Ch 46 路 Lesson 18Spanish 路 Chapter 46 路 Lesson 18 路 Grammar primer
Noun suffixes: -eza, -ura, -aje, -ismo, -ista
, and are feminine; and masculine; and -ista is both: , , .
The short version
-ista is both genders: ,
.
Why?Hide
-ismo names an idea or an activity and is masculine: . -ista names the person, and it does not change: the article and the adjectives do the work. , ; , . Never periodisto or optimisto.
-ez, -eza and -ura: more qualities
Three more ways to turn an adjective into a quality, all feminine. The adjective loses its last vowel first.
| Adjective | Noun | English |
|---|---|---|
| | speed |
| | sadness |
| | poverty |
| | height |
| | madness |
The rule is about the suffix, not the last letters. A noun that merely ends in -ez or -ura without being built this way keeps its own gender: (the fish) is masculine.
-aje and -er铆a
-aje names an action or a collection, and it is masculine. -er铆a names a shop or a quality, and it is feminine.
| Base | Noun | English |
|---|---|---|
| | the landing |
| | the learning |
| | the character |
| | the bookshop |
| zapater铆a | the shoe shop |
| | nonsense |
隆 !- Have a good trip! (ends in -aje, so it is masculine too.)隆 !- What nonsense!
Watch : it is a bookshop. A library is .
-ismo and -ista: the idea and the person
-ismo names an idea, a system or an activity, and it is masculine. -ista names the person who follows it or does the job, and it is both: the word stays the same and the article changes.
| Idea (masc.) | Person (both) |
|---|---|
| , |
| , |
periodismo | , |
Adjectives in -ista work the same way: one form for both genders, -s in the plural.
, .- An optimistic boy, an optimistic girl..- They are very selfish.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| -ci贸n is always feminine | |
| -dad is always feminine | |
| - is masculine | |
| -aje is masculine | |
| periodisto | | -ista does not change |
| optimisto | | -ista adjectives: one form |
| (library) | | is a bookshop |
Going further: Spanish noun suffixes at a glance and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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