Nouns and articles
Masculine and feminine, singular and plural, and el, la, un, una, including where Spanish uses an article and English does not.
Learn
Nouns and articles, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Know whether a noun is masculine or feminine
Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and its gender decides the words around it. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine (el libro) and most ending in -a, -ción or -dad are feminine (la casa, la canción, la ciudad). Learn the exceptions with their article: el día, el problema, la mano, la foto.
Make the masculine and feminine forms of nouns for people
For many people and jobs, swap -o for -a: el vecino, la vecina. A noun ending in -or adds -a: el profesor, la profesora. Nouns ending in -ante, -ente or -ista stay the same, so only the article tells you: el estudiante, la estudiante, la artista.
Make nouns plural
Add -s to a noun ending in a vowel (libro, libros) and -es to one ending in a consonant (ciudad, ciudades). A final -z becomes -ces: vez, veces. Nouns ending in -ión drop their written accent in the plural: canción, canciones.
Make the article agree: el, la, los, las and un, una, unos, unas
The article matches its noun in gender and number: el chico, la chica, los chicos, las chicas. For a or an, use un or una, and for some, unos or unas: unos amigos, unas fotos. A mixed group of boys and girls takes the masculine plural: los alumnos.
Use al and del when a or de meets el
A followed by el always becomes al, and de followed by el becomes del: Voy al parque, I go to the park; Vengo del colegio, I come from school. The other articles never join up: a la playa, de los chicos.
Use the definite article where English leaves it out
Spanish uses el, la, los or las for things in general and for ideas: La educación es importante, Education is important; Me gustan los perros, I like dogs. Days of the week take the article where English says on: el lunes, on Monday; los sábados, on Saturdays.
Leave out un and una with a job after ser
Where English says a or an before a job, Spanish has no article: Mi madre es médica, My mother is a doctor; Quiero ser profesor, I want to be a teacher. It also drops it in many negatives: No tengo perro, I haven't got a dog. Bring un or una back when an adjective joins the job: Es un médico muy bueno.
Use the infinitive as a noun where English uses -ing
When English turns a verb into a noun with -ing, Spanish uses the infinitive: Nadar es bueno para la salud, Swimming is good for your health; Me gusta leer, I like reading. The -ando and -iendo forms are never used as nouns.
Nouns and articles key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Gender
- Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine. The gender is part of the word, so learn it with its article: el libro, la mesa.
- Definite article
- The word for the: el, la, los, las. Spanish uses it more than English does, for things in general: Me encanta la música, I love music.
- Indefinite article
- The word for a, an or some: un, una, unos, unas. Un perro, a dog; unas fotos, some photos.
- Plural
- More than one. A noun adds -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant: casa, casas; ciudad, ciudades.
- al and del
- The joined forms of a with el (to the) and de with el (of the, from the). They are compulsory: Voy al cine, la casa del profesor.
- el día and el problema
- Two common masculine nouns that end in -a. Others like them are el idioma, el programa, el tema and el clima.
- la mano and la foto
- Two common feminine nouns that end in -o, so their adjectives are feminine too: una foto bonita.
- Infinitive
- The form of a verb that ends in -ar, -er or -ir. It can work as a noun where English uses -ing: Leer es divertido, Reading is fun.
Common mistakes in Nouns and articles
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Giving every noun that ends in -a the article la, as in la problema or la día.
A few common nouns break the pattern, so learn them as a set with their article: el día, el problema, el idioma, el programa, el tema, and the other way round, la mano and la foto.
Writing a el or de el instead of al and del.
A and de always join a following el: Voy al centro, Salgo del cine. They never join la, los or las.
Leaving out the article for things in general, as in Me gusta música for I like music.
When you talk about something in general, Spanish needs the article: Me gusta la música, Los deportes son divertidos. Check every opinion you write, because that is where it comes up most.
Putting un or una before a job, as in Mi padre es un profesor.
After ser, a job on its own takes no article: Mi padre es profesor, Quiero ser médica. Add un or una only when an adjective comes with the job.
Using the -ando form as a noun, as in Me gusta nadando.
Where English uses -ing as a noun, Spanish uses the infinitive: Me gusta nadar, I like swimming; Leer es importante, Reading is important.
Practice
Try a Nouns and articles question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Which of these nouns is feminine?
- día
- programa
- ciudad
- idioma
Show the answer and the working
Answer: ciudad
Nouns ending in -dad are feminine, so it is la ciudad; el día, el programa and el idioma are masculine even though they end in -a.
- Día is a masculine exception: el día.
- Several nouns ending in -ma are masculine: el programa, el idioma.
- Nouns ending in -dad are always feminine: la ciudad.