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| Definite articles | |
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Nouns |
Nouns refer to people, animals, places, and things. In Spanish, all nouns have gender even those referring to nonliving things. They are either masculine or feminine (gender). When learning new nouns, always learn the definite article that goes with the noun. These will be given with the noun in all vocabulary lists. |
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Spanish Nouns Gender |
Spanish nouns have gender even those referring to nonliving things. They are either masculine or feminine (gender). These will be given with the noun in all vocabulary lists. Nouns for people have natural gender, i.e. they are masculine or feminine based on the sex of the person. Other nouns have gender based on their endings. Masculine nouns frequently end in -o, while feminine nouns frequently end in -a. Still other nouns have geder that must be memorized. The gender of nouns is very important in Spanish, since their articles and adjectives must be in the same gender. |
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Spanish Nouns Number |
Spanish nouns, like English nouns can be singular or plural. Singular nouns name one of something. Plural nouns refer to more than one of something. Spanish nouns that end in a vowel add -s to form the plural. If the noun ends in a consonant you add -es to make it plural. |
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Definite articles |
El
and la are called
definite articles. They are the equivalent of the
in English. Definite articles indicate a
specific singular noun. i.e. "The
book is on the table." (the specific book). Not
just any book, but a specific, definite book. Use
el
with masculine, singular nouns. Use la
with feminine, singular nouns. When learning
new nouns, always learn the definite article that
goes with the noun so you will know the gender of the noun.
Use definite articles to talk about a noun as a general category or when saying what you like with gustar. |
| Singular | Plural | |
| Masculine |
el el libro (the book) |
los los libros (the books) |
| Feminine |
la la mochila (the backpack) |
las las mochilas (the backpacks) |
| Most nouns that end in -o are usually masculine and use the definite article el in the singular. | |||||||||||||||||
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| Most nouns that end in -a are usually feminine and use the definite article la in the singular. | |||||||||||||||||
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Most nouns that end in -o are usually masculine and use the definite article los in the plural. |
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| Most nouns that end in -a are usually feminine and use the definite article las in the plural. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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