Un centenar de líderes iba a organizar el evento.
A hundred leaders were going to organize the event.
Breakdown of Un centenar de líderes iba a organizar el evento.
de
from / of
un
a, an (masculine)
ir
to go
a
to
el evento
the event
organizar
to organize
el líder
the leader
el centenar
the hundred / the about a hundred
Questions & Answers about Un centenar de líderes iba a organizar el evento.
Why use un centenar instead of cien here?
While cien means exactly 100, un centenar is a collective noun that means "a group of a hundred" or "about a hundred." It is often used for approximations or to emphasize the group as a single collective unit, much like how we use "a dozen" in English.
Why do we need the word de in un centenar de líderes when we would just say cien líderes?
Because centenar is a noun, not a standard adjective or number. Just like you would say "a group of leaders" (un grupo de líderes), you must use the preposition de to connect the collective noun centenar to the things it is grouping together.
Why is the verb singular (iba) if the subject is a hundred people? Could I use iban?
The strict grammatical subject of the sentence is the singular noun centenar, so the verb takes the singular form iba. However, because it refers to a plural group of líderes, it is also very common in everyday Spanish to use the plural verb iban. Both are acceptable, but iba is considered slightly more formal in writing.
Why does this sentence use the imperfect iba a instead of the preterite fue a?
Iba a organizar translates to "was going to organize." You use the imperfect tense here to describe a past plan or intention without stating whether it was actually completed. If you used the preterite (fue a organizar), it would mean the group specifically went or traveled somewhere for the purpose of organizing the event.
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