The Amazon River is the worlds largest river. However, with some specific nouns (especially when we talk about professions) we do replace the -e with an -a, and both forms are correct: El presidente -> La presidente / La presidenta. But for example to most of us the word mdicAsounds wrong- we wouldnt use it. is vacation in spanish masculine or feminine. Yet if you are referring to a person or occupation this is what happens: LA espa = The spy (if the spy is a woman. We can check this by going to the plural and to its modifiers: The waters = las aguas" The water is cold = "El agua est fria." Los nios juegan en el parque. But, as youll see in the examples below, some popular words are the exception to this rule. La juez es muy puntual. Days and months are masculine: el lunes, el mircoles, el sbado, este abril, ese enero, etc. Hay cien sillas disponibles. As you can see, most of them are nouns used to describe a persons profession or occupation: And here are some examples of what you can do to mark the gender of these words: [Masculine or feminine determiner] + [noun]+ (adjective). My mom has a cherry tree. Then little by little you will learn the others. These nouns keep the same spelling, regardless of gender a fact that cuts down the number of words you have to memorize to speak and write Spanish like a native. . The user may also prefer cheaper vacations and may have desiderata or wishes such as visiting an attraction park in each stop. Sometimes we have a different word for each sex: Just the same as what happens with people, sometimes we have different words for each sex: Many words have an only form, masculine or feminine: El tiburn, el cocodrilo, el dinosaurio, el pulpo, etc. Those singers are Spanish. While most nouns refer to objects and concepts that dont have gender, there are also the nouns that do. I am going to travel to Mexico during summer vacation. The Verb To Need: Sometimes you Really Need it. Spanish also has four forms of the indefinite article that correspond to the words a/an and some/any in English. As you can probably tell, all words that end in -ista denote occupations or stances and such, just like the endings -ist and -yst in English: therapist, marxist, etc. Cuntas clases faltan para las vacaciones? So, its important to memorize the feminine words that end with the consonant z. But as you already know, there is no such thing as neutral nouns in Spanish. One other common word that ends in -a but that is masculine is the word el da (day). The general rule is that words ending with -o are masculine and words ending with -a are feminine. His shoes are very expensive. 1000 5th St, suite 200 Sugared water is bad for your health. I hope you find what youre looking for here during your journey into Espaol . Spanish Nouns That Can Be Both Masculine And Feminine While most nouns refer to objects and concepts that don't have gender, there are also the nouns that do. Many students assume that confusing the gender of words in Spanish is not a big deal. A noun is a word used to denominate a person, thing, place or concept. There are some rules to determine if a noun is masculine of feminine. This can be confusing, especially when some words, like persona (person), can refer to a person that is man or a woman. For example, the application developer may write a rule stating that each. Her bedroom is purple. Very often our students at Fluenz get genders mixed Talking about people, especially family members, often includes referring to gender. However, things start getting tricky when determining the gender of objects and concepts. La noche - the night. In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. Tell Me In Spanish (tellmeinspanish.com) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. List of colors in Spanish 1. Its the same for words ending with -a: el/la espa, el/la polica, el/la gua. I would definitely recommend Study.com to my colleagues. Most adjectives must agree in gender with the noun they modify. While this is actually true for a lot of words, there are so many exceptions to this rule that it often becomes more of a problem than a solution. For these types of cases, there are certain guidelines that can give you a better idea of how Spanish gender is formed. To know if a noun is masculine or feminine, you should look to see what letter(s) the word ends with. Here we will explain the rules, and then the 3 categories of exceptions: Below are a number of words you would think should be la according to the rules above, but they are el, as they are exceptions to the el/la rules. Gender in Spanish: How to know when a noun is feminine or masculine [2022]. el day is masculine and is the ONLY exception. Here are two articles that help shed some light on the subject: Puzzle Solved: Why nouns in Spanish are feminine and masculine, The Ultimate Tip-Sheet to Articles in Spanish: (El vs. La, Un vs. Una), Your email address will not be published. In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. For example, we usually say la moto for motorcycle, which ends in an -o. He studied English literature and linguistics at New York University, but spent most of his time in college working for the student paper. You may have come across this strange exception before where the masculine article el is used for a feminine word. So, you would have to establish if that friend is a male or a female to determine which article to use. We said words that end in -or are masculine. Retrieved from https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/. Again, there is no real reason. There are three genders in Spanish: masculine, feminine, and neutral. Sometimes you cant tell if a word is masculine or feminine in Spanish only by its form. Because of this, he has really hard opinions about AP Style. As you learned before, many Spanish masculine words end with -n. The Masculine and feminine 2 Whack-a-mole. Copyright Curiosity Media, Inc., a division of IXL Learning. Get to Grips with Spanish: Spanish Grammar for Beginners: Masculine & Feminine, Singular & Plural (English Edition) eBook : Helliwell, Julie: Amazon.nl: Boeken Shopping! In Spanish, the word "tea" is used for a wide variety of beverages from coffee to cold brew to water to iced tea to tea bags and more. Many nouns that refer to jobs or roles of people can be either masculine or feminine depending on the person they refer to. Sofa es muy inteligente. We use the masculine definite article (el) in singular with feminine nouns that start with an A when the stress is put on the first syllable. It's important to remember that the gender of a noun refers only to the grammar of the word, not to the person that it refers to. The opposite time of day, la noche (night), is feminine, so you can think of them as a pair. Given that this may be a new concept for new learners, many people wonder what grammatical gender in Spanish is. Words like el reloj (watch) have a gender, but it is not always easy to predict. ). Just think of the Spanish word for problem: el problema! Te lo has pasado bien en las vacaciones? However, in certain situations, changing the gender of a noun can also change its meaning, as you can see in the graphic and examples below: Mi mam tiene un cerezo. La disco is short for la discoteca, andla foto is short forla fotografa. After all, how can you know if problema and mano are feminine or masculine? They wish that they were in love now. In this lesson, we'll look at the differences between masculine and feminine nouns and learn some tips to remember them. The bull is very aggressive, and the cow is very calm. is vacation in spanish masculine or feminine. This couch is very comfortable. But that has changed with time, and thus we end up with rules that are blurry which do not help when those starting to learn Spanish. up when learning new vocab because they had learned this rule of thumb. LinguaLinkup.com 2023. This is a feminine word because it is a short form of the longer word, la motocicleta. La sangre - the blood. Fluenz Fluenz Blog Learn Spanish Basic Spanish El or La? Take Note: You can also imply the gender of these nouns by saying the name of the person youre talking about. FR8 En Ville - Location Sort - Masculine/Feminine Group sort. Yet if you are referring to a person or occupation this is what happens: EL espa = The spy (if the spy is a man) LA espa = The spy (if the spy is a woman. I want a coffee, please. Because there area lot. When they refer to professions, words ending with -ista have the same form for masculine and feminine: el/la dentista, el/la artista, el/la periodista, el/la pianista. One ending with a final -a, -ista, can be used on words for male or female people, and is both masculine and feminine. 4. A few of the most common ones are: Any words that are actually a shorter form of a longer word. Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions. Therefore, you simply need to memorize the gender of words that end with z. 2. When using adjectives to describe a person, use the gender that the person identifies with. There are some nouns that end in a, but they are not feminine, but masculine: And vice versa, some nouns that end in -o are feminine: When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, its feminine form ends in a (We just have to had an a after that last consonant). El ao que viene voy a tomarme unas vacaciones en Europa. Spanish gender can be a challenging topic for many new and advanced learners. Which brings us to the only exception to these rules! The same goes for some words that end in -o that are actually feminine: la mano, la radio, la foto, etc. Here are the exceptions to this rule. Qu bonito est tu labial! trabajador m (plural trabajadores, feminine trabajadora, feminine plural trabajadoras) worker Synonyms: currante, obrero, trabajante; Derived terms How to know if a word is masculine or feminine in Spanish? document.write(d); But then you find out that its la foto, not el foto. Masculine Nouns Here are some of the letters that we usually see at the end of masculine words. La camisa rosa es muy grande. Unfortunately, there are not as many rules to know whether a noun in Spanish is masculine. There is not a single pattern, as you can see from the following examples. And of course, they are all derived from the isms of the previous rule. and an adjective (hungry, thirsty,. I hope you have enjoyed this article about masculine and feminine in Spanish! (Administration) vacancy vacances plural feminine noun holidays pluriel (Brit) holiday (Brit) vacation (USA) les grandes vacances the summer holidays (Brit) the summer vacation (USA) prendre des vacances to take a holiday (Brit) to take a vacation (USA) prendre ses vacances to take one's holidays (Brit) to take one's vacation (USA) Its important to know the grammatical gender of a noun in Spanish because all of the elements referring to them (articles, adjectives, pronouns) will agree in grammatical gender, too: There are some rules that you can follow when it comes to identifying masculine and feminine in Spanish. (general) a. pasar las vacaciones (United States) 3. Los peces son muy bonitos. In . When it comes to the world of animals, things can get even more complicated. 2023 Lawless Spanish. by Classroom52. Discover word endings used for feminine and masculine nouns in Spanish, explore exceptions,. He made the wrong decision. Descubr lo que tu empresa podra llegar a alcanzar. Have you tried it yet? Sofia is very smart. Professions also refer to people, but are kind of their own subset. Maybe you could make up your own! Your neighbor is very noisy. A lot of them are identical or almost identical to words you already know in English! Take Note: Do not get mixed up! We know that all people have gender, but in Spanish all nouns have gender. To keep the sentence consistent, adjectives, articles, and pronouns must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. And it sounds quite logical if nouns refer to living creatures: Masculine: El hombre (The man) Feminine: La mujer (The woman) Masculine: Un caballo (A horse) Feminine: Una yegua (A mare) But what about nouns that stand for non-living things? When using demonstrative pronouns (esta, esa, aquella) with these words, they stay feminine. las vacaciones and la estaci'on. Adjectives that end with an -e or a consonant cannot be modified to express the Spanish grammatical gender. El mecnico trabaja todos los das. As youll see in a moment, most words that end in -a are feminine, but there are exceptions. The waitress doesnt work on Thursday. This means that most Spanish adjectives will change their gender to match the noun. Tengo una pluma extra. link to Venir Conjugation 101: Conjugate Venir In Spanish, link to Probar Conjugation 101: Conjugate Probar in Spanish. Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article. Miami Beach, FL 33139, 1000 5th St, suite 200 Get a Step-by-Step Map to Learning Spanish. Here, well go through some of the most common giveaways that a word is masculine or feminine, as well as the cases when Spanish grammatical gender can switch for a single word. LONERS - words that end with any of the letters in LONERS are usually masculine. All of the nouns ending with -o are usually masculine: el bolgrafo, el dinero, el edificio, el vaso, etc. Grammatical gender is a property of Spanish nouns. Your email address will not be published. Words that end in -in are feminine nouns, such as religin (religion). However your friend is a hypochondriac and you need to assure him/her everything is going to be fine. Languages are masculine: el espaol, el ingls, el portugus, el mandarn, el ruso, etc. Tu casa es grande y bonita. Take Note: To pluralize these Spanish words, you must change the -z for the ending -ces. La casa blanca es muy bonita.The white house is very pretty. Which is why it uses the article las which correctly matches the nouns gender. In the sections below, youll find tables with the most common endings for masculine words in Spanish. Test yourself on the gender of Spanish nouns: Note: You must be logged into your Progress with Lawless Spanish account to take these tests. My students are already speaking Spanish and using it in their everyday lives. Watch out! In Spanish, some nouns use different words for the masculine and feminine forms. Nuestros perros son pequeos. As you may already know, most masculine words in Spanish end with -o. Whether its a good idea to split the world into two genders is a subject for a different article, but for now well go through the various kinds of nouns that switch genders. Nouns with other endings, such as other consonants, usually need to be memorized. This semester is really tough. Here are the common endings for feminine words: The ending -a is usually feminine, just like -o is masculine. The word espaol was supposedly imported from Provence by a medieval chronicler (it was originally introduced by pilgrims in Santiago) because there was no existing translation of the earlier Roman word Hispani when writing a chronicle of Spanish history, but this was the word Provenal speakers used to refer to the Christian kingdoms of what What does the root Manus mean? Well the answer is just because . For that reason, this guide covers all the information you need to understand this topic. Dolphins are adorable. (general) a. vacation (United States) Me urge una vacacin! There are one hundred chairs available. The wall is newly painted. Here are the exceptions to this rule. The adjective for Brasil is brasileo. As mentioned above, this rule comes into effect with amounts superior to two hundred. Tu vecina es muy ruidosa. Mis perros son muy tranquilos. I like the pink dress. The L cuts that unpleasant sound: el agua. While some of these exceptions just have to be memorized, you can scroll up and see that a lot of exceptions have their own rules in the-ta, -ma and-pasection. I know we said we would only be giving you rules that didnt have any exceptions, the rules above are full proof- its when you get to people and occupations where you need to put your thinking cap on. Im always glad to reach and help more people around the world. That pattern works for things too. Although in English there is no need to think about whether a pencil is a masculine or a feminine noun, it is important in Spanish because the adjectives (i. e. pretty, ugly, small, big) and articles (the equivalents of "the" in Spanish, such as: el, la, los and las) of a sentence must match the gender and number of nouns. Then its time to test yourself with a quick quiz we put together. 08, 2020, https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/, Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions. Just because two words look alike doesnt mean they have the same definition. Nouns that end in -ma are masculine, such as the word problema (problem), Nouns that end in -pa, like the word mapa (map), are also masculine. To do so, youll use Spanish articles, adjectives, or pronouns. Sometimes the word is the same and we can only figure out the meaning with the articles or pronouns that go with them: El capital (money) La capital (capital city), El editorial (editorial) La editorial (publisher), El pendiente (earring) La pendiente (slope). All nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine. The words doctorA, arquitectA, are relatively new, this is why we cant craft a perfect rule. Create your account. The adjective for Italia is italiano. 3. Ese rbol es muy viejo. Recuerdas aquella vez que estuvimos de vacaciones en Vermont? The masculine form is the one that appears on a dictionary. Think youve got it? Claudias make-up is very good. These are some of the nouns whose endings cannot change. Feminine and masculine nouns ending in -E. Nouns ending in -e can be masculine and feminine. The balcony is very big. But be careful! This attribute allows us to classify words as either masculine or feminine. Just like with nouns, Spanish masculine adjectives usually end in the vowel -O like "Bonito" and "Creativo", e.g. For that reason, in this guide, Ill provide you with all the key information you need to know to determine the gender of nouns in Spanish. Is vacation in Spanish masculine or feminine? As you can see, there are adjectives that follow the regular rule for endings using -o/-as/-os/-as (rojo, amarillo, negro, blanco, morado). During the day Im a freelancer and marketer, while at night Im here writing for students of the world wide web looking to learn Spanish. If you were referring to a male friend, which article would you use EL or LA? Possible excuses include hospitalization. When they describe a NOUN, they must match its GENDER (masculine/feminine). We would say El mdicO, La mdicO. However, there are certain words whose endings are unalterable. It is basically just a sign of respect. El maquillaje de Claudia es muy bueno. If you want to learn more Spanish, subscribe to my newsletter for free! Browse Spanish translations from Spain, Mexico, or any other Spanish-speaking country. The same thing in the other direction the rules say it should be el, but the word is actually la. Here it might help to connect it with a feminine word that is opposite, so you can remember the words in pairs. Required fields are marked *. Many people mistakenly think the gender of a noun in Spanish is determined by who uses that object. Browse Spanish translations from Spain, Mexico, or any other Spanish-speaking country. Animals With A Regular Masculine And Feminine Form. This discussion is especially alive with occupations. For those interested in a little history, masculine Spanish nouns that end in-ta,-pa and-ma tend to come from Greek originally. The ending -a is a good indicator that youre most likely dealing with a feminine Spanish word. We only say "el agua" only because it's smoother to pronounce than "la aqua." Period. Follow this link if you want to know WHY nouns have a gender in Spanish. Este restaurante es muy famoso. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. With these rules below, you'll know which to use with every word "el" or "la". Your voice is so high-pitched. places and ideas. El nino y el gato. Names of rivers, oceans, and seas are always masculine: el Ro de la Plata, el Amazonas, el Misisipi, el Atlntico, el Pacfico, el Mediterrneo, etc. Sus zapatos son muy caros. In his spare time, he enjoys reading and getting angry about things on. Despite the many exceptions noted above, a great majority of Spanish words that end in-a are feminine. Time to dive into a topic that combines grammar and etiquette. Do you see those words ending with -ma? Making educational experiences better for everyone. For any person or animal that is masculine, these are the articles to use: For any person or animal that is feminine, these are the articles to use: For example. Join the Tell Me In Spanish community and get a copy of my step-by-step Spanish Learners Roadmaps and tricky synonyms & vocab cheat sheets. And to make things more interesting, the fact is that with time, languages evolve and change. Something like ZAD? Learn and practice Spanish * Daily practice * Find your level (proficiency test) * Spanish for beginners * Travel Spanish, A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 Find your level. thelanguagetutors Follow Advertisement Recommended Spanish Lesson - Lesson 3: Definite and Indefinite articles Swagatam Mitra 3.5k views 9 slides Luis dog is white. I have an extra pen. Todava me quedan das de vacaciones antes de que termine el ao. If a word ends with these three letters, you can be almost certain its a feminine noun. The general rule is that Spanish nouns that end in -a are feminine. Fortunately, even the exceptions have rules. Nouns in Spanish can be either feminine or masculine, and this distinction can often seem illogical to people who don't speak Spanish. The word for 'the' or 'a' changes depending on the gender of the noun and whether it is singular or plural. In Spanish nationalities are expressed through origin adjectives (known as gentilicios in Spanish). Esa cantante es muy talentosa. Generally, if the masculine form ends with an -o, to form the feminine you just need to replace it with an -a: If the masculine form ends witn a consonant, to form the feminine we just add an -a: They usually have the same form for masculine and feminine: el/la estudiante, el/la cantante, el/la agente, el/la paciente, etc. I need a vacation from my family after the reunion. Over time we've worked to perfect every minute of every learning session. In Spanish, all nouns have a gender. These noun endings can tip you off that a noun is probably feminine. Instead of learning: libro = book, try committing to memory: EL libro = The book. Although its not really incorrect to use the feminine form, its less common. See answer (1) Copy. Our car is dirty. Men wish that they had been warriors, or are proud that they once were. They have a master's degrees in English from Southeast Missouri State University and a master's degree in Spanish literature from the University of Missouri Columbia. When My Masculine Met My Feminine | Tijana Tamburic | TEDxBucharest This semester is really tough. You will need to memorize rule-breaking words like la mano (hand) and el d'ia (day). If you know your endings and what gender they fall into, the onlyexception to keep in mind is when the word refers to a person, an animal or an occupation because the person or animal will determine the gender of the word. El toro es muy agresivo y la vaca muy tranquila. Feminine nouns that end in -o * These words are shortened from words that do end in A: discoteca, fotografa, motocicleta, pornografa, and radiodifusin. Helpful, right? Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions, how to tell if a word is masculine or feminine in spanish, what is the difference between masculine and feminine in spanish, 35 Vegetables Translated to Spanish | The Ultimate Master List, Demonstrative Adjectives: This, That, These, and Those Get Them Right. Why? La pared est recin pintada. For example, to say, 'My brother is an interesting person' in Spanish, you would say Mi hermano es una persona interesante. Voy a viajar a Mxico durante las vacaciones de verano. Another example of this is la radio, which is a shorter form of the word radiodifusin. Two other endings for feminine nouns are -dad / -tad, like in felicidad (happiness) and amistad (friendship). The pink t-shirt is too big. La quiete - the quiet. Yes, when speaking to someone you are familiar with it is t and the verb will end with an 's' such as t quieres. As you can see, below that chart, you'll then see the "el" & "la . I have two hundred pesos. If you look at texts 30 years ago you would never find LA arquitectA, it would have been LA arquitectO. All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. La cancin es muy larga. Nouns ending with -aje are usually masculine: el masaje, el garaje, el paisaje, el pasaje, el peaje, etc. More examples: rea (el rea/las reas), aula (el aula/las aulas), guila (el guila/las guilas), etc. The light is quite bright. For instance, when the word for a person or occupation ends in -e. When occupations end in -a it gets messy. One of the first things that Spanish students learn is that most Spanish nouns that end in -o are masculine and most that end in -a are feminine. Boroditsky proposes that because the word for "bridge" in German die brucke is a feminine noun, and the word for "bridge" in Spanish el puente is a masculine noun, native speakers. Origin adjectives express where people or things come from. How do numbers and gender affect adjectives in Spanish? When you first start learning Spanish, grammatical gender can seem arbitrary and confusing. This t-shirt is black. Colors are ADJECTIVES. Here are some key points that you should keep in mind about masculine and feminine words in Spanish: Hola! Subscribe to the Lawless Spanish newsletter, New lessons and features in your inbox every Thursday. Copyright (c) Minerva Webworks LLC All Rights Reserved. I hope this helps. Los delfines son adorables. Singapur es muy caro. SpanishDict is the world's most popular Spanish-English dictionary, translation, and learning website. But since doctor refers to a person and an occupation, its the gender of the doctor that will determine the article and ending. Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions.