nouns, articles and gender · nouns, articles and gender . in spanish, nouns have gender. they are...
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Nouns, Articles and Gender
In Spanish, nouns have gender. They are either “masculine” or “feminine”.
With people, the gender of the nouns generally matches the gender of the person.
Chico (Boy) = masculine.
Chica (Girl) = feminine.
With things, the noun is simply masculine or feminine. Libro (Book) = masculine. Puerta (Door) = feminine.
Often (but not always) the final vowel of a noun tells which gender it is.
Nouns ending in -o (like libro) are usually masculine.
Perro = Dog
Gato = Cat
Amigo = Friend
Nouns ending in -a (like puerta) are usually feminine.
Amiga = Friend
Casa = House
Escuela = School
Sometimes, the nouns that end in –a are masculine and words that end in –o are feminine. Día (Day) = Masculine Mano (Hand) = Feminine
Nouns ending in –e or a consonant can be either masculine or feminine and must be learned individually.
Restaurante (Restaurant) = masculine.
Televisión (Television) = feminine.
Nouns are marked for gender (masculine / feminine), but also for number (singular / plural).
A noun that ends in a vowel adds an ‘s’ to the end to become plural.
Chico=Boy
Chicos=Boys
Chica=Girl
Chicas=Girls
Libro=Book
Libros=Books
Puerta=Door
Puertas=Doors
A noun that ends in a consonant adds an ‘es’ to the end to become plural.
Televisión=Television
Televisiones=Televisions
There are four words in Spanish that mean “the”.
singular plural
masculine
feminine
el
la
los
las
The word “the” in English is referred to as the definite article. In Spanish the definite articles are: singular plural
masculine
feminine
el
la
los
las
El libro = The book
Los libros = The books
La puerta = The door
Las puertas = The doors
In addition, there are two words in Spanish that mean “a” or “an”.
masculine
feminine
un
una
Un libro = A book
Un chico = A boy
Una puerta = A door
Una chica = A girl
The word “a” and “an” in English are referred to as the indefinite articles. In Spanish the indefinite articles are:
singular plural
masculine
feminine
un
una unas
unos
singular plural
masculine
feminine
un
una
unos
unas
Note: English never uses a plural indefinite article. This form is usually translated with the word “some.” Unas chicas (some girls)
Unos libro = Some books
Unos chicos = Some boys
Unas puertas = Some doors
Unas chicas = Some girls