Nouns  -  Rules regarding gender and plurality

In Spanish all nouns are either masculine or feminine.

Most nouns ending in �o�, are masculine and most nouns ending in �a� are feminine.

el carro  la tierra
el libro   la mesa
el cuaderno  la mochila

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many nouns ending in �o� that refer to people usually have to change the �o� to an �a� to create the feminine form.

el alumno  la alumna
el chico  la chica
el ni�o   la ni�a
el muchacho  la muchacha

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Many nouns ending in a consonant that refer to people usually have to add an �a� to the end of the word to create the feminine form.  There are exceptions.

el profesor  la profesora
el doctor  la doctora
el se�or  la se�ora

exception:  el actor la actriz

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nouns ending in �e� can be either masculine or feminine.  One learns the correct gender by learning the definite article along with the word.

el coche
la clase
el pupitre
la leche
el estante

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nouns that end in �e� and refer to people have only two forms, a singular and plural.  The gender and meaning of the noun is determined by the definite article.  There are exceptions.

el/la estudiante   los/las estudiantes
el/la pariente   los/las parientes

exception: el jefe, la jefa, los jefes, las jefas
Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

1