Introduction
This
post deals with the gender of nouns. There are some
patterns which when spotted can help us recognise the gender
of Spanish nouns. This post looks at those patterns in general. More
specifically, this post looks at the gender of Spanish nouns ending
in -a, for example “fama”.
SCENARIO
Imagine
you are talking to a relative, a friend or a colleague. Maybe you are
studying Spanish together. The other person appears to have a doubt
about the gender of a Spanish noun and says to you something like:
"tell me, is “fama” a masculine or
feminine word?".
In
Spanish, the other person could choose to be less formal and say:
Dime,
¿es “fama” masculino o femenino?
On the
other hand, he/ she could choose to be more formal and say:
Dígame,
¿es “fama” masculino o femenino?
OUR
TIP
The question is an
invitation for you to state the gender of a Spanish noun. When you
state the gender of a Spanish noun, you DO NOT need to be
concerned about the level of formality in the other person's
question.
Remember that
Spanish nouns ending in -a are usually feminine.
However, don't forget to use this rule with some caution,
because there are a some notable exceptions, i.e.: nouns ending
in -a, which are masculine -see grammar below*.
Fortunately, “fama”
is not one of the exceptions. So, with that in mind, perhaps you
could say that “fama”
is a feminine noun, e.g.:
If instead of
“fama” you were asked
about a noun whose gender you didn't know, you could say:
Now you should
practice replying to someone who says to you:
Dime,
¿es “fama” masculino o femenino?
*Please
see grammar below
Grammar-The Gender of Nouns
What follows are some tips to help you establish the gender of Spanish nouns:
A large number of Spanish nouns end in -o. Most of those nouns are masculine. Some examples of masculine nouns ending in -o:
El camino (the way)
El carro (the cart/ car)
El chopo (the poplar)
Caution: there are also feminine nouns ending in -o, e.g.:
La radio (the radio)
La mano (the hand)
La foto (the photo)
La moto (the motorbike)
A large number of Spanish nouns end in -a. Most of those nouns are feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -a are:
La casa (the house)
La dama (the lady)
La ropa (the clothes)
Caution: there are also masculine nouns anding in -a, e.g.:
Spanish nouns ending in -aje are usually masculine. Some examples of nouns in this group are:
Spanish nouns ending in -dad are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -dad are:
Spanish nouns ending in -ión are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns in ending in -ión are:
Caution: there are also masculine nouns ending in -ión, e.g.:
Spanish nouns ending in -tad are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -tad are:
Spanish nouns ending in -tud/ ud are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -tud/ ud are:
Caution: there are also masculine nouns ending in -ud, e.g.:
El alud (the avalanche)
El ataúd (the coffin)
El talud (the incline)
Spanish nouns ending in -umbre are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -umbre are:
Caution: there are also masculine nouns ending in -umbre, e.g.:
Many Spanish nouns end in -e. The gender of nouns in this group doesn't follow a specific pattern.
Some examples of feminine nouns in this group are:
La carne (the meat)
La parte (the part)
La nieve (the snow)
Spanish nouns ending in -er are usually masculine. Some examples of masculine nouns ending in -er are:
El géiser (the geyser)
El ayer (the past)
El éter (ether)
Caution: an example of a feminine noun ending in -er is:
Note
*Most Spanish words ending in -er are action words/ verbs. For example, “saber” (to know). I would like to draw your attention to the use in English of the gerund as a noun (the gerund subject/ object), in this example, knowing. Please note that in Spanish, we don't use the present participle/ gerund in such cases. In Spanish, it is the infinitive (“saber”) which is used instead. The gender of such gerund subjects/ objects in Spanish is usually masculine (“el saber”). For example: knowing is good = el saber es bueno.
Spanish nouns ending in -or are usually masculine. Some examples of masculine nouns ending in -or are:
El sudor (sweat)
El pavor (terror)
El calor* (the heat)
Caution: an example of a feminine noun ending in -or is:
Note
*The Spanish noun “calor” is sometimes used as a feminine noun. For example, some people may say: “Hace una calor insoportable”.
Spanish nouns which end in -triz* are usually feminine. Some examples of feminine nouns ending in -triz are:
Note
*Many of these are the feminine form of certain nouns ending in -or, such as actor, emperador, director, motor, etc..
Now you should practise using the gender of nouns with some examples of your own.
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