Los Sustantivos, Los Art ículos Y Género [Nouns, Articles and Gender]

In Spanish, all nouns have gender. That means they are either masculine or feminine. What is a noun? -A person, place, thing or idea.

Los Sustantivos Masculine nouns often end in –o. Words that refer to male persons are also masculine. ejemplo: se ñor ( man ) padre ( father ) Feminine words often end in –a, -d, or –i ó n. Words that refer to female persons are also feminine. ejemplo: mujer ( woman ) madre ( mather ) [NOUNS]

Masculine nouns often end in –o.

Words that refer to male persons are also masculine.

ejemplo:

se ñor ( man )

padre ( father )

Feminine words often end in –a, -d, or –i ó n.

Words that refer to female persons are also feminine.

ejemplo:

mujer ( woman ) madre ( mather )

What happens when words don’t end with ‘typical’ masculine or feminine endings? These words must be learned individually. One cannot predict the gender of non-living things in Spanish. Do not try to analyze the nature of the object, looking for some inherent masculinity or femininity. It won't work!

These words must be learned individually.

One cannot predict the gender of non-living things in Spanish.

Do not try to analyze the nature of the object, looking for some inherent masculinity or femininity. It won't work!

Notice how ‘la sal’ and ‘el papel’ both end with ‘L’. ‘ La sal’ (salt) is feminine. ‘ El papel’ (paper) is masculine. Or here, ‘la costumbre’ and ‘el pupitre’ both end with ‘E’. ‘ La costumbre’ (custom) is feminine. ‘ El pupitre’ (desk) is masculine.

Notice how ‘la sal’ and ‘el papel’ both end with ‘L’.

‘ La sal’ (salt) is feminine.

‘ El papel’ (paper) is masculine.

Or here, ‘la costumbre’ and ‘el pupitre’ both end with ‘E’.

‘ La costumbre’ (custom) is feminine.

‘ El pupitre’ (desk) is masculine.

ciudad hombre regalo p ágina madre canci ón mesa vestido Can you tell if the following words are masculine or feminine ? Fem. Fem. Fem. Fem. Fem. Masc. Masc. Masc.

So what is an ‘article’ anyway? Articles

Well….in English we have only ONE definite article! Do you know what it is? ‘ THE’

In Spanish there are masculine and feminine ways to say “the”. singular masculine feminine el la

Masculine nouns in Spanish take masculine articles . Feminine nouns in Spanish take feminine articles .

Masculine nouns in Spanish take masculine articles .

Feminine nouns in Spanish take feminine articles .

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? amigo (friend)

singular masculine feminine el ¿ El or La ? amigo (friend) la

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? pared (wall)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? pared (wall)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? mujer (woman)

singular masculine feminine el ¿ El or La ? mujer (woman) la

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? brazo (arm)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? brazo (arm)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? lecci ón (lesson)

singular masculine feminine el ¿ El or La ? lecci ón (lesson) la

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? hombre (man)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? hombre (man)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? pierna (leg)

singular masculine feminine el la ¿ El or La ? pierna (leg)

In Spanish, nouns are classified by gender (masculine / feminine). They are also classified by number (singluar / plural).

In Spanish, nouns are classified by gender (masculine / feminine).

They are also classified by number (singluar / plural).

To make nouns plural in Spanish is EASY!!! If the noun ends with a vowel… If the noun ends with a consonant… If the noun ends with ‘-z’… ADD ‘-S’ ADD ‘-ES’ CHANGE ‘-Z’ TO ‘ -C’ and ADD ‘-ES’

If the noun ends with a vowel…

If the noun ends with a consonant…

If the noun ends with ‘-z’…

Make the following words pural! ZAPATO FLOR ABEJA PEZ DEDO LUZ TIGRE ZAPATOS FLORES ABEJAS PECES DEDOS LUCES TIGRES

ZAPATO

FLOR

ABEJA

PEZ

DEDO

LUZ

TIGRE

ZAPATOS

FLORES

ABEJAS

PECES

DEDOS

LUCES

TIGRES

In Spanish, when nouns are made plural, so must their article be made plural , too!!!

Actually, Spanish has FOUR ways to say ‘The’! singular plural masculine feminine el la los las

Making Nouns Plural El Libro Los Libros

El Libro

This One’s A Little Tougher! El Tambor Los Tambores *Hint- The nouns ends with a consonant

El Tambor

Make the following plural La Calle Las Calles

La Calle

Make the following plural El Hotel Los Hoteles

El Hotel

Make the following plural La Vez Las Veces

La Vez

So, we know about definite articles in Spanish. How about the indefinite articles ? Maybe we should start with English!

Indefinite Articles ENGLISH Singular ‘ A’ or ‘An’ Plural ‘ Some’ SPANISH Singular ‘ Un’ or ‘Una’ Plural ‘ Unos’ or ‘Unas’

ENGLISH

Singular

‘ A’ or ‘An’

Plural

‘ Some’

SPANISH

Singular

‘ Un’ or ‘Una’

Plural

‘ Unos’ or ‘Unas’

singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas Classified by Gender and Number, Spanish Indefinite Articles look like this:

So now, instead of just being able to say ‘the door’, we should be able to say ‘a door’. La Puerta Una Puerta

La Puerta

Not only that, but know we can say ‘Some Doors’ also: La Puerta Unas Puertas [The Door] [Some] [Doors]

La Puerta

How about trying this: A Notebook Un Cuaderno

A Notebook

How about trying this: The Notebook El Cuaderno

The Notebook

And this: The Notebook s Los Cuadernos

The Notebook s

And finally: Some Notebook s Unos Cuadernos

Some Notebook s

One Final Practice The Papers A Window Some Markers A Clock The Rooms Los Papeles Una Ventana Unos Marcadores Un Reloj Los Cuarto

The Papers

A Window

Some Markers

A Clock

The Rooms

Los Papeles

Una Ventana

Unos Marcadores

Un Reloj

Los Cuarto

¿Un / una / unos / unas? amigo singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? amigo singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? hermano singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? hermano singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chico singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chico singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chica singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chica singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chicos singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chicos singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chicas singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

¿Un / una / unos / unas? chicas singular plural masculine feminine un una unos unas

fin