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St. Aloysius School Spanish I I-3 Spanish Nouns and Gender

Spanish Nouns and Gender A noun is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, or idea. Person: John, girl, dentist Place: garden, university, Venezuela Thing: book, car, tomato Idea: liberty, despair, intelligence In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. Masculine el chico .......................... boy el jardín .................... garden el libro ......................... book el miedo ......................... fear

Feminine la chica ............................ girl la Universidad ........university la revista ................ magazine la libertad .................... liberty

The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female. Masculine Feminine man woman tiger tigress aviator aviatrix The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures. el gato...................... male cat la gata ................... female cat el perro ................... male dog la perra ................ female dog el chico ........................... boy la chica ............................ girl el abuelo ..............grandfather la abuela ............ grandmother How are all of these masculine nouns alike? el gato el perro el chico el abuelo

Hint: look at both the beginning and the ending of each line.

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How are all of these feminine nouns alike? la gata la perra la chica la abuela

Hint: look at both the beginning and the ending of each line.

"El" and "La" both mean "the." el chico (the boy) la chica (the girl) el perro (the male dog) la gata (the female cat) Note: These two words (el, la) are called "definite articles." They are both translated as “the.” For example: the cow, the cat, the boy, etc. “Una” and “Uno” are “indefinite articles” and are both translated as “a.” For example: a cow, a cat, a boy, etc. What do you notice about the last letter of these nouns? Masculine Feminine gato gata perro perra chico chica abuelo abuela Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine. Notice the word usually! There are exceptions to these two rules and you will soon be learning them. One cannot predict the gender of a noun that stands for a non-living thing. Try to predict whether the Spanish words for the following things are masculine or feminine: Masculine or feminine? book house money window One cannot predict the gender of a noun, except in the case of living creatures. Do not try to analyze the nature of the object, looking for some inherent masculinity or femininity. It won't work! Take a guess. Do you think the Spanish word for "dress" is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be feminine, since a dress is an article of clothing worn by females. Actually, the word for "dress" is a masculine word: el vestido

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Take another guess. Do you think the Spanish word for "necktie" is masculine or feminine? You might expect it to be masculine, since a necktie is an article of clothing worn by males. Actually, the word for "necktie" is a feminine word: la corbata When you learn a new noun, you should also learn its definite article (el, la). There are several reasons for this:    

Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns. Because not every noun that ends in -o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in -a is feminine. Because many nouns end in letters other than o or a. Because the definite article (el, la) is your clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

Why do you care whether a noun is masculine or feminine? Good question! As you shall see in upcoming lessons, Spanish places a great deal more emphasis on gender than does English.

Translate each of the following Spanish Nouns: Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a. el professor ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ la profesora ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ el doctor ................................................................................................................ ___________________________ la doctora .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ el señor ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ la señora................................................................................................................ ___________________________

Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la). el estudiante .......................................................................................................... ___________________________ la estudiante .......................................................................................................... ___________________________ el pianista .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ la pianista .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ el artista ................................................................................................................ ___________________________ la artista ................................................................................................................ ___________________________

4 Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine. la televisión........................................................................................................... ___________________________ la decisión ............................................................................................................. ___________________________ la conversación ..................................................................................................... ___________________________ la habitación.......................................................................................................... ___________________________ la ciudad ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ la universidad ........................................................................................................ ___________________________ la dificultad ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ la libertad .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ la actitud ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ la gratitud.............................................................................................................. ___________________________ la certidumbre ....................................................................................................... ___________________________ la muchedumbre.................................................................................................... ___________________________ Some nouns that end in -a are masculine. el problema ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ el telegrama .......................................................................................................... ___________________________ el programa ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ el mapa ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ el sistema .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ el poema ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ el día ..................................................................................................................... ___________________________ el tema .................................................................................................................. ___________________________ el clima ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ el idioma ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ el sofá ................................................................................................................... ___________________________ el planeta .............................................................................................................. ___________________________

5 Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine. Notice that eight of the twelve nouns listed above end in -ma. el telegrama .......................................................................................................... ___________________________ el programa ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ el problema ........................................................................................................... ___________________________ el sistema .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ el poema ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ el idioma ............................................................................................................... ___________________________ el clima ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ el tema .................................................................................................................. ___________________________ Note: A few nouns that end in -ma are feminine, such as la cama and la pluma. Four of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized. el día ..................................................................................................................... ___________________________ el mapa ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ el planeta .............................................................................................................. ___________________________ el sofá ................................................................................................................... ___________________________ A few nouns that end in -o are feminine. la mano ................................................................................................................. ___________________________ la radio.................................................................................................................. ___________________________

Review Many nouns that denote living things have both a masculine and a feminine form. Most nouns that end in -o are masculine. Most nouns that end in -a are feminine. Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a. Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la). Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine. Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine. A few nouns that end in -o are feminine You now know most of the rules for determining the gender of a noun. There are just a few more things to know, but they won't be covered until later. Remember, whenever you learn a new noun, learn it complete with its definite article (el, la). Definite & indefinite articles are the subject of an upcoming lesson.