Nouns: Gender and the Definite Article

Spanish Nouns/ Sustantivos Españoles

Understanding the rules for nouns in Spanish language and how to master them

*Remember a noun is used to identify any of a class of people, places, or things

Spanish Gender Rules

• All objects/nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine.

• Learning to identify the gender of nouns helps in using adjectives and articles correctly.

• Words that modify a noun have the same gender as the noun.

  Example: Casa Blanca - White house vs Hierro Blanco - White Iron

Spanish Gender Rules

• Masculine nouns usually end in -O, -R, -N, -L, -Y, -AJE.

• Feminine nouns usually end in -A, -DAD, -TAD, -TUD, -SIÓN, -CIÓN, -EZ, -UMBRE, -IE.

​Masculine Nouns	Feminine Nouns
​Tren - Train	​Taza - Cup
​Zapato - Shoe	​Puerta - Door
Cordon - Cord	Ciudad - City

Definite Articles/ Articulos Determinado

These articles are used when referring to something already mentioned before, specific, or familiar. The definite articles in Spanish are el, la, los, las. Examples include:

• El perro es negro: The dog is black

• La rosa es mía: The rose is mine

In Spanish, articles vary to match the gender and number of nouns. For example:

• Masculine singular: el

• Masculine plural: los

• Feminine singular: la

• Feminine plural: las

Spanish Masculine Nouns

-O is a common ending for masculine nouns in Spanish. Examples include carro(car), libro(book), and plato(plate). Remember, not all masculine nouns end in -O, but it is a very common pattern. Knowing this can help you identify the gender of Spanish nouns!

Spanish Feminine Nouns

-A is a common ending for feminine nouns in Spanish. Examples include mesa(table), silla(chair), and cama(bed). Remember, not all feminine nouns end in -A, but it is a very common pattern. Knowing this can help you identify the gender of Spanish nouns!

Multiple Choice

How do we say the book(masculine singular) with the correct definite article?

• las libro
• los libro
• el libro
• la libro

Common Gender Nouns/ Sustantivos de Género Común

There are certain nouns that we can change from male to female depending on the situation. These are called common gender nouns. These nouns sometimes add an a or slightly change the word for the female version. These include animals and professions etc.

Masculine version​	​Feminine version
​Doctor	​Doctora
Corredor	Corredora
​Actor	​Actriz
Rey	​Reina

​What are some common gender nouns in english that can be male or female?

Nouns that change meaning when the definite article changes

Some nouns take on different meanings when the definite article is changed.

Masculine Article	Meaning
​El orden	​Order(arrangement)
​El papa	Pope
​El capital	​Capital(money)

Feminine Article	Meaning
La orden	​Order(command)
​La papa	​Potato
​La capital	​Capital(city)

​Days of the week/ Dias de la semana

All the days of the week are masculine and are not capitalized.
Example: el lunes - monday
All the months of the year are also all masculine and are not capitalized. They are usually used without the definite article el.

Misleading nouns

Misleading nouns are nouns that may have the ending of a specific gender but are actually the opposite gender. These nouns are exceptions to the rules. Here are some examples:

​Masculine nouns	Feminine Nouns
​​el clima	​​la foto
​el problema	​la mano
​​el poeta	​la moto
​el poema	​la catedral