Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

Lesson 4
NOUNS

Gender1

The classic definition of a noun is a word that is the name of something such as “a person,
animal, place, thing, quality or idea.” The English word noun and its Spanish equivalent un
nombre both come from the Latin word nomen, meaning "name." So, a noun is something
concrete or abstract that can be named, and that can be the subject of a verb, the object of a
verb, or the object of a preposition.
In Spanish, all nouns have a gender: they are either masculine or feminine, regardless of
whether they are animate or inanimate objects. A number of factors can determine the gender
of a noun, such as its meaning, its origin or its ending. Whether you learn a noun in Spanish you
will have to learn its gender as well. A noun’s gender can often be determined according to the
following guidelines:
 Nouns ending in –aje, -o, or –or are usually masculine (el traje, suit, el libro, book, el
sabor, flavor) with some exemptions (la mano, hand, la foto, photo, la labor, labor, etc.).

 Nouns ending in –a, -dad, -ion, -tud, or –umbre are usually feminine (la alfombra,
carpet, la capacidad, capacity, ability, la excepcion, exception, la juventud, youth, la
certidumbre, certainty. Exceptions include: el dia, el mapa, and many learned borrowing
ending in –ma (el edioma, language, el tema, theme.

Masculine Feminine
-aje -a
-o -dad
Nouns ending in
-or -Ion
-tud
-umbre

Most nouns referring to people or animals agree in gender with the subject (el
hombre, man, la mujer, woman; el hermano, brother, la hermana, sister; el perro, la perra).
However, some nouns referring to people, including those ending in –ista, use the same form
for both sexes (el artista, la artista; el modelo, la modelo).

A few names of animals exist in only one gender form (la jirafa, giraffe, el sapo, toad,
etc.). In these instances, the adjectives macho, male, and hembra, femalae are sometimes used
to distinguish males and females (una jirafa macho, a male giraffe).

1
A subclass within a grammatical class (such as noun, pronoun, adjective, or verb) of a language that is partly
arbitrary but also partly based on distinguishable characteristics (such as shape, social rank, manner of existence,
or sex) and that determines agreement with and selection of other words or grammatical forms.

1
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

6 Ways in Which the Rule Is Broken2

 Words that are shortened versions of other words.

For example, la foto, photograph, is feminine because it's short for la fotografía.
 Words that end in -ista as the equivalent of the English "-ist."
For example, dentist, dentist, can be either masculine or feminine depending on
whether the dentist referred to is a man or woman. A few words with other endings,
such as modelo, model, for a human model, are treated the same way.
 Words whose meanings vary depending on the gender. For example, un cometa is a
comet, but una cometa is a kite.
 Some masculine words that come from Greek and end in -a (often -ma). Most of these
words have English cognates.
 A few compound nouns, which are traditionally masculine, even when the noun portion
comes from a feminine noun.
 Words that are just exceptions, such as mano, hand, and día, day. Usually these
exceptions come from the way the words were treated in Latin.
Now, here are the most common words violating the a/o rule, although there are dozens of
others:

el aroma, aroma
el Canadá, Canada
el clima, climate
el cólera, cholera (but la cólera, anger)
el cometa, comet (but la cometa, kite)
el cura, male priest (but la cura, cure or female priest)
el día, day
el diagram, diagram
el dilemma, dilemma
el diploma, diploma
la disco, disco (short for la discoteca)
el drama, drama
el enigma, enigma
el esquema, outline, diagram
la foto, photo (short for la fotografía)
el guardia, policeman or male guard (but la guardia, vigilance, policewoman or female guard)
el guardabrisa, windshield
el guardarropa, clothing closet
el guía, male guide (but la guía, guidebook or female guide)
el idioma, language
el idiota, male idiot (but la idiota, female idiot)
el indígena, indigenous male (but la indígena, indigenous female)

2
https://www.thoughtco.com/words-that-break-the-gender-rule-3078133

2
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

la mano, hand
el mañana, near future (but la mañana, tomorrow or morning)
el mapa, map
la modelo, female model (but el modelo, male model or various types on inanimate models)
el morfema, morpheme
la moto, motorcycle (short for la motocicleta)
la nao, ship
el panorama, panorama, outlook
el papa, pope (but la papa, potato)
el planeta, planet
el plasma, plasma
el poema, poem
el policía, policeman (but la policía, police force or policewoman)
el problema, problem
el programa, program
el quechua, Quechua language
la radio, radio (short for la radiodifusión; but el radio, radius or radium; usage of the feminine
form depends on the region)
la reo, female criminal (but el reo, male criminal)
el reuma, el reúma, rheumatism
el síntoma, symptom, sign
el Sistema, system
el sofa, sofa
la soprano, female soprano (but el soprano, male soprano)
el tanga, G-string
el telegram, telegram
el tema, theme, subject
el teorema, theorem
el tequila, tequila (short for el licor de Tequila)
la testigo, female witness (but el testigo, male witness)
el tranvía, streetcar

Gender for Names of Occupations and Other Roles

Most words that refer to people's jobs or roles, many ending in -ista or -eta, that can be either
masculine or feminine are not listed above. Most have English cognates. Among the abundance
of words that fit that category are:

el/la atleta, athlete

el/la artista, artist
el/la astronauta, astronaut
el/la dentista, dentist
el/la derechista, rightist or right-winger
el/la comentarista, commentator
el/la flebotomista, phlebotomist

3
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

el/la izquierdista, leftist or left-winger

el/la oficinista, office worker
el/la poeta, poet
el/la profeta, prophet
el/la turista, tourist

EXERCISES
Identify the gender of word, and write your answer on the space provided. Write M if it is
masculine, and write F if it is feminine.
__________ 1. El papel __________ 6. El diario
__________ 2. La mesa __________ 7. La palabra
__________ 3. El jardin __________ 8. El problema
__________ 4. La playa __________ 9. El pais
__________ 5. El chico __________ 10. El profesor

Pluralization3

Plurals of Spanish nouns are formed as follows:

 Nouns ending in an unstressed vowel or an accented –ć are pluralized by adding –s (la
vaca, las vacas; el café, los cafés).
 Nouns ending in a consonant other than –s, or in a stressed vowel other than –é are
generally pluralized by adding –es (el papel, los papeles; el rubi, ruby, los rubies).
Exceptions include papá (papás) and mama (mamas).
 Nouns with unstressed final syllable ending in –s usually have a zero plural (la crisis, las
crisis; el jueves, los jueves). Other nouns ending in –s add –es to form the plural (el
mes, month, los meses; el pais, country, los paises).
 Nouns ending in –z are pluralized by changing the –z to –c and adding –es (el lapis, los
lapices; la vez,time, las veces).
 Many compound nouns have zero a plural (el paraguas,, umbrella, los paraguas)

EXERCISES
Provide a plural form for each noun.
1. El chico _______________ 6. el pais _______________
2. La chica _______________ 7. Elprofesor _______________
3. EL diario _______________ 8. el lapis _______________
4. La palabra _______________ 9. la montana _______________
5. El problema _______________ 10. el sombrero _______________

3
To make PLURAL or express in the plural form.

4
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

Vocabularies

agua, water
pan, bread
doctor, doctor
maestra, teacher
baňo, bathroom
cama, bed
semana, week
hora, hour
aňo, year
segundo, second
minuto, minute
madre, mother
esposa, wife
esposo, husband
father, father
hija, daughter
hijo, son
amigo, friend
televisión, TV
ventilador, fan
lavadora, washing machine
cuenta, account
contraseña, password
archivo, file
wifi, wifi
tablet, tablet
avión, plane
tren, train
bicicleta, bike
autobús, bus
parada, bus stop
carretera, road
taxi, taxi
tenedor, fork
cuchara, spoon

adios, goodbye
aquí, here
bien gracias, fine thanks
buenas tardes good afternoon/good evening
bueno pues… well then…
casado married

5
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

cenar to have supper/dinner (evening meal)

colegio school (m)
compra (f) shopping
coro (m) choir
cuando queráis whenever you like
de oferta on offer
deberes (m) homework (always plural)
dentista (m/f) dentist
dulce sweet
entonces then
están they are
gracias thank you
grandes almacenes department stores
hago I do/ I am doing
hasta luego see you later/goodbye
hola hello, hi

instituto (m) secondary school

los hemos vendido todos we have sold them all

manzana (f) apple

melon melon (m)

muy very

naranja (f) orange

noche (f) night

otro another

pequeño small

Qué haces…? What are you doing…?

Que tal? How’s things?

quiero I want

salir to go out

separado separated

6
Foreign Language Class– SPANISH

si yes

solo only

son they are

tambien also

tenemos (que)we have (to)

tienen…? do you have…?

Note: In the dialogue there are some expressions that do not have a lot of meaning in
themselves, they are just used in colloquial Spanish as ‘discourse markers’. They are:

bueno Ok
oye attracts attentions, emphasizes what comes next
pues allows you to think what to say next; also means ‘OK, then, in that case’, used in
order to acknowledge the last thing said and then move on
venga signals you want to bring the conversation to an end
vale OK