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2.2.0: Gramática

  • Page ID
    282046

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    In the Módulo introductorio, we saw that we use nouns (los sustantivos) to talk about people, animals, places, things, and ideas, and we learned that los sustantivos have gender (género--femenino o masculino). Of course, this does not mean that Spanish speakers believe that all things have gender. In Spanish, gender is a grammatical feature. Sometimes, the ending in a noun can tell you if it has feminine or masculine gender. For example, most nouns ending in -a are feminine, and most nouns ending in -o are masculine. When a noun is accompanied by an indefinite article (un o una) or by a definite article (el o la), the article will match the gender of the noun. Have a look at these examples.

    Masculine Nouns

    Masculine Nouns

    Definite Articles

    el niño

    el escritorio

    the boy

    the desk

    Indefinite Articles

    un niño

    un escritorio

    a (one) boy

    a (one) desk

    Nota

    Most nouns ending in -o are masculine.

     

    Feminine Nouns

    Feminine Nouns

    Definite Articles

    la niña

    la puerta

    the girl

    the door

    Indefinite Articles

    una niña

    una puerta

    a (one) girl

    a (one) door

    Nota

    Most nouns ending in -a are feminine.

     

    Unfortunately, with some endings, it is difficult to determine gender (e.g., those that end in a consonant, such as lápiz, which is masculine, or in other vowels, such as clase, which is feminine).

    ¡Ojo!

    We recommend that when you learn a new word, you also learn the definite article that accompanies it. That way, you will remember the gender of the noun, and it will also be easy to figure out what the indefinite articles is when you need it.

     

    Let's take a closer look at the two types of articles in Spanish:

    Differences between definite and indefinite articles

    Definite Articles

    Indefinite Articles

    • Definite articles are used with a specific item.
    • The English equivalent is “The.”
    • There is a “the” for each Gender (Masculine or Feminine) and Number (Singular or Plural) combination:

    · el - el profesor (Masculine & Singular)

    · los - los profesores (Masculine & Plural)

    · la - la profesora (Feminine & Singular)

    · las - las profesoras (Feminine & Plural)

    • Indefinite articles are not used with a specific item. They are used with generic items.
    • The English equivalent is “a/an” for singular nouns and “some” for plural nouns.
    • There is an indefinite article or each Gender (Masculine or Feminine) and Number (Singular or Plural) combination:

    · un – un libro (Masculine & Singular)

    · unos – unos libros (Masculine & Plural)

    · una – una pluma (Feminine & Singular)

    · unas – unas plumas (Feminine & Plural)

     

    ¡Ojo!

    When a noun is accompanied by an indefinite article (un o una) or by a definite article (el o la), the article will match the noun in number and gender.

    • el cuaderno / un cuaderno
    • la mochila / una mochila

     


    This page titled 2.2.0: Gramática is shared under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by .

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