1.5 Gender and Number of the Nouns
Género y número de los sustantivos (nombres)
A noun is a person, place, or thing.
In Spanish, nouns are characterized by gender and number; in the case of gender, nouns, are NOT perceived by Spanish speakers as having male or female attributes; it is just a grammatical feature, masculine or feminine, singular or plural.
Los sustantivos singulares Singular Nouns
Masculino Masculine
- MOST nouns that end in -o are masculine
el curso |
course |
el laboratorio |
laboratory |
el estadio |
stadium |
el horario |
schedule |
el amigo |
friend |
el maestro |
teacher |
el baño |
bathroom |
el libro |
book |
el teléfono |
telephone |
el teatro |
theatre |
el gimnasio |
gym |
el escritorio |
desk |
- Exceptions of SOME nouns that do not follow this common rule: many nouns that do not end in -o but are masculine
el arte |
art |
el semestre |
semester |
el trimestre |
trimester |
el español |
Spanish |
el reloj |
clock |
el papel |
paper |
el lápiz |
pencil |
el examen |
test/exam |
el café |
coffee |
el autobús |
bus |
el hospital |
hospital |
el hombre |
man |
- Some nouns that end in -a or -ma that are masculine
el día |
day |
el idioma |
language |
el mapa |
map |
el planeta |
planet |
el drama |
drama |
el poema |
poem |
el problema |
problem |
el sistema |
system |
el programa |
program |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Femenino Feminine
- MOST nouns that end in -a are feminine
la biblioteca |
library |
la cafetería |
cafeteria |
la librearía |
bookstore |
la prueba |
quiz |
la tarea |
homework |
la geografía |
geography |
la biología |
biology |
la música |
music |
la física |
physics |
la pluma |
pen |
la silla |
chair |
la mesa |
table |
- Exceptions of SOME nouns that do not follow this common rule: many nouns that do not end in -a but are feminine
la clase |
class |
la mujer |
woman |
la luz |
light |
la noche |
night |
la mano |
hand |
la suerte |
luck |
la radio |
radio |
la piel |
skin |
- Some nouns that end in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tud or -tad that are feminine
la lección |
lesson |
la conversación |
conversation |
la universidad |
university |
la verdad |
truth |
la actitud |
attitude |
la amistad |
friendship |
To make a noun plural
la clase |
las clases |
una clase |
unas clases |
la lección |
las lecciónes |
una lección |
unas lecciónes |
el problema |
los problemas |
un problema |
unos problemas |
la luz |
las luces |
una luz |
las luces |
la noche |
las noches |
una noche |
unas noches |
el hospital |
los hospitales |
un hospital |
unos hospitales |
- add-s if it ends in a vowel
- add -es if it ends in a consonant
- If it ends in -z eliminate the -z and add -ces
Remember:
The article must agree with the noun in number as well
Practícalo…
1. Definite articles
2. Indefinite articles
3. Singular to plural
Additional Practice
- Write 8 masculine nouns that end in -o.
- Write 8 feminine nouns that end in -a.
- List 6 things you commonly see in a classroom.
- List 6 things you commonly have in your mochila (backpack).
“Topic 2 Gender and Number of the Nouns” in Spanish 001 PSU New Kensington by Ana Ivette Serrano is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.