nouns and articles gender and number. nouns in spanish that end in “-o”, or that refer to...
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Nouns
and
Articles
Gender
and
Number
Nouns in Spanish that end in “-o”, or that refer to masculine people are generally masculine:
el carro
el amigo
el señor
Nouns in Spanish that end in “-aje”are masculine:
el garaje el traje el personaje
Names of trees are masculine:
el manzano el naranjo el cerezo
Numbers are masculine:
el uno el veinte el cien
The cardinal points are masculine:
el oeste el norte el este el sur
Musical notes are masculine:
el do el mi el sol
The days of the week are masculine:
el lunes el martes el miércoles
Compound nouns are masculine:
el abrelatas el paraguas el rascacielos
el oeste el norte el este el sur
The cardinal point are masculine
el Amazonas el Caribe el Canal de Panamá
Many words that end in “-ma” are masculine:
el problema el idioma el clima
Notable exceptions include:
la dama la trama la forma
Names of rivers, lakes, mountains, straights and seas are masculine:
Nouns in Spanish that end in “-a”, or that refer to feminine people are generally feminine:
la casa
la persona
la pluma
la serie la especie La superficie
Words that end in “-ad” are feminine:
la universidad la amistad la felicidad
Words that end in “-umbre” are feminine:
la legumbre la costumbre la muchedumbre
Nouns that end in “-ie” are feminine:
la nación la sensación la manifestación
Words that end in “-sión” are feminine:
la misión la tensión la la procesión
Words that end in “-ud” are feminine:
la salud la juventud la la aptitud
Nouns that end in “-ción” are feminine:
la tuberculosis la fiebre la conjuntivitis
Islands and provinces are feminine:
la Patagonia la Isla de Pinos la Tierra del Fuego
The letters of the alphabet are feminine:
la hache (h) la eñe (ñ) la elle (ll)
Nouns that refer to illnesses are feminine:
Some nouns are both masculine and feminine:
el / la artista
el / la atleta
el / la modelo
el / la periodista
el / la telefonista
Excepción: “la víctima” is always “la víctima”(wether or not it is a male or female ).
Some nouns have different masculine and feminine forms:el actor
el toro
el hombre
el yerno
el caballo
el poeta
la actriz
la vaca
la mujer
la nuera
la yegua
la poetisa
el rey la reina
el gallo la gallina
el marido la esposa
el héroe la heroina
Some nouns change meaning according to gender:
el cura
el papa
el capital
el frente
el policía
el guía
the priest
the pope
money
the front
policeman
guide
el corte cut (like haircut)
la cura the cure
la papa the potato
la capital the capital city
la frente forehead
la policía police force
guidebookla guía
la corte court (residence of the king)
Some nouns only have one form for both genders:
la cigüena
el mosquito
la girafa
el murciélago
la ballena
la araña
stork
mosquito
giraffe
bat
whale
spider
la serpiente snake
la avispa wasp
la oruga caterpillar
el tiburón shark
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
1. In Spanish the definite article is used when talking about a noun in a general sense:
Los perros que ladran no muerden.
Dogs that bark don’t bite.
Me encanta la música latina.
I love Latin music.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
2. In Spanish the definite article is used when talking about a noun in a specific sense:
La carne de la Argentina es famosa.
Argentine beef is famous.
No me gusta el ruido de la música rock.
I don’t like the noise from rock music.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
3. In Spanish the definite article is used when talking about quantities:
Las bananas cuesta dos pesos el kilo.
Bananas cost 2 pesos a / per kilo.
4. In Spanish the definite article is used before the days of the week.
Los domingos siempre vamos a misa.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
5. In Spanish the definite article is used with abstract nouns:
la belleza.
la caridad
6. In Spanish the definite article is used before parts of the body instead of the possessive.
Me duele el estómago.
beauty el amor love
charity la fe faith
My stomach hurts.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
7. In Spanish the definite article is used with articles of clothing instead of the possessive:
Al entrar en la clase, hay que quitarse la gorra.
Upon entering class, one must take off one’s cap.
8. In Spanish the definite article is used before the last name of a famous woman.
La Menchu recibió el Premio Nobel.
Menchu received the Nobel Prize.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
9. In Spanish the definite article is used in popular language before a woman’s first name:
La Valerie siempre habla en clase.
Valerie always talks in class.
10. In Spanish the definite article los is used before the last name in the singular.
Los López están de visita.
The Lópezes are visiting.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
11. In Spanish the definite article is used in before titles when talking about a person:
El Señor Lavoie está loco.
Mr Lavoie is crazy.
But it is NOT used if talking directly to the person.
«Señor Lavoie, ¿Cómo está usted?»
“Mr. Lavoie, how are you?”
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
12. In Spanish the definite article is used in before days of the week except after «ser»:
El marte tengo una reunión.
On Tuesday I have a meeting.
13. The definite article is used before rivers, seas and other geographical names.
El Tajo pasa por España y Portugal.
The Tagus passes through Spain and Portugal
Hoy es lunes.
Today is Monday.
The definite articles: el, la, los ,las (the) and when they are used:
13. In Spanish the definite article is used in before days names of ships:
“La Santa María era la nave de Cristóbal Colón.
The “Santa María was Columbus’ ship.
14. The definite article is used before languages except after “hablar” and “de” y “en”.Estudio el español. Hablo español.
I study Spanish.but
I speak Spanish.
15. Certain feminine nouns use “el” in the singular for reasons of pronunciation, and “las” in the plural.
These begin with an stressed “a” or “ha”.
el ama / las amas
water.
house wife.
el agua / las aguas
el almas / las almas soul
el aula / las aulas classroom
el alba / las albas dawn
el águila / las águilas eagle
el ave / las aves birdel hada / las hadas fairy
16. When an infinitive or an adverb is used as a noun, it takes “el” for its definite article:
*EXCEPT if the article is part of a title or proper name.
de El Salvador Es de El Escorial.
El comer mucho no es bueno.
Eating a lot is not good.
Lo hago para el bien de todos.
I’m doing it for the good of all.
17. With the prepositions “de” and “a” the definite article “el” forms a contraction: de + el + del / a + el = al
18. When an adjective the neuter “lo” is used for the (the neuter as adjectives don’t have gender):
Vivir a lo grande Gastar a lo tonto.
Lo curisoso es que no está hoy.
The curious thing is that he’s not here.
Lo bueno, lo malo y lo feo.
The good, the bad and the ugly.
19. Certain countries and cities use a definite article in front of them:
el Perú el Paraguay
la Argentina el Ecuador
la China La Habana
El Salvador el Brasil
el Uruguay el Japón
La Coruña los Estados Unidos
el Canadá la India
The indefinite articles un, una, unos, unas:
Yo soy profesor. I am a teacher.
1. Contrary to English, in Spanish you do NOT use the indefinite article to tell what someone is (profession, occupation, nationality, religion, political affiliation):
Él es carpintero. He is a carpenter.
Soy americano. I am an American.
Él es repulicano. He is a Republican.
The indefinite articles un, una, unos, unas:
Yo soy un buen profesor. I am a good teacher.
2. If, however, you modify (describe) the person within their profession etc., then USE un, una, unos, unas:
Él es un carpintero hábil. He is an able carpenter.
Soy un americano leal. I am a loyal American.
Él es un repulicano ferviente.
He is a fervent Republican.
The indefinite articles un, una, unos, unas:
Yo soy un buen profesor. I am a good teacher.
3. With the words cien, mil, semejante, cierto and otro you DO NOT use the un, una, unos, unas:
Él es un carpintero hábil. He is an able carpenter.
Soy un americano leal. I am a loyal American.
Él es un repulicano ferviente.
He is a fervent Republican.
To form the plural of nouns:
mano manos
1. If the noun ends in a vowel (-o, -a, -e) just add “-s”:
brazo brazos
diente dientes
inteligente inteligentes
2. If the noun ends in a consonant (-s, -l, -n) add “-es”:
dios dioses
limón limones
frijol frijoles
metal metales
To form the plural of nouns:
ley leyes
3. If the noun ends in an accented vowel (-ú, -í,) add “-es”:
rubí rubíes
colibrí colibríes
buey bueyes
Excepciones…
mamá mamás
papá papás
sofá sofás
café cafés
To form the plural of nouns:
luz luces
4. If the noun ends in a “-z” change the “-z” to “-c” add “-es”:
lápiz lápices
cruz cruces
pez peces
5. The plural of mixed groups is the masculine plural or the noun:
el rey y la reina los reyes
el padre y la madre los padres
To form the plural of nouns:
el lunes los lunes
6. If the noun ends in a “-es” or “-is” it does not change, only the article changes:
la crisis las crisis
el paréntesis los paréntesis
7. If the noun ends in an accented “-és”, add “-es” and drop the accent:
el inglés los ingleses
el danés los daneses
el payés los payeses
To form the plural of nouns:
el paraguas los paraguas
8. Nouns that are formed with two words are masculine; they use “el” and “los”:
el abrelatas Los abrelatas
el rascacielos los rascacielos