If you know your endings and what gender they fall into, the onlyexception to keep in mind is when the word refers to a person, an animal or an occupation because the person or animal will determine the gender of the word. What does the root Manus mean? In Spanish nationalities are expressed through origin adjectives (known as gentilicios in Spanish). But then you find out that its la foto, not el foto. A noun is a word used to denominate a person, thing, place or concept. Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions, how to tell if a word is masculine or feminine in spanish, what is the difference between masculine and feminine in spanish, 35 Vegetables Translated to Spanish | The Ultimate Master List, Demonstrative Adjectives: This, That, These, and Those Get Them Right. Youre more likely to hearel gato when someone is talking about a generic cat, for example. As established before, when it comes to people, you can usually form the Spanish gender by changing the -o for an -a. This is a feminine word because it is a short form of the longer word, la motocicleta. Mis perros son muy tranquilos. Feminine or masculine? So, you would have to establish if that friend is a male or a female to determine which article to use. The same thing in the other direction the rules say it should be el, but the word is actually la. If a color is working as a Spanish adjective, it will need to change its gender to agree with the noun unless such a color ends with a consonant or -e. However, things start getting tricky when determining the gender of objects and concepts. On your particular example of a dropdown menu with the names of languages, you don't have to worry because there is only one name for (the language) Spanish: espaol, masculine. To do so, youll use Spanish articles, adjectives, or pronouns. Grammatical gender is a property of Spanish nouns. In those cases, if we want to specify the sex, we need to add macho (male) or hembra (female): Finally, a word can change its meaning according to its ending. As explained before, a big portion of masculine words in Spanish end with an -o. Learn about masculine and feminine nouns in Spanish. He studied English literature and linguistics at New York University, but spent most of his time in college working for the student paper. All nouns in Spanish have a gender, and are either feminine or masculine. This couch is very comfortable. In these cases, we use. Theres a cold front in the city. Sugared water is bad for your health. Why is a car masculine but a house feminine? Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article. In the following sections, well explore some of Spanishs most important rules for feminine and masculine nouns. For example, we usually say la moto for motorcycle, which ends in an -o. Nouns that end in -ma are masculine, such as the word problema (problem), Nouns that end in -pa, like the word mapa (map), are also masculine. Dont worry! This means that most Spanish adjectives will change their gender to match the noun. To keep the sentence consistent, adjectives, articles, and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. These nouns keep the same spelling, regardless of gender a fact that cuts down the number of words you have to memorize to speak and write Spanish like a native. Recuerdas aquella vez que estuvimos de vacaciones en Vermont? In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. One of the first things that Spanish students learn is that most Spanish nouns that end in -o are masculine and most that end in -a are feminine. Exceptions: la mano, la radio, la moto, la foto. These adjectives are derived from the name of that place. I feel like its a lifeline. The grammatical gender is an arbitrary classification that divides nouns into two types: masculines or feminines. The food was delicious. Sometimes we have a different word for each sex: Just the same as what happens with people, sometimes we have different words for each sex: Many words have an only form, masculine or feminine: El tiburn, el cocodrilo, el dinosaurio, el pulpo, etc. Let's look at the word persona (person) to help explain this idea. Instead of learning: libro = book, try committing to memory: EL libro = The book. When we have 2 or more nouns with different genre (one is masculine and the other one is feminine), and there is 1 adjective used to describe both of them, the genre of this adjective will be masculine. They have a master's degrees in English from Southeast Missouri State University and a master's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Missouri Columbia. " El nio es bonito y gordo ". Make sure you pay attention to the exceptions column. Although its not really incorrect to use the feminine form, its less common. Be careful since you may fall into a trap of gender thinking. Tell Me In Spanish (tellmeinspanish.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. . All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. Shopping! Our tutors at Fluenz Spanish Immersion like to explain the noun gender in this way: Think of the article almost as part of the word. Please check your email and click the link to confirm your subscription - gracias! Hay cien sillas disponibles. With these nouns in singular, the indefinite article (un/una) is masculine, too: un aula, un guila, etc. Thats why agua, a feminine noun, in singular is el agua. Create an account to start this course today. Nouns that end with -ma, -pa, -ta, or any of the letters in the word LONERS are usually masculine. Masculine Nouns Here are some of the letters that we usually see at the end of masculine words. Los delfines son adorables. Yet if you are referring to a person or occupation this is what happens: EL espa = The spy (if the spy is a man) LA espa = The spy (if the spy is a woman. Lesson outline 1. In Spanish, the following nouns are always masculine: (Determiner] +[noun] + [verb conjugated] + [complement]. The journalist works all day. The balcony is very big. The last three of them are actually abbreviations of feminine compound words: la radiofona, la motocicleta, la fotografa. Nouns ending with -aje are usually masculine: el masaje, el garaje, el paisaje, el pasaje, el peaje, etc. Venir is an irregular verb in Spanish. It's time to Get to Grips with Spanish. Dialogues in Spanish - English on 123dialogues channel: https://www.youtube.com/123dialogues Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/youstudyspanishBlog: http://y. Which brings us to the only exception to these rules! Words ending in -ed (if the stress falls on this syllable). However, there are certain words whose endings are unalterable. One other common word that ends in -a but that is masculine is the word el da (day). While some exceptions (like la mano) are just exceptions, many words that seemingly end in -o are actually shortenings of other words. FR8 En Ville - Location Sort - Masculine/Feminine Group sort. Next year I am going to vacation in Europe. Reading comprehension. Spanish gender is a complex topic. #RAEconsultas Although vacaciones is the majority use, the singular vacacin is also correct: la vacacin veraniega (P. Lan Entralgo). So, well cover those exceptions below, too. (Administration) vacancy vacances plural feminine noun holidays pluriel (Brit) holiday (Brit) vacation (USA) les grandes vacances the summer holidays (Brit) the summer vacation (USA) prendre des vacances to take a holiday (Brit) to take a vacation (USA) prendre ses vacances to take one's holidays (Brit) to take one's vacation (USA) Tu casa es grande y bonita. La botella de Suzy est vaca. La sangre - the blood. Here there are some examples: El cuento (tale) La cuenta (account, sum). Several Spanish nouns have a masculine and a feminine form, for example, hijo - son and hija - daughter.Another example is mdico - male doctor and mdica - female doctor.. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors. El mecnico trabaja todos los das. For those who are serious about their Spanish, there is nothing like the entire Fluenz journey including our digital App, the face-to-face Online Immersion, and the six-day experiences in Mexico City, Barcelona, or Oaxaca. While most nouns that end with a particular consonant or vowel are generally classified as either masculine or feminine, nouns that end with z do not follow a guideline. Colors are always masculine, even if they end with -a: el rojo, el negro, el azul, el naranja, el prpura, etc. The pink t-shirt is too big. I hope you find what youre looking here during your journey into Espaol Read More About Me, Venir Conjugation 101: Conjugate Venir In Spanish. Languages are masculine: el espaol, el ingls, el portugus, el mandarn, el ruso, etc. That said, we need to get something out of the way before diving into the rules for gender in Spanish. (Check out this link to learn how to use articles in Spanish). and an adjective (hungry, thirsty,. Exceptions to that rule are la crema and la yema, which come from French and Latin respectively. Me encanta el salmn ahumado. We only say "el agua" only because it's smoother to pronounce than "la aqua." Period. This power point explains how Spanish nouns, articles and adjectives have gender and number. Those singers are Spanish. ). La familia se fue de vacaciones a Mjico. La noche - the night. There are some nouns that end in a, but they are not feminine, but masculine: And vice versa, some nouns that end in -o are feminine: When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, its feminine form ends in a (We just have to had an a after that last consonant). That color is pretty. Helpful, right? Talking about people, especially family members, often includes referring to gender. While this is actually true for a lot of words, there are so many exceptions to this rule that it often becomes more of a problem than a solution. Because all the nouns that end with -in are feminine words in Spanish. "Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions." Collins Complete Spanish Electronic Dictionary HarperCollins Publishers 2011. Luca tiene cualidades muy buenas. Youll find a few Spanish singular feminine words that end with -a that are preceded by a masculine article. All of the nouns ending with -o are usually masculine: el bolgrafo, el dinero, el edificio, el vaso, etc. Here we will explain the rules, and then the 3 categories of exceptions: Below are a number of words you would think should be la according to the rules above, but they are el, as they are exceptions to the el/la rules. La juez es muy puntual. A noun is a word referring to a person, animal, place, thing, feeling or idea (e.g. El Amazonas es el ro ms largo del mundo. (2020,May 08 ). Also see my lesson on the stressed A, which causes feminine nouns to take the masculine article. The light is quite bright. There are some rules to determine if a noun is masculine of feminine. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female. coming up later. el gato male cat But that has changed with time, and thus we end up with rules that are blurry which do not help when those starting to learn Spanish. This semester is really tough. My cousins design is not finished. Not bad, huh? The problem is that I dont have time. But, sometimes a word is a shorter forms of a longer word, like moto or radio. Therefore, you simply need to memorize the gender of words that end with z. Here's what's included: Get conjugations, examples, and pronunciations for millions of words and phrases in Spanish and English. During the day Im a freelancer and online marketer, while at night Im here writing for students of the world wide web looking to learn Spanish. Soy Daniela Sanchez, Ive taught Spanish in Mexico to a wide array of foreigners. We say EL agua frA (The cold water). Nouns in Spanish can be either feminine or masculine, and this distinction can often seem illogical to people who don't speak Spanish. This means that every word for a person, place, thing or idea is either masculine or feminine. For these nouns, all you have to do is change the definite article to reflect whether the person in question is male or female. Also, in plural they keep the feminine definite article (las), because the S avoids the cacophony: las aguas. You may have come across this strange exception before where the masculine article el is used for a feminine word. La foto, can actually shed some light into one of the rules for feminine words. Possible excuses include hospitalization. Tengo una pluma extra. 2. Example 1: We said all words ending in -a are feminine. Some examples include: These rules can help you most of the time to determine if the noun is masculine, but they won't always work. Les gusta irse de vacaciones a las Bahamas. NOTE: The masculine gender has been used for brevity and includes the feminine gender. My dogs are very quiet. So, if you put a . What gender is the sea in your mind? (= Is the water cold or lukewarm?). When working as adjectives, numbers have to agree in gender and number with the noun they are modifying. Making educational experiences better for everyone. La disco is short for la discoteca, andla foto is short forla fotografa. Lingua Linkup, May. The mechanic works every day. Well break it down into three basic groups. Nouns ending in o are usually masculine, and nouns ending in a are usually feminine. Colors are ADJECTIVES. Remember that nouns that end with z do not follow a default gender guideline. They wish that they were in love now. *People, animals and occupations have their own set of rules. From students and tourists to doctors and soldiers whove moved and visited here over the years. When My Masculine Met My Feminine | Tijana Tamburic | TEDxBucharest Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. I need a vacation from my family after the reunion. Fluenz Fluenz Blog Learn Spanish Basic Spanish El or La? 4. Here are two articles that help shed some light on the subject: Puzzle Solved: Why nouns in Spanish are feminine and masculine, The Ultimate Tip-Sheet to Articles in Spanish: (El vs. La, Un vs. Una), Your email address will not be published. One warning, though: the S in LONERS refers to nouns that are singular, like el mes. Here's what's included: Get conjugations, examples, and pronunciations for millions of words and phrases in Spanish and English. The two most basic rules about gender are based on the last letter of the noun: A word that ends in -o is masculine, and a word that ends in -a is feminine. Over time we've worked to perfect every minute of every learning session. Spanish Survival Kit: Asking for Directions [2022]. For example: Subscribe for free weekly updates from this Spanish Language site. Nuestro coche est sucio. Just think of the Spanish word for problem: el problema! Los dentistas estn muy jvenes. Some examples are hijo (son), zapato (shoe) and mono (monkey). You will need to memorize rule-breaking words like la mano (hand) and el d'ia (day). (university) (United Kingdom) a. la vacaciones (F) to take a vacation tomarse unas vacaciones intransitive verb 2. by Kcastonguay. Do you want to practice your Spanish? Which is why it uses the article las which correctly matches the nouns gender.