sustantivos masculinos y femeninos
/sustantibos maskulinos i femeninos/from spelling rules
The English phrase "masculine and feminine nouns" is sustantivos masculinos y femeninos in Spanish.
Nouns that end with -o are usually masculine, such as el libro or el perro, while nouns that end with -a are usually feminine, such as la casa or la manzana. However, there are exceptions to the typical gender rules, such as el día and la mano.
Did you know?
- Some nouns can change their meaning entirely if you switch the gender, such as how el cometa is a 'comet' but la cometa is a 'kite'.
- There are nouns that are 'feminine' but always take the masculine article el for ease of pronunciation. This happens with nouns starting with a stressed 'a', like el alma meaning 'the soul'.
- Some words end in -a but are masculine because they were borrowed from Greek. Words like el problema, el sistema and el mapa follow this pattern.
Examples in context
- Es difícil aprender los sustantivos masculinos y femeninos.It is difficult to learn masculine and feminine nouns.
- El libro explica los sustantivos masculinos y femeninos.The book explains masculine and feminine nouns.
- Debes identificar los sustantivos masculinos y femeninos correctamente.You must identify masculine and feminine nouns correctly.
Example conversation
Elena and Javier are studying Spanish together.
- ElenaJavier, ¿conoces los sustantivos masculinos y femeninos?Javier, do you know masculine and feminine nouns?
- JavierSí, pero a veces me confundo.Yes, but sometimes I get confused.
- ElenaPodemos repasarlos juntos ahora.We can review them together now.
- JavierMe parece una buena idea, Elena.That sounds like a good idea, Elena.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
