Gender of Nouns

Don’t Forget: A noun is a person, place, thing, or idea In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. Masculine Nouns Feminine Nouns el libro la puerta el escritorio la cama el colegio la tarea

English vs. Spanish 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 on whether they are male or female. Masculine Feminine boy girl grandfather grandmother tiger tigress uncle aunt

English vs. Spanish (cont.) Certain nouns that denote living things have both a masculine and feminine form in Spanish. Masculine Feminine el gato---- male cat la gata---- female cat el abuelo--- grandfather la abuela--- grandmother el padre-- father la madre--- mother el chico--- boy la chica--- girl

How are these masculine nouns alike? el gato el abuelo el cuaderno el libro el coche el armario What does “el” mean?

How are these feminine nouns alike? la abuela la puerta la calculadora la ventana la tarea la chica What does “la” mean?

Masculine vs. Feminine 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!

Don’t try this at home… or ever! You can’t predict the gender of a noun, except in the case of living creatures. Do not try to analyze the nature of an object to look for masculine or feminine qualities! IT WON’T WORK! Dress is a masculine word in Spanish--- el vestido Necktie is a feminine word in Spanish--- la corbata

But how can I tell if a noun is masculine or feminine? When you learn a new noun, you MUST memorize its definite article (el or la).

But whyyyyyy? (said in a really whiny tone) Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns. Because not every noun that ends in an –o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in an –a is feminine. Because many nouns end in letters other than –a and –o. Because the definite article is your clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

But why should I care? Good question! As you will see in upcoming lessons, Spanish grammar places a great deal of emphasis on gender.