Spanish tip - La gente (People)

Whenever we use (in English) the word "people" in a sentence, we know the corresponding verb in that sentence should be plural, as in:

"People think this is right."

So, here, the verb is not "thinks" (singular) but "think".

But if we translate this sentence into Spanish:

"La gente piensa que esto está bien"

Note that:

the verb in this Spanish sentence ("piensa") is singular

It is "La gente", not just "gente". .

So, the important things the Spanish student must remember about the Spanish word "gente" is:

1. It is a singular noun, so the verb must always be used in singular.
Examples:

"La gente habla mucho." ("People is talking (talk) a lot.")
"A la gente le gusta leer en el parque" ("People like to read in the park.")
"La gente está furiosa" ("People are furious")
2. "Gente" is a feminine noun, so we must use feminine articles and adjectives.
Examples:

"La gente buena" (Where the definite article "la" and the adjective "buena" are feminine.)
Hay mucha gente. ("There are a lot of people")
"La gente alta y la gente baja" ("Tall people and small people")

Some notes about "la gente": This word has its origins in the Latin term "gens-gentis" (meaning tribe or family) and appears in texts since the year 1140 d.C. - This information has been taken from the site Etimologías_deChile and you can find more information (in Spanish) about "gente" here: Gente, according to Etimologias_deChile

	Angeles Fernandez BellaOnline's Spanish Language Editor