- Nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine.
- Most nouns that end in “o”, “e”, “an accented vowel” or “ma”; as well as those that end with consonants except “d”, “z” or “ión” are generally masculine nouns (Remember: ...
- Most nouns that end in “a”, d”, “z” or “ción” are generally feminine nouns (Remember: “ She is a d i zz y afi cion ada”.)
How do you know if a noun is masculine or feminine?
Although this is a topic that often confuses beginners who try to guess if an object seems masculine or feminine (avoid this, it doesn’t work) we will review a few general guidelines that will make it easier for you to know if a noun is masculine or feminine.
Where to add es in a sentence?
Add “es” at the end of singular nouns that end with a consonant, the letter “y” or a stressed vowel (á, í, ó, ú), except “é”.
How to make a noun plural?
Add “s” after singular nouns that end in an unstressed vowel (a,e,i,o,u) or a stressed “e” (é) to make them plural.
Is a pencil a masculine or feminine noun?
Although in English there is no need to think about whether a pencil is a masculine or a feminine noun, it is important in Spanish because the adjectives (i. e. pretty, ugly, small, big) and articles (the equivalents of “the” in Spanish, such as: el, la, los and las) of a sentence must match the gender and number of nouns.
Is "ción" feminine or masculine?
Most nouns that end in “ a ”, “ d ”, “ z ” or “ ción ” are generally feminine nouns.
Is it easy to speak Spanish?
Yes, it’s that easy. Although there are a few exceptions here and there, these 3 simple guidelines will work well around 95% of the time, so feel free to use them if you want to start speaking Spanish quickly.
Is "o" masculine or feminine?
Most nouns that end in “ o ”, “ e ”, “ an accented vowel ” or “ ma ”; as well as those that end with consonants except “d”, “z” or “ción” are generally masculine nouns.
How to tell if a noun is masculine or feminine?
To know if a noun is masculine or feminine, you should look to see what letter (s) the word ends with.
What does gender mean in Spanish?
Gender in Spanish. We know that all people have gender, but in Spanish all nouns have gender. This means that every word for a person, place, thing or idea is either masculine or feminine. This can be confusing, especially when some words, like persona (person), can refer to a person that is man or a woman. Why is it important to know ...
Why is it important to know if a noun is feminine or masculine?
Why is it important to know if a noun is feminine or masculine? Because the gender of the noun changes the article or adjective that you can use with the noun. Masculine nouns are used with articles like el or un and have adjectives that end in -o, while female nouns use the articles la or una and have adjectives that end in -a.
What are some examples of masculine words?
• Most words that end in the letter -o are masculine. Some examples are hijo (son), zapato (shoe) and mono (monkey). • Nouns that end in -ma are masculine, such as the word problema (problem)
Do nouns have genders?
Nouns with other endings, such as other consonants, usually need to be memorized. Words like el reloj (watch) have a gender, but it is not always easy to predict. It's important to remember that the gender of a noun refers only to the grammar of the word, not to the person that it refers to. This can be very confusing.
Is "la noche" feminine or masculine?
The opposite time of day, la noche (night), is feminine, so you can think of them as a pair. Nouns that end in -a in Spanish are usually feminine, but the word for day is an exception. What if the Noun Doesn't End in -o or -a? Nouns with other endings, such as other consonants, usually need to be memorized.
Is "persona" a feminine word?
We know that a person can be a man or a woman. However, the word persona is always a feminine word. The gender of the word does not change even when the person it refers to is masculine. For example, to say, 'My brother is an interesting person' in Spanish, you would say Mi hermano es una persona interesante.
How to know if a noun is feminine or masculine?
Every single noun in Spanish has a gender: feminine or masculine, that means you have to know when to use ‘El’ or ‘La’ for every single noun. If you have studied Spanish you are painfully aware of this. For English speakers it is hard to determine when a noun is feminine ...
What does EL libro mean?
Instead of learning: libro = book, try committing to memory: EL libro = The book. Because coming from English you don’t have any reference to hold on to, sometimes our memory can only recall so much and we mix up the gender. Even though Spanish is a language of exceptions, there are a few guidelines that can help when wanting to determine ...
Is Fluenz a Spanish immersion program?
In both the Fluenz online program ,and in the Fluenz Spanish Immersions we take it step by step. If you are starting to learn Spanish, we only introduce the concept of gender differences a couple of sessions in. Little by little, and loads of practice is the best remedy.
Do endings change according to gender?
The endings are not so obvious. More often than not, the endings change according to the gender of the person or animal:
Is "a" feminine or masculine?
You’ve probably heard this one before: words ending in -a are feminine and words ending in -o are masculine.
Is it difficult to know the gender of a noun in Spanish?
When you are starting out in Spanish knowing the gender of nouns is very difficult. But it is something that even advanced students mix up once in a while. And to make things more interesting, the fact is that with time, languages evolve and change .
Is a noun masculine or feminine?
For English speakers it is hard to determine when a noun is feminine or masculine simply because nouns in English have no gender.
What is the gender of Spanish?
The grammatical gender is an arbitrary classification that divides nouns into two types: masculines or feminines. Not only in Spanish, but also in other Romance and non-Romance languages, such as German and Russian. However, the gender in Spanish language can be really tricky sometimes. The general rule is that words ending with -o are masculine ...
Why is it important to know the grammatical gender of a noun in Spanish?
It’s important to know the grammatical gender of a noun in Spanish because all of the elements referring to them (articles, adjectives, pronouns…) will agree in grammatical gender, too: El libro es fantástico. La película es fantástica.
What is the masculine form?
The masculine form is the one that appears on a dictionary. Generally, if the masculine form ends with an -o, to form the feminine you just need to replace it with an -a: El chico -> La chica. El perro -> La perra. If the masculine form ends witn a consonant, to form the feminine we just add an -a:
Why do they keep the feminine definite article?
Also, in plural they keep the feminine definite article (las), because the S avoids the cacophony: las agua s.
When do we use "el" in singular?
We use the masculine definite article (el) in singular with feminine nouns that start with an A when the stress is put on the first syllable.
Is "un" a masculine word?
With these nouns in singular, the indefinite article (un/una) is masculine, too: un aula, un águila, etc. Although it’s not really incorrect to use the feminine form, it’s less common.
Is "la foto" masculine or feminine?
The general rule is that words ending with -o are masculine and words ending with -a are feminine. But then you find out that it’s la foto, not el foto. Or el agua in singular, while las aguas in plural.
What are feminine suffixes?
Feminine Suffixes. Nouns ending in certain suffixes are usually feminine. They include -ción (usually the equivalent of "-tion"), -sión, -ía (usually the equivalent of "-y," although not in the diminutive sense), -za, -dad (often used like "-ty"), and -itis ("-itis"). la nación (nation)
Why are rivers masculine?
Names of rivers, lakes and oceans are masculine because el río, el lago and el océano, respectively, are masculine.
What does gender mean in abbreviations?
The gender of abbreviations and acronyms typically matches the gender of the main noun of what the shortened version stands for. Words that are a shorter form of another word or of a phrase retain the gender of the longer word or of the main noun in the phrase. un Toyota (a Toyota.
Is "web" feminine in Spanish?
Thus foreign nouns that end in -a sometimes become feminine, as do some words related in meaning to a Spanish feminine word. el marketing (marketing) la web (the Web or World Wide Web; the feminine is usually used because the Spanish words red and teleraña, words for "web" and "network," respectively, are feminine)
Is "dad" masculine or feminine?
Nouns ending in -a, -ción, -ía, or -dad are usually feminine. Nouns ending in -o, an accented vowel, -or, or -aje are usually masculine. Names of rivers, lakes, and oceans are usually masculine; names of mountains are usually feminine.
Is accented vowel masculine or feminine?
Nouns ending in an accented vowel are usually masculine.
Is Google a feminine company?
Names of companies usually are feminine, because la compañía (company) is feminine, as are sociedad anónima (corporation), corporación (corporation), and empresa (business). This rule is not consistently followed, however, and some well-known companies (such as Google) are referred to as either masculine or feminine.
