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3. Nouns in Spanish
Unlike English, Spanish has only 2 genders. All nouns are either masculine or feminine. Nouns like ‘book’ which are considered to have no gender in English (neuter gender) are either masculine or feminine in Spanish.
When you learn a new word in Spanish it is important to learn what gender it is as well. For example when you learn that ‘mesa’ means table, try to remember it as ‘la mesa’ so you also remember that it is a feminine noun. It is hard to memorize the gender of every single word you learn so here are some general rules that will help you.
General rules for gender in spanish
1. In general, nouns ending in –o are masculine and nouns ending in –a are feminine (although there are some exceptions).
Masculine |
|
El muchacho |
The boy |
El chico |
The boy |
El perro |
The dog |
El gato |
The cat |
El hermano |
The brother |
El tío |
The uncle |
El abuelo |
The grandfather |
El libro |
The book |
El plato |
The dish |
El vaso |
The glass |
El carro |
The car |
El pollo |
The chicken |
El toro |
The bull |
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Now some examples of feminine nouns in spanish:
Feminine |
|
La muchacha |
The girl |
La chica |
The girl |
La perra |
The dog |
La gata |
The cat |
La hermana |
The sister |
La tía |
The aunt |
La abuela |
The grandmother |
La playa |
The beach |
La plata |
The silver |
La mesa |
The table |
La puerta |
The door |
La silla |
The chair |
La casa |
The house |
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‘El’ and ‘La’ are the spanish definite articles. The spanish indefinite articles are ‘un’ and ‘una’.
El libro – the book
Un libro – a bookLa playa – the beach
Una playa – a beachEl toro – the bull
Un toro – a bullLa casa – the house
Una casa – a house
2. There are some exceptions to the rule above. The following are some exceptions to the previous rule:
Masculine |
|
El problema |
The problem |
El sistema |
The system |
El clima |
The climate |
El tema |
The theme/subject |
El día |
The day |
El programa |
The program |
El mapa |
The map |
El agua |
The water |
Feminine |
|
La mano |
The hand |
La radio |
The radio |
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3. Some nouns change their ending depending on whether they are masculine or feminine:
Masculine |
|
El maestro |
The teacher |
El profesor |
The teacher/professor |
El bailador |
The dancer |
El mesero |
The waiter |
El camarero |
The waiter |
El actor |
The actor |
Feminine |
|
La maestra |
The teacher |
La profesora |
The teacher/professor |
La bailadora |
The dancer |
La mesera |
The waitress |
La camarera |
The waitress |
La actriz |
The actress |
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4. Some nouns remain the same whether they are masculine or feminine:
El periodista |
La periodista |
The journalist |
El socialista |
La socialista |
The socialist |
El pianista |
La pianista |
The pianist |
El dentista |
La dentista |
The dentist |
El piloto |
La piloto |
The pilot |
El novelista |
La novelista |
The novelist/writer |
El artista |
La artista |
The artist |
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The plural in spanish
Forming the plural in Spanish is pretty straightforward. Here are some general rules:
1. If the noun ends in a vowel, just add ‘s’ to the end of the word. Note that the articles also change from ‘El’ to ‘Los’ for masculine nouns and from ‘La’ to ‘Las’ for feminine nouns. See the following examples:
Masculine |
|
El carro |
The car |
El hermano |
The brother |
El mapa |
The map |
El plato |
The dish |
El libro |
The book |
El vaso |
The glass |
Feminine |
|
La mesa |
The table |
La hermana |
The sister |
La profesora |
The teacher |
La mano |
The hand |
La puerta |
The door |
La casa |
The house |
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2. If a noun ends in a consonant then add ‘es’ to the end of the word to make it plural.
Masculine |
|
El tenedor |
The fork |
El profesor |
The teacher |
El cantor |
The singer |
Feminine |
|
La ciudad |
The city |
La universidad |
The university |
La cantidad |
The quantity |
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3. Some common exceptions:
El sacacorchos |
The corkscrew |
El abrelatas |
The can opener |
El paraguas |
The umbrella |
La gente |
The people (Always singular even though it is plural English) |
Las vacaciones |
The vacation (Vacation is always plural in Spanish. There is no singular). |
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