Nouns & Adjectives

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Learning Objectives

- Identify the gender of nouns.

- Use definite and indefinite articles correctly.

- Make adjectives agree with nouns in gender and number.

Gender of Nouns

In Spanish, all nouns have a grammatical gender (either masculine or feminine), regardless of whether they represent a person, place, thing, concept, or idea. This is different from English, where nouns don't have a grammatical gender.

Articles and adjectives must align with the noun's gender and number.

Masculine Nouns

Singular Masculine Nouns

The masculine singular noun takes either the definite article el or the indefinite article un.

As a general rule, nouns ending in -o, -ma, -or and -aje are typically masculine:

Singular Nouns Masculine
Spanish	English	Information
el amigo	the friend	ending in -o
el sistema	the system	ending in -ma
un amor	a love	ending in -or
un viaje	a trip	ending in -aje

However, there are numerous important exceptions to this pattern:

Important Exceptions Nouns Masculine
	Spanish	English	Information
	la mano	the hand
	la foto	the photo
	una flor	a flower
	una crema	a cream

Plural Masculine Nouns

The masculine plural noun takes either the definite article los or the indefinite article unos.

To form the plural of masculine nouns:

Add -s to nouns ending in a vowel (A, E, I, O, U)
Add -es to nouns ending in a consonant

Plural Nouns Masculine
Spanish	English	Information
los amigos	friends	el amigo → los amigo_s
los sistemas	the systems	el sistema → los sistema_s
unos amores	some loves	un amor → unos amor_es
unos trenes	some trains	un tren → unos tren_es

Feminine Nouns

Singular Feminine Nouns

The feminine singular noun takes either the definite article la or the indefinite article una.

You can reliably identify feminine nouns by their endings:

any noun that ends in -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, or -tud is feminine.

Singular Nouns Feminine
Spanish	English	Information
la educación	education	ending in -ción
la pasión	the passion	ending in -sión
una ciudad	a city	ending in -dad
una libertad	a freedom	ending in -tad
la juventud	youth	ending in -tud

And of course there are a lot more Spanish feminine nouns ending in different letters:

Other Feminine Singular Nouns
	Spanish	English	Information
	la bolsa	the bag
	la tienda	the store
	una ventana	a window
	una mujer	a woman

Plural Feminine Nouns

The feminine plural noun takes either the definite article las or the indefinite article unas.

Similar to the masculine plural noun, to form the plural:

Add -s to nouns ending in a vowel (A, E, I, O, U)
Add -es to nouns ending in a consonant

Plural Nouns Feminine
Spanish	English	Information
las casas	the houses	la casa → las casa_s
las mesas	the tables	la mesa → las mesa_s
unas canciones	a few songs	una canción → unas cancion_es
unas ilusiones	some illusions	una ilusión → unas ilusion_es

Common Descriptive Adjectives
	Spanish	English	Information
	un gran problema	a big problem
	un nuevo coche	a new car
	una vieja casa	an old house

Variable Gender Nouns

Note

Some nouns maintain the same spelling regardless of gender. Only the article changes to indicate whether the person being referenced is male or female.

Nouns Ending in -ista

Nouns ending in -ista can be either masculine or feminine, depending on whether they refer to a male or female. The article (el/la) indicates the gender:

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
el artista	the (male) artist	la artista	the (female) artist
el dentista	the (male) dentist	la dentista	the (female) dentist

Nouns Ending in -nte

Similarly, nouns ending in -nte can be either masculine or feminine. The article determines the gender of the person being referenced:

Spanish	English	Spanish	English
el cantante	the (male) singer	la cantante	the (female) singer
el estudiante	the (male) student	la estudiante	the (female) student

Definite & Indefinite
Articles

Below you'll find two comprehensive tables showing all variations of Spanish articles:

Definite Articles

Article	Gender	Grammatical Number	English
el	masculine	singular	the
la	feminine	singular	the
los	masculine	plural	the
las	feminine	plural	the

Indefinite Articles

Article	Gender	Grammatical Number	English
un	masculine	singular	a, an
una	feminine	singular	a, an
unos	masculine	plural	some
unas	feminine	plural	some

Adjectives

Adjectives are words that describe nouns and almost always follow the noun they describe.

They answer questions like:

What kind? (e.g., grande - big, pequeño - small)
Which one? (e.g., ese - that, esta - this) → Demonstrative adjectives
How many? (e.g., muchos - many, pocos - few) → Quantitative adjectives

In Spanish, adjectives must agree with the noun they modify in both gender and number.

This means the adjective's ending changes to match the noun's gender and number.

Masculine nouns: Use the masculine form of the adjective.
Feminine nouns: Use the feminine form of the adjective.
Plural nouns: Use the plural form of the adjective.

Basic Examples
Spanish	English	Information
El perro negro	The black dog	Masculine noun
La casa negra	The black house	Feminine nouns
Los coches negros	Black cars	Plural noun

Adjectives that end in -o change to -a when modifying a feminine noun.

Adjective modifying a Feminine Noun
	Spanish	English	Information
	La casa blanca	The white house	blanco → blanc_a

Adjectives that do not end in -o have the same form for describing both masculine and feminine nouns.

Adjectives that do not end in -o
	Spanish	English	Information
	El tren excelente	Excellent train
	La comida excelente	Excellent food

Adjectives that end in a vowel add -s to form the plural.

Adjectives that end in a vowel
	Spanish	English	Information
	Las mujeres hermosas	Beautiful women	la mujer hermosa → las mujeres hermosa_s

Adjectives that end in a consonant add -es to form the plural.

Adjectives that end in a consonant
	Spanish	English	Information
	Los gatos grises	Gray cats	El gato gris → Los gatos gris_es

Adjective Placement

The placement of adjectives can affect their meaning or emphasis. While most adjectives come after the noun (unlike in English), there are important rules and exceptions to understand.

Basic Rule: After the Noun

Adjectives typically come after the noun they describe.

Exceptions: Before the Noun

Some adjectives commonly appear before the noun.

Inherent Qualities
	Spanish	English	Information
	un buen amigo	a good friend
	un mal día	a bad day
	una bella mujer	a beautiful woman

Numbers and Order
	Spanish	English	Information
	el primer día	the first day
	los tres libros	the three books
	el último tren	the last train

Common Adjectives Before Noun
	Spanish	English	Information
	Es el mismo libro.	It is the same book.
	Hay otra opción.	There is another option.
	Tiene mucha sed.	He is very thirsty.
	Hay poco pan.	There is little bread.
	Hay algún error.	There is some error.
	Cada día llueve.	It rains every day.

Changing Meaning

Some adjectives can change meaning depending on their placement:

Before Noun	Meaning	After Noun	Meaning
un pobre hombre	an unfortunate man	un hombre pobre	a financially poor man
un gran hombre	a great man	un hombre grande	a big/tall man
mi antiguo profesor	my former teacher	un profesor antiguo	an old-fashioned teacher
un viejo amigo	a long-time friend	un amigo viejo	an elderly friend

Tips to Remember

When in doubt, place the adjective after the noun – this is correct most of the time
If you want to emphasize a quality, placing it after the noun usually works better
Physical descriptions (color, shape, size) almost always go after the noun
Multiple adjectives usually go after the noun, separated by 'y': una casa grande y moderna

Remember that regardless of placement, adjectives must still agree with the noun in gender and number!

Special Case:
Feminine Nouns Beginning with Stressed 'A

In Spanish, there's an interesting exception when it comes to feminine nouns that begin with a stressed 'a' or 'ha' sound. Even though these nouns are feminine, we use the masculine article el instead of la in the singular form. This is done to make pronunciation easier and avoid the awkward sound of two 'a' sounds together.

Feminine Nouns Beginning with Stressed 'A
	Spanish	English	Information
	el agua	the water
	el águila	the eagle
	el área	the area
	el hacha	the axe

Important Notes

This rule only applies to the singular definite article (el) and singular indefinite article (un)
In plural form, we use the regular feminine article: las aguas, las águilas
The noun remains feminine, so adjectives still need to agree in feminine form: el agua fría, el águila blanca

When NOT to Apply This Rule

This rule only applies when the 'a' sound is stressed. If the 'a' is unstressed, we use the regular feminine article:

Regular Feminine Article
	Spanish	English	Information
	la amiga	the friend
	la arena	the sand
	la aventura	the adventure

This special case might seem tricky at first, but with practice, it becomes natural. Remember: if you hear a strong 'a' sound at the beginning of a feminine noun, it probably uses el in the singular form!

Conclusion

Congratulations! You've taken your first steps in mastering Spanish grammar. Remember that practice is key. The more you expose yourself to the language, the more natural these concepts will become. ¡Buena suerte! (Good luck!)

NextNouns & Adjectives: Exercises

Nouns & Adjectives

Table of Contents

Gender of Nouns

Masculine Nouns

#Singular Masculine Nouns

#Plural Masculine Nouns

Feminine Nouns

#Singular Feminine Nouns

#Plural Feminine Nouns