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Spanish With European Fun Learning

GENDER OF NOUNS: PART I

Notes:

  1. The written lesson is below.
  2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

 

A noun is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, or idea.

Person: John, girl, dentist
Place: garden, university, Venezuela
Thing: book, car, tomato
Idea: liberty, despair, intelligence

In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.

Masculine Feminine
el chico la chica
boy girl
el jardín la universidad
garden university
el libro la revista
book magazine
el miedo la libertad
fear liberty

The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female.

Masculine Feminine
man woman
tiger tigress
aviator aviatrix

The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures.

el gato
male cat
la gata
female cat
el perro
male dog
la perra
female dog
el chico
boy
la chica
girl
el abuelo
grandfather
la abuela
grandmother

How are all of these masculine nouns alike?

el gato
el perro
el chico
el abuelo

Hint: look at both the beginning and the ending of each line.

How are all of these feminine nouns alike?

la gata
la perra
la chica
la abuela

Hint: look at both the beginning and the ending of each line.

“El” and “la” both mean “the.”

el chico (the boy)
la chica (the girl)

el perro (the male dog)
la gata (the female cat)

Note: These two words (el, la) are called “definite articles.” You will learn more about them in a later lesson.

What do you notice about the last letter of these nouns?

Masculine Feminine
gato gata
perro perra
chico chica
abuelo abuela

Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine. Notice the word usually! There are exceptions to these two rules and you will soon be learning them.

One cannot predict the gender of a noun that stands for a non-living thing. Try to predict whether the Spanish words for the following things are masculine or feminine:

Masculine or feminine?

book
house
money
window

One cannot predict the gender of a noun, except in the case of living creatures. Do not try to analyze the nature of the object, looking for some inherent masculinity or femininity. It won’t work!

Take a guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “dress” is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be feminine, since a dress is an article of clothing worn by females.

Actually, the word for “dress” is a masculine word:

el vestido

Take another guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “necktie” is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be masculine, since a necktie is an article of clothing worn by males.

Actually, the word for “necktie” is a feminine word:

la corbata

When you learn a new noun, you should also learn its definite article (el, la). There are several reasons for this:

  • Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns.
  • Because not every noun that ends in -o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in -a is feminine.
  • Because many nouns end in letters other than o or a.
  • Because the definite article (el, la) is your clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

GENDER OF NOUNS: PART II

Notes:

  1. The written lesson is below.
  2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left. 

Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a.

el profesor
la profesora

el doctor
la doctora

el señor
la señora

Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la).

el estudiante
la estudiante

el pianista
la pianista

el artista
la artista

Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.

la televisión
la decisión
la conversación
la habitación
la ciudad
la universidad
la dificultad
la libertad
la actitud
la gratitud
la certidumbre
la muchedumbre

Some nouns that end in -a are masculine.

el problema
el telegrama
el programa
el mapa
el sistema
el poema
el día
el tema
el clima
el idioma
el sofá
el planeta

Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine. Notice that eight of the twelve nouns listed above end in -ma.

el telegrama
el programa
el problema
el sistema
el poema
el idioma
el clima
el tema

Note: A few nouns that end in -ma are feminine, such as la cama and la pluma.

Four of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized.

el día
el mapa
el planeta
el sofá

A few nouns that end in -o are feminine.

la mano
la radio

Review of the rules learned in lesson 1 and lesson 2.

  • Many nouns that denote living things have both a masculine and a feminine form.
  • Most nouns that end in -o are masculine.
  • Most nouns that end in -a are feminine.
  • Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a.
  • Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la).
  • Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.
  • Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine.
  • A few nouns that end in -o are feminine

    CARDINAL NUMBERS: 1-10

    Notes:

    1. The written lesson is below.
    2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

     

    Here are the numbers 1-10:

    1. uno
    2. dos
    3. tres
    4. cuatro
    5. cinco
    6. seis
    7. siete
    8. ocho
    9. nueve
    10. diez

    The number “one” changes from “uno” to “un” before a masculine noun.

    un libro
    one book
    un perro
    one dog (male)
    un hombre
    one man

    The number “one” changes from “uno” to “una” before a feminine noun.

    una pluma
    one pen
    una gata
    one cat (female)
    una chica
    one girl

    When counting generically (one, two, three …) use “uno” but when counting specifically (one cat, one dog), use “un” or “una.”

    un libro
    one book
    una pluma
    one pen
    uno, dos, tres
    one, two, three

    PLURAL FORMS OF NOUNS

    Notes:

    1. The written lesson is below.
    2. Links to quizzes, tests, etc. are to the left.

     

    If a noun ends in a vowel, make it plural by adding -s.

    libro: libros
    (libro + s)
    pluma: plumas
    (pluma + s)
    chico: chicos
    (chico + s)
    señora: señoras
    (señora + s)

    The definite articles (el, la) also change in the plural form. They become “los” and “las.” The definite articles will be covered in depth in the next lesson.

    el libro: los libros

    la pluma: las plumas

    el chico: los chicos

    la señora: las señoras

    If a noun ends in a consonant, make it plural by adding -es.

    el borrador: los borradores
    (borrador + es)
    la universidad: las universidades
    (universidad + es)
    el profesor: los profesores
    (profesor + es)
    la ciudad: las ciudades
    (ciudad + es)

    If a noun ends in -ión, add -es and drop the written accent.

    el avión: los aviones

    la conversación: las conversaciones

    la sección: las secciones

    la televisión: las televisiones

    Note: You may wonder why “avión” isn’t feminine. Notice that it doesn’t qualify for our rule which says that all nouns ending in -ción and sión are feminine.

    If a noun ends in -z, add -es and change the z to c.

    el lápiz: los lápices

    la voz: las voces

    el tapiz: los tapices

    la actriz: las actrices

    When the plural refers to two or more nouns of different genders, the masculine plural is used.

    2 perros + 6 perras = 8 perros (not perras)
    1 gato + 8 gatas = 9 gatos (not gatas)

    A few nouns are “compound nouns,” that is, they are formed by combining two words into one.

    (Example: abre + latas = abrelatas / open + cans = can opener)

    These compound nouns are always masculine, and the plural is formed by changing the “el” to “los.”

    el abrelatas
    los abrelatas

    el paraguas
    los paraguas

    Let’s review the rules for making nouns plural.

    • If a noun ends in a vowel, simply add -s.
    • If a noun ends in a consonant, simply add -es.
    • If a noun ends in a -z, change the z to c before adding -es.
    • If a noun ends in ión, drop the written accent before adding -es.
    • If the plural refers to a mixed group, use the masculine.
    • For compound nouns, change “el” to “los”. 

 

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