Breakdown of La mayoría de los usuarios leen el foro, ya que es gratuito.
ser
to be
de
from / of
leer
to read
los
the (masculine plural)
ya que
since / because (seeing as)
la mayoría
the majority
el usuario
the user
el foro
the forum
gratuito
free
Questions & Answers about La mayoría de los usuarios leen el foro, ya que es gratuito.
Why is the verb leen in the plural when the subject starts with the singular phrase la mayoría?
With collective phrases like la mayoría de (the majority of) followed by a plural noun like los usuarios, you can actually use either a singular or a plural verb! Using the plural verb leen is called agreement by sense and is very common because we are naturally thinking of the multiple users doing the reading. Using the singular lee to strictly match the grammar of la mayoría is also correct, but the plural often sounds more natural in everyday speech.
What does ya que mean here, and could I just use porque instead?
Why use gratuito instead of libre for the word free?
In Spanish, gratuito (and gratis) specifically means free of charge or costing zero money. The word libre means free in the sense of freedom, liberty, or availability, like a free country or having free time. Since reading the forum doesn't cost money, gratuito is the right choice.
Could we use gratis instead of gratuito in this sentence?
Yes, you could perfectly say ya que es gratis. Both mean free of charge. The main difference is that gratuito is a standard adjective that changes to match the noun in gender and number (here matching the masculine singular el foro). On the other hand, gratis is an invariable word, meaning it never changes its ending regardless of what it describes.
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