Gender of Nouns in Spanish

This section explains Spanish gender nouns and includes tips for students studying foundation and higher tiers. In Spanish, every noun has a gender, it is either masculine (masculino) or feminine (femenino). This is an important part of Spanish grammar because adjectives, articles, and pronouns must agree with the gender of the noun they refer to.

Understanding the gender of nouns is essential for correct sentence structure, as it influences the form of articles and adjectives that go with the noun.

Masculine and Feminine Nouns

In Spanish, there are general rules to determine whether a noun is masculine or feminine, although there are exceptions.

Common Rules for Masculine Nouns

Most masculine nouns follow these guidelines:

Nouns ending in -o are usually masculine.

• Example:el perro (the dog), el libro (the book)

Nouns referring to male people or animals are masculine.

• Example:el hombre (the man), el rey (the king), el toro (the bull)

Nouns ending in -ma, -ta, and -pa are often masculine, even though they are of Greek origin.

• Example:el problema (the problem), el sistema (the system), el mapa (the map)

Common Rules for Feminine Nouns

Most feminine nouns follow these guidelines:

Nouns ending in -a are usually feminine.

• Example:la casa (the house), la mesa (the table)

Nouns referring to female people or animals are feminine.

• Example:la mujer (the woman), la reina (the queen), la vaca (the cow)

Nouns ending in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, and -umbre are generally feminine.

• Example:la canción (the song), la televisión (the television), la ciudad (the city), la libertad (freedom), la costumbre (the custom)

Exceptions to the General Rules

Some nouns do not follow these rules and are exceptions. These must be memorised.

Masculine Exceptions

• el día (the day) – Although it ends in -a, it is masculine.
• el mapa (the map) – Although it ends in -a, it is masculine.

Feminine Exceptions

• la mano (the hand) – Although it ends in -o, it is feminine.
• la radio (the radio) – Though radio ends in -o, it is feminine.

Definite and Indefinite Articles

In Spanish, articles (the equivalent of "the" or "a" in English) must match the gender of the noun.

Definite Articles (Artículos definidos)

• Masculine singular: el (the)
  • Example:el libro (the book)
• Feminine singular: la (the)
  • Example:la casa (the house)
• Masculine plural: los (the)
  • Example:los perros (the dogs)
• Feminine plural: las (the)
  • Example:las mesas (the tables)

Indefinite Articles (Artículos indefinidos)

• Masculine singular: un (a, an)
  • Example:un perro (a dog)
• Feminine singular: una (a, an)
  • Example:una casa (a house)
• Masculine plural: unos (some)
  • Example:unos libros (some books)
• Feminine plural: unas (some)
  • Example:unas mesas (some tables)

Adjective Agreement with Gender

In Spanish, adjectives must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify.

Masculine Adjectives (Adjetivos masculinos)

• Adjectives ending in -o generally agree with masculine nouns.
  • Example:el perro blanco (the white dog), el coche rojo (the red car)

Feminine Adjectives (Adjetivos femeninos)

• Adjectives ending in -a generally agree with feminine nouns.
  • Example:la casa blanca (the white house), la camisa roja (the red shirt)

Adjectives ending in -e or -ista do not change for gender.

• Example:el coche elegante (the elegant car), la mujer elegante (the elegant woman), un artista famoso (a famous artist), una artista famosa (a famous artist)

Gender of Nouns Referring to People

In Spanish, the gender of nouns that refer to people depends on the person’s gender.

Masculine (Masculino):

• el profesor (the teacher, male), el doctor (the doctor, male)

Feminine (Femenino):

• la profesora (the teacher, female), la doctora (the doctor, female)

In many cases, the only difference between the masculine and feminine form of the noun is the ending -o (for masculine) and -a (for feminine).

However, some nouns have irregular feminine forms, such as:

• el actor (the actor) → la actriz (the actress)
• el hombre (the man) → la mujer (the woman)

Gender of Inanimate Objects

In Spanish, inanimate objects also have a gender, and there is no logical reason why a specific noun is masculine or feminine. It’s simply a grammatical feature.

• Masculine:el coche (the car), el teléfono (the phone)
• Feminine:la silla (the chair), la ventana (the window)

Sometimes, the meaning of the word can offer a hint. For example:

• el sol (the sun) is masculine, but la luna (the moon) is feminine. This is just a grammatical rule, with no direct relation to the natural gender of the objects.

Gender in Plural Forms

When forming the plural of a noun, the gender remains the same. The plural form of the article and adjective must also agree with the gender and number of the noun.

• Masculine plural noun: los chicos guapos (the handsome boys)
• Feminine plural noun: las chicas guapas (the beautiful girls)

Examples (Foundation Level):

• el niño inteligente (the intelligent boy) → los niños inteligentes (the intelligent boys)
• la niña inteligente (the intelligent girl) → las niñas inteligentes (the intelligent girls)

Examples (Higher Tier):

• el actor famoso (the famous actor) → los actores famosos (the famous actors)
• la actriz famosa (the famous actress) → las actrices famosas (the famous actresses)

Summary

• Gender in Spanish refers to whether a noun is masculine or feminine. This affects the articles, adjectives, and pronouns that accompany the noun.
• Masculine nouns generally end in -o, -ma, -ta, or -pa.
• Feminine nouns generally end in -a, -ción, -sión, -dad, or -umbre.
• Adjectives must agree with the gender and number of the noun they describe.
• Articles change according to the gender and number of the noun (e.g., el for masculine singular, la for feminine singular).
• There are exceptions to these rules, and some nouns have irregular forms that must be memorised.

These notes should help you understand the gender of nouns in Spanish and the rules for forming and using articles, adjectives, and pronouns that agree with gender. Practise using these in sentences to improve your understanding and fluency!