Los estudiantes necesitan unas computadoras.

Questions & Answers about Los estudiantes necesitan unas computadoras.

How do we know if estudiantes is masculine or feminine in this sentence?
The word estudiante (student) can be either masculine or feminine. The definite article los tells us that this is either a group of all male students or a mixed group of male and female students. If it were a group of only females, it would be las estudiantes.
Why does this sentence use unas instead of unos?
Articles must always match the gender of the noun they describe. Computadora is a feminine noun, so when we make it plural, we must use the feminine plural article unas (meaning "some").
Could I leave out unas and just say necesitan computadoras?
Yes! Just like in English, leaving out the article makes it a general statement: "they need computers." Adding unas changes the meaning slightly to "they need some computers." Both are perfectly fine to say, but they have a slightly different feel.
Why does the verb necesitan end in -an?
Verbs always have to match the person or thing doing the action. Since "the students" (los estudiantes) are doing the needing, we use the "they" form of the verb necesitar (to need), which ends in -an.

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