Lesson 5 - Escuela (School)
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Pages in this lesson: Classroom - Gender - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz
This page: Learn how to identify masculine vs feminine nouns. Learn how to say the and a/an in Spanish.
Gender and Articles
Grammar Lesson
Gender of Nouns
In Spanish nouns are considered to be masculine or feminine. Nouns that refer to men are masculine, and nouns that refer to women are feminine, but even objects are considered to be masculine or feminine. Generally nouns that end in the letter O are masculine, while nouns that end in the letter A are feminine. There are exceptions to this general rule, however. When you learn the names of nouns in Spanish, you should also memorize the gender so that you know how you will say the and a/an with the word. Articles such as the and a/an show the gender of a noun.
- Generally Masculine
- Words that end in the letter O (el libro)
- Words that end in -ma, -pa or -ta (el clima, el mapa, el planeta)
- Generally Feminine
- Words that end in the letter A (la casa)
- Words that end in –ción and –sión (la lección, la conclusión)
- Words that end in -tad, -dad and -tud (la libertad, la ciudad, la multitud)
How do you say the in Spanish?
To say the in Spanish, you use el, la, los or las depending on the gender and if the word is singular or plural. The definite article el is used with masculine singular nouns, while la is used with feminine singular nouns. The word los is used as the with masculine plural nouns and las with feminine plural nouns.
- Examples:
- el libro = the book
- los libros = the books
- la casa = the house
- las casas = the houses
Practice
Section 1
Select the correct definite article ("the").
How do you say a/an in Spanish?
To say a/an in Spanish, you use un or una depending on the gender of the noun. In Spanish there is even a plural indefinite article (like a plural of a). The equivalent in English would be the word some. The indefinite article un is used with masculine singular nouns, while una is used with feminine singular nouns. The word unos is used with masculine plural nouns and unas with feminine plural nouns.
- Examples:
- un libro = a book
- unos libros = some books
- una casa = a house
- unas casas = some houses
Practice
Section 2
Select the correct indefinite article (a/some).
Find the mistake in the sentence and re-write it correctly in the space. Don't forget to use correct capitalization, accents and punctuation, or the computer will mark it as incorrect.
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"¿Dónde están?" Dialogue Lesson
Lesson 5 - Escuela (School)
Classroom - Gender - Dialogue - Reading - Quiz
Important Links
Pronouns - Pronunciation - Verbs
