?
Yikes, I don't know!


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## jessica2690

I'm confused too! I guess *'la gente'* must be *plural* so era, simpatica and amable become *eran*, *simpaticas* y *amables.*


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## jester.

Why should it be in plural?

La gente means The people (with plural meaning = the persons)

--> La gente era muy simpática y amable.


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## Sidd

Gente is singular in spanish.

It is also confusing for spanish to use it in english. ("People is/was")

"La gente era muy simpática y amable"---> singular

"Las gentes eran muy simpáticas y amables"---> plural

This plural form, anyway, is not very common and sounds a bit lyrical (just a bit).


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## jessica2690

So if I was talking about my holidays and wanted to say: ''The people were very friendly and kind'', would the best way be: ''La gente era muy simpática y amable'' ?


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## Sidd

Yep. Although I would probably say either

"_La gente (de allí/de ese lugar/de España) es muy simpática y amable"_

or

"_La gente fue muy simpática y amable"_ (meaning during the holidays)

It's alright to use your version but it sounds like you are talking about further in (?) the past.


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## jester.

@ Sidd: Pero es que "la gente" tiene un sentido un poco diferente al de "las gentes", ¿verdad?


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## reddwarf

I agree with Sidd. I think it is the best answer and the most complete.


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## Sidd

j3st3r said:
			
		

> @ Sidd: Pero es que "la gente" tiene un sentido un poco diferente al de "las gentes", ¿verdad?



Not really, just what I posted before.



			
				Sidd said:
			
		

> This plural form, anyway, is not very common and sounds a bit lyrical (just a bit)


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## prince184

Gente is used as a singular and not as a plural.


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## jessica2690

lo siento pero soy confundido aun! cual es correcto?!

      La región era muy preciosa – la mar era turquesa viva y las vistas eran estupendas. Nos quedamos en un piso aproximadamente diez minutos del mar. La gente *eran/era/fui* muy *simpáticas/simpática* y *amables/amable*.


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## jester.

Hay que elegir las formas del singular porque la gente es singular tembién.

Elegiría era porque a mi parecer se trata aquí de una descripción.


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## prince184

I think it would be 
La gente era muy simpatica y amable.

Look at the rules for using Imperfect tense i.e Era in this case

The imperfect is used in the following situations: 

For actions that were repeated habitually

For actions that "set the stage" for another past action

For telling time

For stating one's age

For mental states (usually)

For physical sensations (usually)

To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions

                                  As you can make out Era qualifies with the last rule i.e it describes the characteristics of people.


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## Sidd

jessica2690 said:
			
		

> lo siento pero estoy confundido aun! ¿Cuál es correcto (en cada caso)?
> 
> La región era muy preciosa – la mar era turquesa viva y las vistas eran estupendas. Nos quedamos en un piso aproximadamente a diez minutos del mar. La gente *eran/era/fué* muy *simpáticas/simpática* y *amables/amable*.



*Era* is the best option as it is what you used in the whole text.

I guess that's why there is a rule about provinding context. Here it would have saved us some time.

Regards


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## Sidd

prince184 said:
			
		

> Gente is used as a singular and not as a plural.



I'm sorry, maybe I'm itchy today, but if you happen to look at the thread you'll see a spanish speaker already said that. 



			
				prince184 said:
			
		

> To describe the characteristics of people, things or conditions
> As you can make out Era qualifies with the last rule i.e it describes the characteristics of people.



In this case you are right. But it is used also in the present. It's not because of the rule that "era" is right. It's because it sounds right that they wrote the rule.

"¿Cómo fue tu viaje a Italia?"
"Genial, la gente de allí *es* muy amable"


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## prince184

With due respect to Sidd, I would like to add that I was just telling the difference between the usage of Preteriete and Imperfect. While in the present the usage of Ser and Estar is as follows.

Ser is used to express


the hour, day, and date
place of origin
occupation
nationality
religious or political affiliation
the material something is made of
possession
relationship of one person to another
certain impersonal expressions
where an event is taking place
essential qualities
And Estar is used to express

geographic or physical location
state or condition
many idiomatic expressions
progressive tenses


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## jester.

prince184 said:
			
		

> With due respect to Sidd, I would like to add that I was just telling the difference between the usage of Preteriete and Imperfect. While in the present the usage of Ser and Estar is as follows.
> 
> Ser is used to express
> 
> the hour, day, and date
> place of origin
> occupation
> nationality
> religious or political affiliation
> the material something is made of
> possession
> relationship of one person to another
> certain impersonal expressions
> where an event is taking place
> essential qualities
> And Estar is used to express
> geographic or physical location
> state or condition
> many idiomatic expressions
> progressive tenses



What are you actually trying to tell us?


Sidd, fue is qritten without accent, although the e is the stressed letter.


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## Sidd

prince184 said:
			
		

> With due respect to Sidd, I would like to add that I was just telling the difference between the usage of Preteriete and Imperfect.



The thread was about concordance between gente and amables. 

"Era", "fue", or "es"  was just something I added before we had the context. 

To be honest, I don't really like your posting lists that have little to do with the thread, it appears to me as a bit of a show-off. 

Remember that is always dangerous to lecture about a foreign language (mostly when there are natives around).

This is my last post in a thread regarding this matter. Promise.


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## prince184

(This is for Sid)
I did not meant to upset you at all. But it seems that i did. So first of all I appologize from the bottom of my heart. And would only like to add that I was not trying to show off. But the thing is that a native chooses his or her options by what sounds good while a foreigner has to depend on some rules as it is not his or her language and he or she is not supposed to use it with such comfort as a native can. So those rules were only "from a foreigner to a foreigner" thing and were not meant to upset any native. My sincere appologies once again to any native who is offended.


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## reddwarf

Hi friends....

I just want to add a contribution. Some of you are saying that gente cannot be plural. But it is not correct, just look at this correct expression:

Las gentes del lugar carecian de los más básico para vivir.....

Si no hubiera malas gentes, no habria buenos abogados (Charles Dickens)


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## San

j3st3r said:
			
		

> @ Sidd: Pero es que "la gente" tiene un sentido un poco diferente al de "las gentes", ¿verdad?


Algo de eso puede haber. "Gentes" se usa a veces en un contexto más cultural o sociológico.

Cataluña y sus gentes
Las gentes del lugar

Es como si estuvieras hablando de grupos de personas, de comunidades.

También hay algunas frases hechas como "tener don de gentes", se dice cuando a alguien se le da bien la gente, que es capaz de tratar con todo tipo de personas.


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## jester.

San said:
			
		

> Es como si estuvieras hablando de grupos de personas, de comunidades.



Esto lo aprendí también. Es una pequeña matiz.


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## Txiri

Sidd said:
			
		

> The thread was about concordance between gente and amables.
> 
> "Era", "fue", or "es" was just something I added before we had the context.
> 
> To be honest, I don't really like your posting lists that have little to do with the thread, it appears to me as a bit of a show-off.


 
I appreciated very much this post. Thank you for saying this.  I would much prefer to read posts that say, "I think, but I´m not sure, that it should be xxxxx"  When people are intermediate learners of the language of the forum, or intermediate learners of the language in which the forum develops, it´s far more welcome (to me) to read comments which acknowledge the speaker´s own incertainties.  That way the reader or the original poster may perceive the level of uncertainty, and react accordingly.

I would also encourage that people who want answers to questions, make their questions as specific as possible, to avoid wasting others´time.  A phrase out of the blue, can mean multiple things, or be made to be understood different things in multiple contexts.  

In sum, some better awareness of the forum rules, which are well put-together, would go a long way toward avoiding lots of "red herrings on the trail".  For posters to read other posts before posting, would also be a plus.


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## Sidd

Thank you Txiri for writting it down so clearly. 

It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling like that.


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## Txiri

Sidd said:
			
		

> Thank you Txiri for writting it down so clearly.
> 
> It's nice to know I'm not the only one feeling like that.


 
No, you´re not.  The moderators allow free discussion up to a certain point, and I would not advocate censorship at all, but yes, it creates more effort than necessary, the postings of people who just want to "chat" and offer their limited perspectives on things, tangentially related.


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