Unos aguas. Unas aguas. Unos alas. Unas alas.

Question

The lesson states that "unos" and "unas" are both correct in front of a plural feminine noun beginning with a stressed a. The RAE says it isn't (https://www.rae.es/buen-uso-espa%C3%B1ol/el-art%C3%ADculo-ante-nombres-femeninos-comenzados-por-a-t%C3%B3nica), specifically citing "unos aulas" as incorrect.

It's a minor point, but where is the disconnect? Is the RAE being prescriptive here, or is something else going on?

Inma Sánchez · Accepted Answer

Hola Emilio,I went back to the lesson to review this. It’s a lesson we wrote quite a long time ago, so I first checked whether there had been any changes to the RAE’s guidance on this point, but there haven’t.You are right: according to the RAE’s prescriptive rules, the correct forms are unas aguas, unas alas, unas aulas, etc. The use of the masculine-form article/determiner with feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a- applies in the singular (el agua, un agua), but not in the plural (las aguas, unas aguas).As for why the lesson accepted unos, I may have followed another source at the time that described this usage as occurring or being accepted in certain areas, or I may have been influenced by my own experience. I wouldn’t naturally say unos aguas myself, but I have heard this type of construction used in other parts of Spain. However, as I can’t now confirm the source or justify including it as correct, I’m going to amend the lesson and remove the part that accepts unos. This also makes sense because the rest of the lesson follows the RAE’s prescriptive rules.I’ve also checked the associated test questions and can confirm that unos was not tested as a correct plural form, so learners haven’t been receiving an incorrect test question on this point.Thank you very much for bringing this to our attention and giving me the opportunity to review it.Un saludo cordial,Inma