Gender of nouns
1. Most nouns that end in –o are masculine while most nouns that end in –a are feminine.
Masculine Feminine
El perro La gatita
El gato La jirafa
Gender of nouns
2. Many nouns that refer to male beings end in –o or –or. The feminine counterparts are –a and –ora.
Masculine Feminine
El chico La chica
El profesor La profesora
Gender of nouns
3. Nouns that refer to people and end in –e or –ista are masculine and feminine. Gender can be specified by articles.
Masculine Feminine
El artista La artista
El estudiante La estudiante
Gender of nouns
4. Nouns ending in –ión, –dad, and –tad are usually feminine.
La lección
La comunidad
La libertad
5. Nouns that end in –ma or –s are usually masculine.
El clima
El problema
El programa
El autobús
El país
Gender of nouns
6. Nouns ending in –e (that do not refer to people) may be masculine or feminine. You will have to learn these on a case by case basis.
Masculine Feminine
El elefante La serpiente
El arte La clase
Gender of nouns
Let’s practice. Which of these nouns are masculine? feminine? _____ zanahoria _____ abuelo _____ regla _____ falda _____ horario
Plural of nouns
1. If a noun ends in a vowel, add –s to form the plural.
Singular Plural
La jirafa Las jirafas
El perro Los perros
El elefante Los elefantes
Plural of nouns
2. If a noun ends in a consonant, add –es to form the plural.
Singular Plural
La actividad Las actividades
El autobús Los autobuses
Plural of nouns
3. If a noun ends in –z, change the –z to –c, then add –es.
Singular Plural
El lápiz Los lápices
Plural of nouns
4. You use the masculine plural form of the noun to refer to a group that includes both males and females.
2 chicos+ 2 chicas= 4 chicos
Plural of nouns
Let’s practice. Can you say these nouns in the plural form? Galleta Papel Muchacho Noche Nariz 2 pasajeros+ 4 pasajeras= ?
Definite articles
There are four definite articles in Spanish.
Use the definite articles to talk about specific nouns.
Each of these articles means “the.”
Definite articles
Let’s practice. Write the definite articles next to the nouns. _______ pizarra _______ hermanos _______ tío _______ camisetas _______ queso _______ abuela
Indefinite articles
There are four indefinite articles in Spanish
Use indefinite articles to refer to unspecified people or things.
Un and una can mean “a” or “an. ”
Unos and unas can mean “some” or “a few.”