Questions & Answers about Els dos preus són iguals.
Why is there els before dos preus?
Els is the masculine plural definite article, equivalent to the. It is used because preus is a masculine plural noun.
In Catalan, it is very common to use the definite article before a numeral when you mean a specific set, so els dos preus means the two prices or both prices, not just any two prices.
Could I say just dos preus without els?
Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.
- els dos preus = a specific pair of prices already known in the context
- dos preus = two prices in a more general or indefinite sense
So in this sentence, els helps make it sound like you are talking about those particular two prices.
Why is it dos and not dues?
Because preu is a masculine noun.
In Catalan:
- dos is used with masculine nouns
- dues is used with feminine nouns
So:
- dos preus
- dues cases
Why is preus the plural of preu?