1. Nouns (Los sustantivos)
A noun is a person, place or thing. That is true but, in fact, a noun is anything we can put a name on. Therefore, even words that refer to abstract concepts such as love, life, anger, and so on, are nouns.

2. In Spanish, nouns are classified into two groups: masculine and feminine
Masculine nouns
libro
book
Normally, nouns ending in o, í, ú, ma or a consonant are masculine.
rubí
ruby
menú
menu
Of course, there are exceptions. Two are la mano and la capital.
reloj
watch
programa
show/program
papel
paper

3. Sustantivos masculinos
Masculine nouns
Sustantivos masculinos
hombre
man
In addition, nouns that denote male persons are normally masculine.
muchacho/chico
boy
profesor
professor (m)
doctor
doctor (m)

4. Sustantivos femeninos
Feminine nouns
Sustantivos femeninos
Normally, nouns ending in a, d, dad, umbre, ora, ción, or sión are feminine.
mesa
table
ciudad
city
Two exceptions are el mapa and el día.
nación
nation
profesora
teacher (f)
costumbre
custom

5. Sustantivos femeninos
Feminine nouns
Sustantivos femeninos
In addition, nouns that denote female persons are normally feminine or have a feminine form that is the counterpart of the masculine.
mujer
woman
muchacha/chica
girl
profesora
professor (f)
doctora
doctor (f)

6. nouns ending in e un coche a car una noche a night un bote a can
Some nouns that end with e are suspect, that is, they may be masculine or they may be feminine
nouns ending in e
Masculine
Feminine
un coche
a car
una noche
a night
un bote
a can
una calle
a street
un frente
a front
una frente
a forehead
un bate
a bat (baseball)
una clase
a class
un bache
a pothole
una llave
a key
When in doubt about the gender of a noun ending in e, or any noun, ask a native speaker or your teacher, or look it up in a dictionary.

7. Para concluir
masculino
femenino

8. Pluralization bonito bonitos inteligente inteligentes fácil fáciles
(La pluralización)
Generally, adjectives are pluralized just like nouns.
If an adjective ends in a vowel, we simply add s.
Singular
Plural
bonito
bonitos
inteligente
inteligentes
If an adjective ends in a consonant, we add es.
fácil
fáciles
común
comunes

9. Pluralization casa casas mamá mamás llave llaves café cafés libro
(La pluralización)
Nouns are pluralized differently in Spanish than in English.
If a noun ends in a, á, e, é, o, ó, i or u, we simply add s.
Singular
Plural
casa
casas
mamá
mamás
llave
llaves
café
cafés
libro
libros
dominó
dominós
cursi
cursis
tribu
tribus

10. Pluralization borrador borradores orden órdenes papel papeles pared
(La pluralización)
Nouns are pluralized differently in Spanish than in English.
If a noun ends in a consonant, we add es.
Singular
Plural
borrador
borradores
orden
órdenes
papel
papeles
pared
paredes
reloj
relojes
señor
señores

11. Pluralization colibrí colibrís/colibríes esquí esquís/esquíes rubí
(La pluralización)
The rare word that ends in í or ú can be pluralized by adding either s or es.
Singular
Plural
colibrí
colibrís/colibríes
esquí
esquís/esquíes
rubí
rubís/rubíes
iglú
iglús/iglúes
menú
menús/menúes
tabú
tabús/tabúes

12. Pluralization lápiz lápices luz luces feliz felices audaz audaces
(La pluralización)
When a noun or an adjective ends in z, we must change the z to c before adding es.
Singular
Plural
lápiz
lápices
nouns
luz
luces
feliz
felices
adjectives
audaz
audaces

13. If stressed on the last syllable, they are pluralized normally.
Pluralization
(La pluralización)
Polysyllabic words that end in s, and are stressed on any syllable except the last one, maintain the same form in the plural as in the singular. We show that they are plural by using the plural article.
Singular
Plural
el lunes
los lunes
el oasis
los oasis
la tesis
las tesis
If stressed on the last syllable, they are pluralized normally.
el autobús
los autobuses

14. Definite and indefinite articles
The indefinite article (un, una) refers to a non-specific item.
Es un libro.
It’s a book, any old book.
The definite article (el, la) refers to a specific item. A ! R I B
Es el libro que usamos en la clase de español.
It’s the book we use in the Spanish class.

15. Definite and indefinite articles
The indefinite article (un, una) refers to a non-specific item.
Es una silla.
It’s a chair, any old chair.
The definite article (el, la) refers to a specific item.
Es la silla que usamos en la clase de español.
It’s the chair we use in the Spanish class.

16. Definite and indefinite articles
The plural indefinite article (unos, unas) can be translated as “some” or “a few.”
Hay unos libros en la sala de clase.
There are a few books in the classroom.
Hay unas sillas también.
There are some chairs, too.

17. Definite and indefinite articles
The plural definite article (los, las), just like the singular, refers to specific things. A ! R I B
Son los libros para la clase de español.
They’re the books for the Spanish class.
Son las sillas para los estudiantes.
They’re the chairs for the students.

18. Summary of definite and indefinite articles
The masculine indefinite articles are: un
a, an
un libro = a book
unos
some, a few
unos libros = some books
The masculine definite articles are: el
the
el libro = the book
los
the (English has no plural form for the)
los libros = the books

19. Summary of definite and indefinite articles
The feminine indefinite articles are:
una
a, an
una silla = a chair
unas
some, a few
unas sillas = some chairs
The feminine definite articles are: la
the
la silla = the chair
las
the
las sillas = the chairs

20. FIN