Spanish is a gender-based language. All nouns and adjectives belong to a gender. There are 2 grammatical genders in the Spanish language: masculine and feminine. Grammatical gender is not a physical gender, it means different things.
The plural form is formed by adding –S or –ES to an ending, as well as in English.
- Masculine nouns usually end in: Consonants, -O, -E, and there are some words in –A.
Every noun has an article that denounces a gender.
Masculine articles (indefinite, definite):
Un (singular), unos (plural) – indefinite articles
El (singular), los (plural) – definite articles
Some examples:
Un amigo – a friend (male)
El gato – cat
Un perro – a dog
El humano – human
Los humanos – humans
Un chico – a guy/boy
- Feminine nouns usually end in: -A, -DAD, -CIÓN.
Feminine articles (indefinite, definite):
Una (singular), Unas (plural) – indefinite articles
La (singular), las (plural) – definite articles
Some examples:
La amiga – friend (female)
La familia – family
La diseñadora – designer (female)
La lección – lesson
Las carreteras – roads
Una chica – a girl
Unas canciónes – songs
- Also, there are nouns that end in –E and –ISTA – they can be either masculine or feminine and they may have a plural form – just by adding –S.
El/la periodista, los/las periodistas – journalist(s)
El/la ciclista, los/las ciclistas – cyclist(s)
El/la deportista, los/las deportistas – sportsman(s)
There are exceptions when an ending doesn’t determine gender:
| la foto – photo el mapa – map la radio – radio la mano – hand el clima – climate | el día – day el sofá – sofa el alma – soul el tranvía – tram el planeta – planet | el problema – problem el programa – program el sistema – system el diploma – diploma el políglota – polyglot |
- Spanish adjectives are divided into two types:
Adjectives that have gender ending –O (masculine) or –A (feminine) change gender and number:
Bueno – good (masculine), Buena – good (feminine)
El bosque hermoso – beautiful (masculine) forest
La montaña hermosa – beautiful (feminine) mountain
Los árboles cortos – short (masculine, plural) trees
And adjectives that have all other endings, they change only number:
Grande (singular), grandes (plural) – big
Interesante (singular), interesantes (plural) – interesting
La gente joven – Young people (singular)
Las chicas jóvenes – Young girls (plural)
Exercises
Use an appropriate definite article EL, LOS, LA, LAS:
- ____ cama – the bed;
- ____ camisa – the shirt;
- ____ biblioteca – the library;
- ____ niño – the child;
- ____ ojos – the eyes;
- ____ playas – the beaches;
- ____ soldado – the soldier
- ____ niñas – the children
Answers: 1: la, 2: la, 3: la, 4: el, 5: los, 6: las, 7: el, 8: las.
Use the adjective in appropriate gender and number
- Mis hermanos son ______ (ALTO – tall) – My brothers are tall
- Esta señora es ________(BELLO – beautiful) – This lady is beautiful
- Los gatos son muy _______ (LINDO – cute) – The cats are very cute
- Estes libros son ___________ (INTERESANTE – interesting) – These books are interesting
- La casa es _______ (VERDE – green) – The house is green
- El sol es _____________ (BRILLANTE – bright) – The sun is bright
Answers: 1: altos, 2: bella, 3: lindos, 4: interesantes, 5: verde, 6: brillante