Word
Una treintena de personas empezó a corear la consigna.
Meaning
About thirty people started to chant the slogan.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of Una treintena de personas empezó a corear la consigna.
de
from / of
una
a, an (feminine)
a
to
la persona
person
Questions & Answers about Una treintena de personas empezó a corear la consigna.
How does treintena change the meaning compared to just saying treinta?
Adding the suffix -ena to a number turns it into a collective noun that usually expresses an approximate amount. While treinta personas means exactly thirty people, una treintena de personas means roughly thirty people or a group of thirty. Notice that because treintena is a noun, you need the preposition de to connect it to the people.
Why is the verb empezó singular if the sentence is about a group of personas?
The grammatical subject of the sentence is una treintena, which is a singular noun. Even though it is followed by the plural de personas, standard Spanish grammar matches the verb to the singular collective noun (empezó). You might hear native speakers use the plural (empezaron) because the logical meaning is plural, but the singular form is generally considered more strictly correct.
Is the a before corear required?
Yes, you always need the preposition a when using the verb empezar (to start or begin) followed by an infinitive verb. The fixed formula is empezar a plus an infinitive.
Where does the verb corear come from?