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Do you know how to use the definite article el in Spanish? It's one of the most common words in the language, but its usage can sometimes be tricky for learners. In this lesson, we will explore how and when to use el correctly, including its rules and exceptions. Let's dive into the world of definite articles in the language of Cervantes.
Let's start with the basics of the definite article el.
A definite article is used to indicate a specific noun that is known to the reader or listener. In English, the definite article is "the." In Spanish, the masculine singular form of the definite article is el.
We use el with masculine singular nouns. Here are some examples:
el libro (the book)
el perro (the dog)
el coche (the car)
Let's hear how to pronounce this article:
Sin duda, en la actualidad el perro es el animal que más se utiliza como apoyo en este tipo de intervenciones.
Without a doubt, nowadays the dog is the animal that is used the most for support in this type of intervention.
Captions 40-41, Isabel Lavesa Terapia asistida con animales
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1. Nouns Starting with a Stressed 'A' or 'HA' Sound
When a feminine noun starts with a stressed "a" or "ha" sound, el is used instead of la to avoid a cacophony. However, the noun remains feminine. For example:
el agua (the water)
el águila (the eagle)
el hacha (the axe)
Note that in the plural form, "las" is used:
las aguas (the waters)
las águilas (the eagles)
las hachas (the axes)
2. Nouns That Are Always Masculine
Some nouns are always masculine, even though they might end in "a" or have other endings that might suggest they are feminine. For example:
el mapa (the map)
el día (the day)
el sofá (the sofa)
3. Compound Nouns
Many compound nouns that end in "-a" but are formed by combining two words are masculine. For example:
el sacapuntas (the pencil sharpener)
el paraguas (the umbrella)
el abrelatas (the can opener)
Let's watch the following clip where you can listen to our friend Fermín using the definite article "el" with various words:
La parte delantera del vehículo se llama capó y es donde se encuentran el motor, la batería, el agua, el líquido de frenos y el aceite,
The front of the vehicle is called the hood and is where the engine, the battery, the water, the brake fluid, and the oil are located,
Captions 48-49, Fermín Vocabulario del coche y la conducción - Part 1
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Now, let's practice a little bit more with some examples.
El libro es tan bueno como la película.
The book is as good as the movie.
Caption 20, Karla e Isabel Comparativos
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como: el mapa y el planeta.
like: the map and the planet.
Caption 47, Fundamentos del Español 2 - Nombres y Género
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¡Muy bien! El águila.
Very good! The eagle.
Caption 73, El Aula Azul Adivinanzas de animales - Part 2
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Dejemos a un lado el hacha de guerra
Let's leave aside the axe of war
Caption 22, Bebé Kiéreme
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Remember that el is only for masculine singular nouns. Don't use el with feminine nouns that don't start with a stressed "a" or "ha" sound. For example:
Incorrect: el casa
Correct: la casa (the house)
When the noun is plural, use los for masculine nouns and las for feminine nouns. For example:
el libro → los libros
el agua → las aguas
That's it for today. We hope this lesson helped you understand how to use the definite article el in Spanish. Do you have any questions or comments? Please let us know!
Are you familiar with gender in Spanish, which classifies Spanish nouns into masculine and feminine? If so, you might also know that Spanish grammatical agreement stipulates that nouns' definite and indefinite articles should agree with the nouns they accompany in terms of gender. That said, since the vast majority of Spanish nouns that end in -o are masculine and most that end in -a are feminine, why do we see the masculine singular indefinite article un next to a noun that ends in -a below?
¡Eres un egoísta!
You're a selfish person!
Caption 31, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 12 - Part 8
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The reason for this apparent discrepancy is that, when used as a noun, the word egoísta (selfish person) falls into a Spanish noun category that is sometimes called "common gender nouns" that describe people and can take either masculine or feminine articles depending upon whether the described entity is male or female. With this in mind, let's learn a plethora of such nouns in Spanish as well as several categories that they often fall into.
Below are several Spanish nouns that end in -ista. While we have selected ten, there are countless more, many of which refer to professions in Spanish or people who adhere to particular beliefs.
el/la artista (the artist)
el/la centrista (the centrist)
el/la colonialista (the colonialist)
el/la dentista (the dentist)
el/la derechista (the right-winger)
el/la futbolista (the soccer player)
el/la izquierdista (the leftist)
el/la novelista (the novelista)
el/la periodista (the journalist)
el/la vocalista (the vocalist)
Now, let's see two of these in context, noting how their articles change when describing males vs. females.
¿No oyó la periodista Yasmín?
Didn't you hear Yasmín the [female] journalist?
Caption 28, Kikirikí Agua - Part 3
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el periodista y el entrevistado llegaron a las manos, ¿hm?,
the [male] journalist and the interviewee came to blows, hmm?
Caption 51, Aprendiendo con Silvia Frases hechas - Part 5
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El dentista, la dentista.
The male dentist, the female dentist.
Caption 32, Isabel El Género Gramatical - Masculino y Femenino
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The genders of the following Spanish words that end in -crata (the equivalent of -crat in English) also vary according to real life gender:
el/la autócrata (the autocrat)
el/la burócrata (the bureaucrat)
el/la demócrata (the democrat)
el/la aristócrata (the aristocrat)
Let's look at an example that describes a male aristocrat:
Desde luego, será un aristócrata,
Of course, he'd be an aristocrat,
Caption 56, Beatriz Expresiones con colores
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Note how this sentence could be modified to describe a female aristocrat with the simple substitution of a feminine article:
Desde luego, será una aristócrata,
Of course, she'd be an aristocrat,
In addition to the aforementioned categories, here are several more Spanish nouns ending in -a whose articles reveal their gender:
el/la guía (the guide)
el/la policía (the police officer)
el/la psicópata (the psychopath)
el/la sociópata (the sociopath)
el/la terapeuta (the therapist)
While it may seem counterintuitive to call a female fashion model una modelo, that is indeed the correct way to say it, while a male model would be un modelo. Here are a few more common gender nouns in Spanish that end in -o with examples of the latter.
el/la miembro (the member)
el/la modelo (the model)
el/la soldado (the soldier)
el/la testigo (the witness)
Sí, tengo un testigo.
Yes, I have a [male] witness.
Caption 2, Los casos de Yabla El perrito malcriado - Part 2
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quisiera invitar a este estrado a una testigo que va a demostrar
I'd like to invite to this stand a [female] witness who is going to prove
Captions 63-64, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 5 - Part 4
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Although most Spanish nouns that end in -e are specifically masculine (e.g. el coche/the car) or feminine (e.g. la llave/the key) and thus require a masculine or feminine article, some can refer to either men or women with articles that vary accordingly. Let's see a list of several plus two examples describing both a male and a female "lover."
el/la amante (the lover)
el/la ayudante (the helper)
el/la cantante (the singer)
el/la estudiante (the student)
el/la integrante (the member)
el/la interprete (the interpreter)
el/la paciente (the patient)
el/la recipiente (the recipient)
Descubrí que Marcela tiene un amante.
I found out that Marcela has a [male] lover.
Caption 2, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 2 - Part 3
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¿Tiene una amante? Eso es lo que quiero saber.
Does he have a [female] lover? That is what I want to know.
Caption 9, Muñeca Brava 3 Nueva Casa - Part 7
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That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has clarified one scenario in Spanish where you might see a masculine article with a word ending in -a, a feminine article with one that ends in -o or the very same noun with a masculine or feminine article. For more on Spanish nouns that are a bit nontraditional in terms of gender, be sure to read our lesson on epicene nouns in Spanish, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.
Are you familiar with the concept of grammatical agreement in Spanish? There are two main types of agreement in Spanish: noun agreement and verb agreement. Today's lesson will provide an introduction to each.
The concept of noun agreement is the following: Since Spanish nouns are either masculine or feminine and singular or plural, their definite or indefinite articles, adjectives, and other grammatical elements must correspond in terms of these attributes. Let's take a look at a chart that demonstrates this concept with masculine and feminine singular and plural nouns and their corresponding definite and indefinite articles.
| Singular: | Plural: | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Masculine: | el chico (the boy) | los chicos (the boys) | |
| un chico (a boy) | unos chicos (some boys) | ||
| Feminine: | la chica (the girl) | las chicas (the girls) | |
| una chica (a girl) | unas chicas (some girls) |
The chart shows us the various ways to say "the" (el, los, la, las) and "a/an" (un, unos, una, unas), depending upon whether a noun is masculine or feminine and singular or plural. That said, let's keep a couple of additional points in mind regarding recognizing the number and gender of Spanish nouns and/or modifying them to achieve noun agreement.
1. Although many Spanish masculine singular nouns end in -o and many Spanish feminine nouns end in -a, this is not always the case. Therefore, less obvious nouns (e.g. el avión (the airplane) or la nube (the cloud)) require simply memorizing the gender of the noun, especially nouns that refer to inanimate objects. For this reason, Spanish students typically learn new nouns and their respective masculine or feminine definite articles simultaneously.
2. As a general rule, many nouns that end in a vowel require the addition of an -s to make them plural, while many nouns that end in a consonant become plural by adding -es. Applying this to the abovementioned nouns, el avión becomes los aviones while la nube changes to las nubes.
In addition to their articles, Spanish adjectives must also agree in terms of number and gender with the nouns they modify, with the same general spelling guidelines that we mentioned for pluralizing nouns. Let's hear how this works via some examples from our Yabla Spanish library:
Un coche bonito, unos coches bonitos. Una casa roja, las casas rojas.
A nice car, some nice cars. A red house, the red houses.
Captions 28-29, Fundamentos del Español 3 - Le Estructura de las Frases
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unos ojos azules, inmensos...
some huge, blue eyes...
Caption 24, Extr@: Extra en español Ep. 6: El día de la Primitiva - Part 2
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As you delve further into more complex Spanish grammar such as direct object pronouns, you will see how the number and gender of Spanish nouns continue to exert their influence.
Verb agreement in Spanish refers to the fact that Spanish verbs need to be conjugated in accordance with their respective subjects or subject pronouns, agreeing in number (singular or plural) and person (first, second, or third). Although this concept exists in English, it is much simpler due to the fact that there are less subject pronouns in English (seven vs. thirteen in Spanish) and far less verb forms. For example, for all of the seven English subject pronouns, there are only two verb forms, as we see below:
Subject Pronoun:
I: speak
you: speak
he: speaks
she: speaks
we: speak
they: speak
it: speaks
In Spanish, on the other hand, there are thirteen subject pronouns and many corresponding conjugations. Additionally, the manner in which each verb is conjugated depends upon which of the three common verb categories (-ar, -er, and -ir) it falls into, and many verbs are irregular, making verb agreement in Spanish significantly more complex. With this in mind, let's take a look at a chart with the conjugations of three common regular verbs, one from each category, in the present indicative tense:
| Subject Pronoun: | hablar: | comer: | subir: |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablo | como | subo |
| tú | hablas | comes | subes |
| vos | hablás | comés | subís |
| él/ella/usted | habla | come | sube |
| vosotros/vosotras | habláis | coméis | subís |
| nosotros/nosotras | hablamos | comemos | subimos |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablan | comen | suben |
If that doesn't seem nuanced enough, keep in mind that that was just one of the sixteen Spanish verb tenses, each of which has its own specific manner of conjugating verbs in order to ensure verb agreement.
We hope that these explanations have given you a better idea about the concept of noun and verb agreement in Spanish, which are essential to understanding Spanish sentences and constructing your own. Don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.
In Spanish, nouns are categorized into two grammatical genders: masculine and feminine. While the grammatical gender of a noun that describes a living being sometimes gives away that being's real life gender, there is a special category of nouns known as "epicene nouns" where this is not the case. In this lesson, we will explore the concept of epicene nouns in Spanish and provide you with several examples to better understand them.
When indicating real life gender in Spanish, for some living beings, there are different words for the male and female versions, for example, la vaca (the cow) vs. el toro (the bull). Others nouns indicate real life gender with changes to their endings and/or articles, such as the fact that el maestro refers to a male teacher, while la maestra is a female teacher.
Grammatically speaking, epicene nouns, like all nouns, are either masculine or feminine. However, what makes Spanish epicene nouns unique is that they are used for both the males and females of the beings they describe. For example, the noun la hormiga (ant) is a feminine noun that can be used to talk about either a male or female insect. Considering this, if you wish to say that a male ant was defending the queen ant, you would need to add the word macho (male) after it for clarification:
La hormiga macho estaba defendiendo a la reina.
The male ant was defending the queen.
Therefore, if you wish to provide this type of precise information regarding the real life gender of the noun about which you are speaking, the following terms should be used to talk about animals and people.
| MASCULINE | FEMININE | |
|---|---|---|
| ANIMALS | macho (male) | hembra (female) |
| PEOPLE | varón (male) | mujer (female) |
| masculino (masculine) | femenino (feminine) | |
It is important to keep in mind that grammatical agreement in terms of number and gender with epicene nouns is determined by a noun's grammatical gender rather than the sex of the entity it refers to. Let's see what we mean in the following example:
Correct: El tiburón hembra es muy peligroso (The female shark is very dangerous).
Incorrect: El tiburón hembra es muy peligrosa (The female shark is very dangerous).
As you can see, the masculine singular adjective peligroso (dangerous) is used to modify the masculine singular noun el tiburón (the shark), despite the fact that the shark is female. It would be wrong to choose the feminine singular form peligrosa in attempts to correspond to the feminine adjective hembra (female). Now that we know these rules, let's take a look at some of the most common epicene nouns in the Spanish language.
The majority of Spanish epicene nouns are words for animals. In the following list, you can see several:
el búho (the owl)
el camaleón (the chameleon)
la cebra (the zebra)
la hiena (the hyena)
la hormiga (the ant)
la jirafa (the giraffe)
la mosca (the fly)
el tiburón (the shark)
Interestingly, some other nouns like el perro (the dog) and el gato (the cat) may also be considered epicene as they could refer to either gender of these animals. However, in some circles, words like la perra and la gata could be chosen to describe male or female cats.
Now let's look at some epicene nouns for people:
la persona (the person)
la autoridad (the authority)
el personaje (the character)
la víctima (the victim)
el especialista (the specialist)
Some additional epicene nouns for people such as el estudiante (the student), el dentista (the dentist), or el cliente (the customer) can also refer to either men or women. Over time, however, their feminine versions (la estudiante, la dentista, la clienta) have come to be used by some people when referring to females who fit these descriptions.
Now that you understand the concept of epicene nouns, let's see a couple of examples from the Yabla Spanish video library. In the first one, you can see how the feminine epicene noun la víctima (the victim) is used to talk about a male victim, while in the second, the masculine noun el personaje describes a female "character":
¡él no es un asesino! Él, ante todo, es una víctima,
he's not a murderer! He, first and foremost, is a victim,
Captions 12-13, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 5 - Part 8
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el nombre del personaje mitológico mexicano de 'la Llorona'.
the name of the Mexican mythological character 'La Llorona' [The Weeping Woman].
Caption 51, Carlos explica Recursos para consultas del español - Part 8
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That's all for this lesson. We hope that you learned something new today, and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions. ¡Hasta la próxima!
In order to answer the question asked in the title of this lesson, the first thing we need to know is how to say "sugar" in Spanish. Do you know how to say "sugar" in Spanish? Let's listen to the answer in the following clip:
Con media taza de azúcar
With half a cup of sugar
Caption 25, Ana Carolina - Ponche navideño
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Now that we know how to say "sugar" in Spanish, let's go back to our initial question: Is the word for "sugar" masculine or feminine in Spanish? Do you say el azúcar or la azúcar? Let's find out.
When it comes to gender, the word azúcar is an ambiguous Spanish noun, which means that it can be either masculine or feminine. Both are valid! Let's look at a couple of examples:
Los ingredientes principales de la torta son la piña y el azúcar moreno de caña.
The main ingredients of the cake are pineapple and brown cane sugar.
Notice how, in the example above, the word azúcar is preceded by the masculine article el and followed by the masculine adjective moreno.
La industria de la azúcar morena juega un papel muy importante en este país.
The brown sugar industry plays a very important role in this country.
In this case, the word azúcar is preceded by the feminine article la and followed by the feminine adjective morena.
Taking this ambiguity into account, it should be mentioned that if there isn't any adjective next to the word azúcar, it is more often employed as a masculine noun. Let's take a look:
Lía, por favor, cuando yo te diga
Lia, please, when I tell you,
me echas el azúcar poco a poco. -Sí.
add the sugar for me little by little. -OK.
Captions 22-23, Cleer y Lía - El día de la madre
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However, if there is an adjective next to the word, the feminine form tends to prevail, as we can see in the following clip from our friend María Fernanda:
Una vez mezclado, colocamos dos cucharadas de azúcar,
Once mixed, we add two tablespoons of sugar,
blanca o morena; en este caso yo conseguí azúcar morena.
white or brown; in this case I got brown sugar.
Captions 30-32, María Fernanda - Mascarilla de aguacate
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Azúcar isn't the only word in Spanish that is ambiguous in terms of gender. In fact, there are several additional ambiguous Spanish nouns, such as the following:
el armazón / la armazón (the frame)
el cochambre / la cochambre (the grime)
el enzima / la enzima (the enzyme)
el mar / la mar (the sea)
el vodka / la vodka (the vodka)
Unlike nouns that change meaning with gender, the unusual thing about ambiguous nouns is that they maintain the same meaning in both their masculine and feminine forms. In other words, both el azúcar and la azúcar mean "sugar."
With this final explanation, we've reached the end of this lesson. We hope that you've learned something new today, and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
Let's enhance our vocabulary today! As you know, nouns in Spanish are defined by number and gender. However, there are some nouns that can be both masculine and feminine. Moreover, depending on the gender they have, these nouns change their meanings completely. With that being said, let's take a look at some Spanish words that change meaning with gender.
Feminine: la capital (a capital city)
Está ubicada a ciento diez kilómetros de Quito, la capital del Ecuador.
It is located one hundred and ten kilometers from Quito, the capital of Ecuador.
Caption 6, Otavalo - El mercado de artesanías de Otavalo
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Masculine: el capital (capital: money)
No buscar la acumulación de capital
It's not seeking the accumulation of capital,
sino buscar la satisfacción de necesidades sociales.
but seeking the satisfaction of social necessities.
Captions 74-75, De consumidor a persona - Short Film
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Feminine: la cólera (anger, rage)
Masculine: el cólera (cholera - the illness)
Feminine: la coma (a comma - punctuation)
Masculine: el coma (a coma - medicine)
Feminine: la cometa (a kite)
Pero la cometa estaba muy alta para cogerla.
But the kite was too high to grab.
Caption 22, Guillermina y Candelario - El Gran Descubrimiento
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Masculine: el cometa (a comet - astronomy)
Feminine: la corte (a court of law OR the royal court of a king)
Creo que voy a apelar esta decisión a la Corte Suprema.
I think I'm going to appeal this decision to the Supreme Court.
Caption 83, Los casos de Yabla - Problemas de convivencia
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...que le habían sido cedidos para recreo de la corte.
...that had been handed over to him for the court's recreation.
Caption 59, Marisa en Madrid - Parque de El Retiro
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Masculine: el corte (a cut - injury OR the cut of hair or a suit)
Y ahora voy a hacer el corte aquí.
And now I am going to make the cut here.
Caption 42, Instrumentos musicales - Ocarinas
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Feminine: la cura (the cure)
Tu madre no tiene cura.
Your mom has no cure.
Caption 45, Muñeca Brava - 44 El encuentro
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Masculine: el cura (a priest)
Aquí no habrá noche de bodas mientras no vayan con un cura.
Here, there will be no wedding night until you go to a priest.
Caption 23, El Ausente - Acto 4
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Feminine: la final (the sports final, the playoffs)
Jueguen como si fuera la final.
Play as if it were the finals.
Caption 46, Carlos explica - Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros
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Masculine: el final (the end)
Al final le he pedido disculpas y todo.
In the end, I apologized to him and everything.
Caption 55, Cortometraje - Flechazos
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Feminine: la frente (the forehead)
"María le tocó la frente a su hijo para ver si tenía fiebre".
"Maria touched her son's forehead to see if he had a fever."
Caption 17, Carlos explica - Vocabulario: El verbo “tocar”
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Masculine: el frente (the front - military)
Los soldados están en el frente de batalla.
The soldiers are on the battle front.
Feminine: la guía (a guide book OR a female guide OR a telephone book OR guidance)
Todo bajo la guía de un profesor de educación física.
All with the guidance of a P.E. teacher.
Caption 7, Los Años Maravillosos - Capítulo 1
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¡Pippo, traé una guía!
Pippo, bring me a phone directory.
Caption 55, Yago - 5 La ciudad
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Masculine: el guía (a male guide)
Mi nombre es Mauricio y soy un guía turístico.
My name is Mauricio and I'm a tour guide.
Caption 27, Pipo - Un paseo por la playa de Atacames
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Feminine: la orden (a command OR a restaurant order)
Normalmente, cuando estás haciendo una orden...
Usually, when you're placing an order...
Caption 28, Natalia de Ecuador - Ordenar en un restaurante
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Masculine: el orden (order)
Listo, señor Rolleri; todo en orden.
Done, Mister Rolleri; everything's in order.
Caption 68, Confidencial: El rey de la estafa - Capítulo 2
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That's if for today. Do you know more Spanish words that change meaning with gender? We challenge you to find more and don't forget to send us your questions and comments.
Let's talk about gender. If you have been studying Spanish, you probably know that nouns in Spanish have a gender. For example, the word libro (book) is a masculine noun. On the contrary, the noun pelota (ball) is feminine. If you want to use those nouns with their corresponding definite articles, you will say el libro (the book) and la pelota (the ball). Now, what about the noun agua (water)? Is agua masculine or feminine? Do you say el agua or la agua?
Let's take a look at some clips:
Cuando uno tiene sed
When one is thirsty
Pero el agua no está cerca
But the water's not close by
Captions 17-18, Jarabe de Palo - Agua
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Y como para completar la historia, desperdiciaban el agua todo el tiempo.
And, as if to make matters worse, they wasted water all the time.
Caption 15, Salvando el planeta Palabra - Llegada
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Y apenas sus pies tocaron el agua,
And as soon as their feet touched the water,
se convirtieron en dos grandes serpientes.
they turned into two big snakes.
Captions 51-52, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bachué
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Can you now answer our question? According to the above clips, is agua masculine or feminine? In all the previous clips, the word agua is placed right after the masculine definite article "el" so the noun agua must be masculine, right? Not so fast! Let's take a look at the following clips:
Limonadas, refrescos o simplemente agua fresca.
Lemonades, sodas or just cold water.
Caption 42, Aprendiendo con Karen - Utensilios de cocina
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Las formas de presentación incluyen el agua ozonizada y el aceite ozonizado.
The formulations include ozonized water and ozonized oil.
Caption 35, Los médicos explican - Beneficios del ozono
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Un día, los vientos del páramo agitaron las aguas de la laguna.
One day, the winds from the tundra shook up the waters of the lake.
Caption 26, Aprendiendo con Carlos - América precolombina - El mito de Bachué
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Did you see that? If you look at the first two clips, you can see that the adjectives that go after the noun agua are feminine adjectives that end with the vowel "a" (fresca and ionizada). Also, in the third clip, you can see that the term aguas (plural form of agua) is preceded by the feminine definite article "las". So, is agua masculine or feminine?
The answer is very simple: the noun agua is always feminine. However, if you are wondering why we say "el agua" and not "la agua" there is a simple rule you need to keep in mind: If a feminine noun starts with a stressed "a", you need to use the masculine definite article "el". Let's see more feminine nouns that start with a stressed "a":
el águila (the eagle)
el alma (the soul)
Nevertheless, it is important to say that for plural feminine nouns, you need to use the plural feminine definitive article "las":
las aguas (the waters)
las águilas (the eagles)
las almas (the souls)
Finally, keep in mind that if the noun is feminine the adjective needs to be feminine too. For example, let's say that we want to say "the water is dirty." Since water is feminine in Spanish, you need to use the feminine version of the adjective (sucia):
RIGHT - El agua está sucia
WRONG - El agua está sucio
So, there you have it. We hope you learned something useful today and don't forget to send us your comments and suggestions.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Let's talk about gender. How do you know if a word like leche (milk) or mapa (map) is feminine or masculine? Let's explore some rules (and exceptions) that will help you to identify the gender of inanimate objects in Spanish. Please, keep in mind that we will use the definite articles el (masculine) and la (feminine) in order to better recognize the gender of the nouns we are mentioning throughout this article.
Generally speaking, nouns that end in -o are masculine while those ending in -a are feminine. Let's see some of the most common objects that follow this rule:
El libro (the book)
El baño (the bathroom)
El piano (the piano)
El diccionario (the dictionary)
El asiento (the seat)
La casa (the house)
La cama (the bed)
La lámpara (the lamp)
La cocina (the kitchen)
La caja (the box)
However, there are some exceptions to this rule. Let's look at some of the most common ones.
La mano derecha se colocará en esta posición llamada acorde de LA mayor.
The right hand will be placed in this position called A major chord.
Caption 1, Curso de guitarra - Para los que empiezan desde cero
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Es la foto de mis abuelos, es mi familia.
It's a photo of my grandparents. It's my family.
Caption 5, Yago - 3 La foto
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Y bueno, el día llega a su fin, y llegas a casa a relajarte.
And well, the day comes to an end, and you get home to relax.
Captions 80-81, Natalia de Ecuador - Vocabulario de prendas de vestir
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Por ejemplo: problema, el problema, mapa, el mapa.
For example: problem, the problem, map, the map.
Captions 16-17, Isabel - El Género Gramatical - Masculino y Femenino
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¿Y pudieron conocer el planeta de su amigo?
And were you able to see your friend's planet?
Caption 31, Guillermina y Candelario - Un marciano en la playa
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Cuando utilizamos el idioma español.
When we use the Spanish language.
Entonces, vamos a hablar entonces ya.
So, then we are going to talk now.
Captions 5-6, Lecciones con Carolina - Errores comunes
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There is no particular rule for this group. Some of the nouns here are masculine while others are feminine. Some examples:
Eh... los ordeñadores pasan a
Um... the milkers go on to
pesar la leche para ver la cantidad que produce cada una.
weigh the milk to check the quantity that each one produces.
Captions 54-55, Gustavo Adolfo - Su finca lechera
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Se arma el árbol, el pesebre, los niños llevan sus instrumentos musicales.
The tree is set up, the manger, the children carry their musical instruments.
Caption 40, Lida y Cleer - Buñuelos
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La India Catalina era la líder de la tribu indígena.
India Catalina was the leader of the indigenous tribe.
Caption 26, Viajando en Colombia - Cartagena en coche
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Let's look at some examples in this group:
Me relajo y contemplo el paisaje.
I relax and I look at the landscape.
Captions 30-31, Natalia de Ecuador - Los adverbios de orden
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Cuando me llega el dolor yo me arreglo
When pain hits me I manage
Caption 6, Jorge Celedón, Vicentico - Si Me Dejan
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¿Puedo ver el menú por favor?
Can I see the menu please?
Caption 12, Cata y Cleer - En el restaurante
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La ciencia nunca falla, caballero.
Science never fails, sir.
Caption 39, Los casos de Yabla - Problemas de convivencia
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La acentuación es la acción y efecto de acentuar.
Accentuation is the action and effect of accenting.
Caption 13, Carlos explica - Acentuación Cap. 1: Conceptos básicos
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Mi hijo quiere estudiar inglés o japonés el próximo año en la universidad.
My son wants to study English or Japanese next year in college.
Caption 25, Lecciones con Carolina - Conjunciones disyuntivas
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Tenemos el océano Pacífico y el océano Atlántico.
We have the Pacific ocean and the Atlantic ocean.
Caption 24, Melany de Guatemala - País de la Eterna Primavera
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El martes, también salí por la noche.
On Tuesday, I also went out at night.
Caption 11, El Aula Azul - La Doctora Consejos: El pasado
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Y que el cien por cien de las ganancias pues iban destinadas a la coalición española.
And one hundred percent of the profits were going to the Spanish coalition.
Caption 45, David Bisbal - Haciendo Premonición Live
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El azul, donde echamos el papel, cartón, revistas.
The blue one, where we throw away paper, cardboard, magazines.
Caption 4, Rosa - Reciclar
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Eh... Les recomiendo que vengan a visitar las islas Galápagos.
Um... I recommend that you come to visit the Galapagos Islands.
Caption 1, Galápagos - Una visita a este archipiélago
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Que queda ubicado sobre la Avenida Jiménez.
Which is located on Jiminez Avenue.
Caption 47, Bogotá - Chorro de Quevedo
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Me gustaría referirme a la pronunciación de dos letras,
I'd like to refer to the pronunciation of two letters,
la "elle" y la "ye".
the "double l" and the "y."
Captions 6-8, Carlos y Cyndy - La pronunciación en Colombia y Argentina
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There are some inanimate nouns that can be either feminine or masculine, which means both forms are accepted.
El mar / la mar (the sea). For this noun, the masculine form is used more often.
El maratón / la maratón (the marathon). Both forms are accepted.
El arte / las artes (the arts). Usually the masculine form is used in the singular and the feminine one in the plural.
El sartén / la sartén (the pan). While the masculine noun is the most frequently used, some countries in the Americas tend to favor the feminine form.
There are various words that are almost identical but they differ in meaning. Very often, indeed, you can fully grasp that difference by bringing the gender variable into it. Let's see some examples:
El cuchillo (the knife) / La cuchilla (the blade)
El barco (the ship) / La barca (the boat)
El bolso (the purse) / La bolsa (the bag)
El puerto (the port) / la puerta (the door)
El cuadro (the painting) / La cuadra (the block)
El manzano (the apple tree) / La manzana (the apple)
That's it for today. We hope you find this lesson useful and we invite you to send us your comments and suggestions.
¡Hasta la próxima!
Let’s talk about articles. In this lesson, we will review this basic but very important ingredient of the Spanish language. We'll begin this lesson by discussing what an article is, and then look at the two main groups of articles we have in Spanish.
An article is a word that we use in Spanish to specify the gender and number of a noun. Articles also tell us how specific a noun is and that’s why they can be definite or indefinite. Finally, we always put articles before a noun.
If that sounds too complicated, let’s see how the Cambridge Dictionary defines the word article: “Any of the English words "a," "an," and "the," or words in other languages that are used in a similar way as these.” With that being said, let’s take a look at definite and indefinite articles in Spanish.
Definite articles in English are easy. In fact, we only have one definite article: the. On the contrary, we have four different definite articles in Spanish:
The article la
The article los
The article las
Let’s see them in action:
El niño (the boy) - We use ‘el’ to indicate that the noun is singular and masculine.
La niña (the girl) - We use ‘la’ to indicate that the noun is singular and feminine.
Los niños (the boys) - We use ‘los’ to indicate that the noun is plural and masculine.
Las niñas (the girls) - We use ‘las’ to indicate that the noun is plural and feminine.
Keep in mind, however, that if you are referring to a group where you have both male and female elements, we need to use the masculine article ‘los’. In fact, in those cases we need to use the plural form of the masculine noun:
A group of 4 male friends: los amigos (the friends)
A group of 4 female friends: las amigas (the friends)
A group of 2 male friends and 2 female friends: los amigos (the friends)
Hoy tengo clase con los alumnos principiantes de español.
Today I have class with the beginner Spanish students.
Caption 5, Español para principiantes - La hora
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In the example above, we use the article los with the word alumnos (students) but the speaker is very likely referring to a group of both male and female students.
We also have the neuter definite article lo but if you want a further explanation about this very particular article, please check the lesson about this topic HERE.
In English, we have the indefinite articles “a” and “an.” On the other hand, we have four indefinite articles in Spanish that we use to specify the gender and number of the noun they precede. These articles are un, una, unos and unas:
Un perro (a dog) - We use ‘un’ to indicate that the noun is singular and masculine.
Una serpiente (a snake) - We use ‘una’ to indicate that the noun is singular and feminine.
Unos perros (some dogs) - We use ‘unos’ to indicate that the noun is plural and masculine.
Unas serpientes (some snakes) - We use ‘unas’ to indicate that the noun is plural and feminine.
Let’s look at a couple of sentences more with indefinite articles in Spanish:
Compré un regalo para unos amigos.
I bought a gift for some friends.
Caption 9, Conversaciones en el parque - Cap. 4: Regalos para un nuevo bebé
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In this sentence, we use the article unos with the noun amigos (friends). However, just as it happens with the definite article los, we use the indefinite article unos when referring to groups that may include both male and female elements. In this case, some friends could easily include both male and female friends.
¿Unas entradas para ver un musical?
Some tickets to see a musical?
Caption 35, Blanca y Mariona - Planificación de cena
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In this example, both nouns are indefinite so the girls use the corresponding indefinite articles. If the girls had known some specific information about the tickets and the musical, they would have used definite articles:
That's it for now. If you are aware of the gender and number variables that nouns have in Spanish, you will be on your way to using definite and indefinite articles in Spanish like a pro. We hope you find this lesson useful and don’t forget to send us your feedback and suggestions.
The word lo can either be used as a neuter article, or as a pronoun. In this lesson we will focus on its use as an article.
Neuter articles are used to express abstract ideas or give extra emphasis to a certain adjective. As a neuter article, lo is the easiest of all the articles as there is only one form: lo. It can be placed in front of just about any adjective that expresses an abstraction or a quality (or extreme degree of quantity), something that's not a concrete object or person.
Here are some phrases that take lo before different types of adjectives:
lo bueno = "the good part, what's good"
lo fácil = "the easy part, what's easy"
lo mío = "(that which is) mine"
lo nuestro = "(that which is) ours"
Lo + adjective can be translated in English as "the" + adjective + the word "thing" or "part":
Y pues, es lo malo de vivir en un país así.
And well, it's the bad thing about living in a country like this.
Caption 68, Amigos D.F. - El secuestrar
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Eso es lo bonito de la gastronomía.
That is the nice thing about gastronomy.
Caption 29, Cómetelo - Crema de brócoli
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In fact, lo + adjective generates the syntactic equivalent of a noun phrase. That's why it's also common to translate it as "what is + adjective." In the previous examples, we would have:
Y pues, es lo malo de vivir en un país así / And well, it's what is bad about living in a country like this.
Eso es lo bonito de la gastronomía / That's what is nice about gastronomy.
The use of lo before a relative clause has a similar effect:
Hay gente que rectifica lo que dice
There are people who correct what they say
Caption 39, Calle 13 - No hay nadie como tú
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Lucio, tengo que contarte que por lo que me adelantó Morena...
Lucio, I have to tell you that from what Morena told me in advance...
Caption 57, Yago - 7 Encuentros - Part 14
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In fact, lo can often be taken to mean roughly la cosa or las cosas:
Hay gente que rectifica lo que dice. → There are people who correct what they say.
Hay gente que rectifica (las cosas) que dice. → There are people who correct (the things) they say.
...por lo que me adelantó Morena. → ...from what Morena told me.
...por (las cosas) que me adelantó Morena. → ...from (the things) that Morena told me.
By the way, lo can be used before a series of adjetives too:
Pero encontrar lo bueno, bonito y barato
But finding the good, [the] nice and [the] cheap
a veces es muy complicado.
is sometimes very complicated.
Captions 2-3, 75 minutos - Gangas para ricos
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Of course, in order to help our subscribers with their learning process, we have made the translation here as parallel as possible. But you already know what would make a more natural translation, right?
→ But finding what's good, nice, and cheap is sometimes complicated.
→ But finding the good, nice, and cheap things is sometimes complicated.
There is yet one more use of lo as a neuter article and it's rather interesting. Lo is used to express the extreme degree or nature of a given concept or idea. Here it's best to review some examples:
¿Es que no eres todo lo feliz que desearías?
Is it that you are not as happy as you would like?
Caption 26, De consumidor a persona - Short Film
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Sometimes this lo equates to using the word “how”:
Si supieras lo mucho que te amo
If you knew how much I love you
Caption 15, Ozomatli - Jardinero
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Porque ves las gradas llenas, eh,
Because you see the packed bleachers, um,
la gente lo bien que se lo pasa con la música.
how much fun the people have with the music.
Captions 11-12, Los Juegos Olímpicos - Adrián Gavira
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¿Pero cómo voy a perder mis maletas de vista
But how am I going to lose sight of my suitcases
con lo grandes que son?
with how big they are?
Captions 29-30, Raquel - Avisos de Megafonía
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Read more about the use of the neuter gender here.
Welcome to our very basic lesson about gender in Spanish. How can we tell the gender of nouns in Spanish? Let’s look at the most general rule: Words that end in "a" are feminine, while those that end in "o" are masculine. Pretty easy, huh? Let's look at some examples:
Y la casa es súper bonita.
And the house is super nice.
Caption 86, Blanca y Mariona - Vida en general
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Since the word casa is a feminine noun, the speaker uses the definite feminine article la before the noun. Let's see another one:
El libro es tan bueno
The book is as good
Caption 21, Karla e Isabel - Comparativos
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In this case, the speaker uses the definite masculine article el before the masculine noun libro. By the way, please feel free to check our beginner-level lesson about definite and indefinite articles in Spanish grammar.
The unfortunate thing, however, is that this simple rule is not always true, as our friend Arume proves when she correctly says "el tema" (the topic) and not "la tema," which would be incorrect.
Y bueno ahí surge ya el tema de tengo novio, no tengo novio.
And well, that's when the topic of whether you have a boyfriend or not comes up.
Caption 75, Arume - La Vida Escolar
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Furthermore, in the first installment of our series on Andalusian farmers, "Del Campo a la Mesa," the eldest picker illustrates another exception when he says, correctly, "las manos" (the hands):
Pa' ganar cincuenta euros tienes que mover mucho las manos.
To be able to earn fifty Euros, you have to move the hands a lot.
Caption 29, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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And it's not just such exceptions but also some rules that can complicate the situation. For example, do you know why the Mexican band Café Tacuba’s lead singer says "el agua," using the masculine article "el" (the) instead of the feminine article "la" (the)?
El agua derramada está
The water is already spilled
Caption 17, Café Tacuba - Volver a comenzar
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It’s not because agua is a masculine noun but rather because of a rule in Spanish that states that any feminine noun that begins with a stressed "a" should take the masculine articles (el and un) in its singular form in order to facilitate pronunciation (by avoiding two "a" sounds in a row). This is similar to the manner in which the indefinite article "a" in English changes to "an" before vowels.
You will note, however, that this rule does not apply to the plural forms, which maintain their feminine articles (which end in "s" rather than "a" and thus don't pose the same pronunciation challenge):
Ellos vinieron aquí, a las aguas de la Charca Larga,
They came here, to the waters of Long Pond,
y había muchos seres extraños.
and there were many strange beings.
Captions 42-43, Salvando el planeta Palabra - Llegada
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And, in cases in which the "a" sound is unstressed, the rule doesn't apply, either:
La aceituna que yo he recogido está aquí.
The olive[s] that I have harvested [are] here.
Caption 19, 75 minutos - Del campo a la mesa
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In conclusion, let’s just say that native Spanish speakers learn the gender of words by hearing and using them constantly in real situations and not by memorizing exceptions or wondering whether the word tristeza (sadness) feels more masculine or feminine. That said, the more we immerse ourselves in authentic Spanish, the more we, as learners, can begin to “intuitively” know the gender of nouns that we frequently encounter, including those that don’t follow the common pattern.
In any case, if you feel ready to explore some of the rules and exceptions of gender in Spanish, we invite you to take a look at our lesson about the gender of inanimate objects in Spanish. We hope that this brief introduction to gender in Spanish was useful, and please feel free to send us your suggestions and comments.
Colombian crooner Juanes has the audience singing along to every word of his hit Para tu amor in this week's featured video. Catchy lyrics are helpful language-learning aids: When they get stuck in your head (and won't leave) they build up your vocabulary and aid in your memorization of usage rules. Case in point: Para tu amor contains many lyrical lines that can help non-native speakers grasp the difference between para and por -- both translated into English as "for" in many cases. In newsletters past, we've drawn from the Yabla Spanish archive of song lyrics to write about distinctions between por and para. (Linked here for your review.) So, in this week's newsletter, we'll use Juanes to illuminate a gender rule bender instead.
He sings:
Yo te quiero con el alma y con el corazón
I love you with my soul and with my heart
Caption 13, Juanes - Para tu amor
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Check our online dictionary and you'll see alma (a noun) is feminine, as so many Spanish words that '-a' are. But alma belongs to a subgroup of feminine nouns that take masculine articles when singular. Others include:
Note that all four examples listed above begin with a stressed a-, which wouldn't sound right to a native speaker if preceded by la or una. Also note that when plural, they revert to the feminine article las or unas. So it's las aguas tibias ("the lukewarm waters").
As a final note: Whatever the number, alma and her gender-bending ilk behave like feminine nouns when they are paired with adjectives. That is to say, the adjectives they are paired with are made feminine with an -a ending. For more on words that break gender rules, see:
ThoughtCo. > Spanish grammar > Gender reversals
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