Telling a masculine noun from a feminine noun in Spanish
Masculine nouns include the following:
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Most nouns that end in -o, such as año (year)
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Nouns that identify males, such as tío (uncle)
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Nouns that end in -aje or -ambre, such as equipaje (luggage) and alambre (wire)
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Certain nouns that end in -or or -án, such as amor (love) and champán (champagne)
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Nouns that end in -ama, -ema, -oma, -ma, or -ía, such as programa (program) and dilema (dilemma)
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Days of the week and months of the year
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Colors used as nouns
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Names of languages, rivers, seas, and oceans
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Compound nouns that consist of noun-verb combinations and that usually end in -s, such as abrelatas (can opener)
Feminine nouns include the following:
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Most nouns that end in -a, such as ensalada (salad)
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Nouns that identify females, such as hija (daughter)
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Nouns that end in -dad or -tad, such as ciudad (city) and libertad (liberty)
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Nouns that end in -ie, -eza, -sis, or -itis, such as especie (species), riqueza (richness), tesis (thesis), and sinusitis (sinusitis)
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Nouns that end in -ción, -sión, -tud, or -umbre, such as canción (song) and misión (mission)
Making Spanish adjectives agree with the nouns they modify
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Gender: If a noun is feminine, like la muchacha (the girl), the adjective must be feminine, too. For example, to talk about a tall girl, you’d say la muchacha alta (the tall girl). If the girl has a brother who’s also tall, you’d say el muchacho alto (the tall boy).
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Number: If a noun is plural, the adjective must also be plural. For example, to describe a group of tall girls, you’d say las muchachas altas. To describe a group of tall boys, you’d say los muchachos altos. Similarly, if a noun is singular, the adjective must be singular, too (see the preceding bullet for examples).
Following are some general rules about making adjectives agree with the nouns they modify:
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Like nouns, most adjectives follow the general rule that masculine adjectives end in -o and pluralize with -s and feminine adjectives end in -a and pluralize with -s.
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Adjectives that end in a consonant, -e, or -ista usually don’t have masculine and feminine forms, but they do have singular and plural forms. To make an adjective that ends in -e or -ista plural, simply add -s. To make an adjective that ends in a consonant plural, add -es.
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With some adjectives that end in -dor, -ón, or -án, you add -a to form the feminine, -es to form the masculine plural, and -as to form the feminine plural.
Here are a few more examples of adjectives that agree with the nouns they modify in both gender and number:
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un examen difícil (a difficult exam)
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una chica inteligente (a smart girl)
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unos peces caros (some expensive fish)
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unas reglas importantes (some important rules)
Conjugating regular Spanish verbs in the present tense
Verb Infinitive Ending | Present Tense Endings |
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-ar | -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an |
-er | -o, -es, -e, -emos, -éis, -en |
-ir | -o, -es, -e, -imos, -ís, -en |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular –ar verb conjugated in the present tense:
yo canto | nosotros/nosotras cantamos |
tú cantas | vosotros/vosotras cantáis |
él/ella/usted canta | ellos/ellas/ustedes cantan |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -er verb conjugated in the present tense:
yo bebo | nosotros/nosotras bebemos |
tú bebes | vosotros/vosotras bebéis |
él/ella/usted bebe | ellos/ellas/ustedes beben |
Here’s a conjugation chart for a regular -ir verb conjugated in the present tense:
yo vivo | nosotros/nosotras vivimos |
tú vives | vosotros/vosotras vivís |
él/ella/usted vive | ellos/ellas/ustedes viven |