Ch 2 · Lesson 15Spanish · Chapter 2 · Lesson 15 · Grammar primer
Noun gender: el or la
Every noun is masculine or feminine: learn it with its article, and bet on -o for and -a for .
The short version
Gender belongs to the word, not the thing
,
Why?Hide
A house is not feminine in any real sense: the word is filed as feminine. So there is nothing to work out, only to store. Learn and , never bare . Then bet on the ending, because -o nouns are masculine and -a nouns feminine well over nine times in ten.
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and the ending gives it away far more often than learners fear: (the book) is masculine, (the house) feminine. One rule, a few endings and one short exception list cover almost everything a beginner meets.
| Ending | Gender | Example | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| -o | masculine | | the book |
| -a | feminine | | the house |
| -ción, -sión | feminine | | the song |
| -dad, -tad, -tud | feminine | | the truth |
| -ma (Greek) | masculine | | the problem |
| exceptions | learn them | , | day, hand |
What gender actually is
Gender is a filing system for words, not a description of things. A house is not feminine in any real sense; the word is filed as feminine, and the article shows the file.
There is no logic to find for objects, which is good news: nothing needs understanding, only storing. Store each noun with its article welded on, rather than , and the gender comes free every time you use the word.
The baseline rule: -o masculine, -a feminine
Nouns ending in -o are masculine and nouns ending in -a are feminine, well over nine times in ten, and more often still among common words.
| Spanish | English | Gender |
|---|---|---|
| the year | masculine |
| the time | masculine |
| the thing | feminine |
| life | feminine |
When you meet a new noun in -o or -a and nobody says otherwise, bet on the rule:
.- It's a good year..- It's a good thing.
Nouns ending in -e or another consonant give no clue: (the car) but (the night). Learn those with the article.
Going further: The near-certain feminine endings and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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9-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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Lesson 15 of 50 in this chapter