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A look at nouns that can take either masculine or feminine endings (o, or a). Nouns that have the same meaning but which are spelt differently depending on gender (el actor or la actriz – actor or actress) and nouns that are spelt in the same way but which change meaning depending on the gender of the article that is used with the noun (el papa or la papa – the Pope or potato). |
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A look at certain nouns that change gender in their plural forms (el ala or las alas – wing or wings). Nouns that change gender but not meaning depending on the article that is used with the noun (el jovén or la jovén – young man or young woman). |
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Making singular nouns plural. |
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Looking at how altering or adding to the endings of nouns can give the noun added meaning (cervezita – small beer). These are known as derived nouns. |
| What you can learn from this lesson | |
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Understanding how the gender of a noun is often dictated by the physical gender of the noun itself (living things). |
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Appreciating that the gender of certain nouns is not always fixed. Knowing which group of nouns change gender depending on whether a singular or plural form is used. |
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Understanding that some nouns which are spelt in the same way can have different meanings. Understanding how the article that is used with the noun is what affects gender. |
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Appreciating that in some rare situations some nouns can take either a masculine or feminine form even when there is no change in spelling or meaning of the noun itself what-so-ever. |
Affiliates |
POWER GLIDE SPANISH |
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ROCKET SPANISH |
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PART 1
The first part of this lesson looks at nouns that can be both masculine and feminine but which take different endings (very often o or a). It also looks at different nouns for male and female people or animals and nouns which change gender and meaning but which maintain the same spelling.
Changing the ending of a noun to make
it masculine or feminine
These types of nouns are very common. The following are some examples:
Nouns referring to animals. (If gender is unknown always use the masculine form.)
| masculine noun | feminine noun | |
| cat | el gato | la gata |
| bear | el oso | la osa |
| dog | el perro | la perra |
| monkey | el mono | la mona |
Nouns referring to people.
| masculine noun | feminine noun | |
| friend | el amigo | la amiga |
| solicitor | el abogado | la abogada |
| chef | el cocinero | la cocinera |
| brother / sister | el hermano | la hermana |
| Frenchman / Frenchwoman | el francés | la francesa |
| salesman / saleswoman | el vendedor | la vendedora |
Things to note:
1) Many masculine nouns end in o and many feminine nouns of the same type end in a.
2)
If a masculine noun ends in a
consonant the feminine form is usually derived simply by adding a.
Nouns for animals and people that take
different articles and different spellings.
Nouns referring to animals.
| masculine noun | feminine noun | |
| bull or cow | el toro | la vaca |
| horse or mare | el caballo | la yegua |
Nouns referring to people
| masculine noun | feminine noun | |
| man or woman | el hombre | la mujer |
| gentleman or lady | el caballero | la dama |
| king or queen | el rey | la reina |
Nouns that are spelt in the same way
but where the meaning of the noun changes depending on the article that is used
with the noun
This group of nouns is not that common but the following are some of the most common examples.
| masculine noun | feminine noun | masculine noun |
| el papa (the Pope) | la papa (potato) | el papá |
| el capital (capital - money) | la capital (capital - city) | |
| el cometa (comet) | la cometa (kite) | |
| el cura (priest) | la cura (cure) | |
| el policía (policeman / woman) | la policía |
PART 2
This part of the lesson looks at Spanish nouns that change gender depending on whether they take singular or plural forms. It also looks at nouns that change gender depending on the article that is used with the noun but where the meaning of the noun remains the same.
Nouns that are masculine in the singular and feminine in the plural
The following is a list of nouns that change gender from masculine to feminine when they change from singular to plural. All these nouns strictly speaking are actually feminine in both forms. The reason why they take a masculine article is because each noun begins with an 'a' sound and the article la before each noun in the singular does not sound correct. (The masculine indefinite article un is also used with these types of nouns instead of una for the same reasons.)
| singular form | plural form | translation |
| el águila | las águilas | eagle / eagles |
| el área | las áreas | area / areas |
| el hacha | las hachas | axe / axes |
| el ala | las alas | wing / wings |
| el aula | las aulas | cage / classroom cages / classrooms |
| el alma | las almas | soul / souls |
Things to note:
1) Each noun takes a masculine article in its singular form and a feminine article in its plural form.
2) Each noun ends in a. Normally nouns ending in a are feminine.
3) Each noun begins with an 'a' or an 'a' sounding syllable.
On very rare occasions certain nouns can take either a masculine or feminine form in both the singular and plural.
| el mar | the sea | OR |
la mar | the sea |
| los mares | the seas | OR |
las mares | the seas |
In this particular case la mar is often used more in poetry or literature and el mar is used more commonly in everyday conversation.
Nouns where the article changes but not the spelling of the noun
The following is a list of nouns that are spelt in the same way and mean the same thing but change gender depending on the article that they are used with.
| el joven | young man | la joven | young woman |
| el estudiante | male student | la estudiante | female student |
| el artista | male artist | la artista | female artist |
Some nouns take only one gender but refer to both masculine and feminine.
| la persona | male and female person |
| el animal | male and female animal |
| la víctima | male and female victim |
| el cantante | male and female singer |
Lots of nouns referring to animals take only one gender but refer to both masculine and feminine. This is also very common practice in English.
| la rata | male and female rat |
| el tigre | male and female tiger |
| la ballena | male and female whale |
PART 3
The third part of this lesson looks at how plural nouns are formed. The majority of plural nouns can be formed by following a set of simple formation guidelines. These guidelines cannot be relied on 100% but they can be used in nearly all cases.
Nouns ending in a vowel a, e, i, o and u that which don’t take accent marks (tildes)
Add s to the end of the noun.
| singular | singular | plural | plural |
| la mesa | table | las mesas | tables |
| el vaso | glass | los vasos | glasses |
| el garaje | garage | los garajes | garages |
Note: If the noun ends in a vowel and takes an accent mark (tilde), then sometimes s is added to the end of the noun and sometimes es. The accent mark (tilde), is maintained in these cases.
| singular | singular | plural | plural |
| el sofá | sofa | los sofás | sofas |
| el maní | peanut | los maníes | peanuts |
Nouns ending in a consonant (any letter
that is not a vowel)
Add es to the end of the noun.
| singular | singular | plural | plural |
| el pintor | painter | los pintores | painters |
| el pezón | nipple | los pezones | nipples |
| el autobús | bus | los autobuses | buses |
| la mansión | mansion | las mansiones | mansions |
| el crimen | crime | los crímenes | crimes |
| el examen | exam | los exámenes | exams |
Things to note:
1)
All nouns ending in a consonant
have es added to the end of them.
2) If a noun ends in en and has more than one syllable and doesn’t have an accent mark (tilde), then one should be added in the plural form.
3) If a noun ends in either n or s and an accented vowel then the accent mark (tilde), should be dropped in the plural.
Nouns ending in z
Drop the z and add ces.
| singular | singular | plural | plural |
| la luz | light | las | luces |
| el lápiz | pencil | los lápices | pencils |
| la vez | time | las veces | times |
Nouns already ending in s
Make no changes to the ending of the verb.
| singular | singular | plural | plural |
| el parabrisas | windscreen | los parabrisas | windscreens |
| el viernes | Friday | los viernes | Fridays |
| el arco iris | rainbow | los arco iris | rainbows |
PART 4
The final part of the lesson looks at derived nouns. These are nouns whose endings have been altered in some way to change the meaning of the noun. There are various different types of derived nouns. In this lesson we will look at two of the most common types.
1) Making nouns sound smaller or more
cute
The most common way of achieving this is by adding -ito or -ita to the end of a noun. If the noun ends in a vowel the vowel is usually removed first. This is by far the most common type of derived noun.
| normal noun | normal noun | derived noun | derived noun |
| la hermana | sister | la hermanita | little sister |
| la cena | dinner | la cenita | a small dinner |
| la mesa | table | la mesita | small table |
| el amor | love | el amorcito | love in a much more cute way |
| el perro | dog | el perrito | little dog |
| la propina | tip | la propinita | a small tip |
Things to note:
1) Almost any noun can be formed in this way.
2) Masculine nouns end in -ito and feminine nouns end in -ita.
3)
Other ways of making things sound
smaller or cuter include adding -uelo or illa/o to the end of nouns. These methods are much less
common.
The most common way of achieving this is by adding ón to the end of the noun. If the noun ends in a vowel the vowel is usually removed first.
| normal noun | normal noun | derived noun | derived noun |
| la cuchara | spoon | el cucharón | ladle |
| la tabla | plank | el tablón | a bigger plank |
| el monte | mountain | el montón | a heap / pile |
| la rata | rat | el ratón | mouse |
| la jarra | jug | el jarrón | vase |
Things to note:
1) Not all nouns can be formed in this way.
2) The meanings of some nouns that are formed in this way change.
3) Derived nouns formed in this way are masculine even if the original noun was feminine.
4) Some adjectives are also formed in the same way as these types of derived nouns. (la cabeza - head / cabezón - big headed.)
That concludes this lesson on nouns part 2. If you have not
done so already watch the actual video for this lesson and then try one of the
associated quizzes to test your understanding.
