Feminine forms. El maquillaje de Claudia es muy bueno. We said words that end in -or are masculine. Quiero un rojo ms intenso. Got all that? In those cases, if we want to specify the sex, we need to add macho (male) or hembra (female): Finally, a word can change its meaning according to its ending. We can check this by going to the plural and to its modifiers: The waters = las aguas" The water is cold = "El agua est fria." La mesera descansa los jueves. If the noun is plural and feminine, then use the plural, feminine ending (usually - las ). This attribute allows us to classify words as either masculine or feminine. We would say El mdicO, La mdicO. There are some rules to determine if a noun is masculine of feminine. Soy Daniela Sanchez, Ive taught Spanish in Mexico to a wide array of foreigners. The name Isaac means 'he will laugh.'. is vacation in spanish masculine or feminine. boeing 767 patriot express. You could possibly sayel tortugo to refer to a male turtle, but it might get you a weird look or two. Because there area lot. (Administration) vacancy vacances plural feminine noun holidays pluriel (Brit) holiday (Brit) vacation (USA) les grandes vacances the summer holidays (Brit) the summer vacation (USA) prendre des vacances to take a holiday (Brit) to take a vacation (USA) prendre ses vacances to take one's holidays (Brit) to take one's vacation (USA) My horse is black and my mare brown. The Spanish letters "a" and "o" as the final letter of a word designate a feminine or masculine word; "a" is feminine and "o" is masculine. El diseo de mi prima no est terminado. Miami Beach, FL 33139, All Rights Reserved, 2017-2023. The same thing in the other direction the rules say it should be el, but the word is actually la. Adjectives describing, agua are feminine. When using demonstrative pronouns (esta, esa, aquella) with these words, they stay feminine. The electric scooter is very practical. The word espaol was supposedly imported from Provence by a medieval chronicler (it was originally introduced by pilgrims in Santiago) because there was no existing translation of the earlier Roman word Hispani when writing a chronicle of Spanish history, but this was the word Provenal speakers used to refer to the Christian kingdoms of what As you can see, most of them are nouns used to describe a persons profession or occupation: And here are some examples of what you can do to mark the gender of these words: [Masculine or feminine determiner] + [noun]+ (adjective). Pink is my favorite color. Browse Spanish translations from Spain, Mexico, or any other Spanish-speaking country. One of the biggest exceptions to the LONERS rule we talked about for masculine nouns above is-in. Whether its a good idea to split the world into two genders is a subject for a different article, but for now well go through the various kinds of nouns that switch genders. There are some words that end with -o, -ma, -pa, -ta, or LONERS that are feminine. Tu casa es grande y bonita. So far, youve learned some of the most common endings used to form feminine and masculine words in Spanish and their exceptions. Me urge una vacacin! Both are masculine in Spanish, but when translated to French they become feminine even though the words are almost exactly the same: la couleur, la dent. For example, we usually say la moto for motorcycle, which ends in an -o. For example, to say, 'My brother is an interesting person' in Spanish, you would say Mi hermano es una persona interesante. Before a stressed A vowel sound, use EL instead of LA even if the noun is feminine. And with -(a)tra, especially in the medical field: el/la foniatra, el/la pediatra, el/la obstetra. According to the standard rules, you would think the opposite, but as youll see in the exceptions below, youll learn the nuances with the Spanish language. coming up later. Just like with nouns, Spanish masculine adjectives usually end in the vowel -O like "Bonito" and "Creativo", e.g. El ni o - the male child / la ni a - the female child. But dont worry, were going to give you a framework to work with. (= Is the water cold or lukewarm?). Its the same for words ending with -a: el/la espa, el/la polica, el/la gua. To know if a noun is masculine or feminine, you should look to see what letter(s) the word ends with. Necesito un respiro de mi familia despus de la reunin. 4. Tengo una pluma extra. Do you want to practice your Spanish? Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article. We can include el/la cineasta within this group. Take Note: To pluralize these Spanish words, you must change the -z for the ending -ces. La sangre - the blood. One ending with a final -a, -ista, can be used on words for male or female people, and is both masculine and feminine. Colors are always masculine, even if they end with -a: el rojo, el negro, el azul, el naranja, el prpura, etc. In Spanish, the following nouns are always masculine: (Determiner] +[noun] + [verb conjugated] + [complement]. Nouns ending in -o, an accented vowel, -or, or -aje are usually masculine. Which brings us to the only exception to these rules! Our car is dirty. Control of polling in presence of vacations in heavy traffic with applications to satellite and mobile radio systems. While most nouns that end with a particular consonant or vowel are generally classified as either masculine or feminine, nouns that end with z do not follow a guideline. Encarga doscientas galletas.Order two hundred cookies. And they can be a little confusing because sometimes the noun endings change (the masculineel doctor and the feminine la doctora), but sometimes they dont (the masculineel poeta and the femininela poeta). There are some nouns that end in a, but they are not feminine, but masculine: And vice versa, some nouns that end in -o are feminine: When a masculine noun ends in a consonant, its feminine form ends in a (We just have to had an a after that last consonant). A few of the most common ones are: Any words that are actually a shorter form of a longer word. Mi primo tambin es inteligente. But that has changed with time, and thus we end up with rules that are blurry which do not help when those starting to learn Spanish. We know that a person can be a man or a woman. Idioms with the word back, Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2023. A lot of them are identical or almost identical to words you already know in English! Spanish speakers always like to have vacations in plural. Follow this link if you want to know WHY nouns have a gender in Spanish. Miami Beach, FL 33139, 1000 5th St, suite 200 We know that all people have gender, but in Spanish all nouns have gender. "Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions." Also see my lesson on the stressed A, which causes feminine nouns to take the masculine article. They actually come from Ancient Greek and they are all masculine: el dilema, el emblema, el teorema, el fonema, el lexema. It's time to Get to Grips with Spanish. You may have come across this strange exception before where the masculine article el is used for a feminine word. And to make things more interesting, the fact is that with time, languages evolve and change. by Classroom52. Not only in Spanish, but also in other Romance and non-Romance languages, such as German and Russian. Because the gender of the noun changes the article or adjective that you can use with the noun. The Ultimate Tip-Sheet to Articles in Spanish: El vs La, Un vs Una [2022], Puzzle Solved: Why nouns in Spanish are feminine and masculine [2022]. Forms of feminine and masculine nouns. We covered o above because it really requires its own section, but this is a good general rule of thumb. In Spanish, the masculine form of these animals almost always takes precedence. I have an extra pen. Lingua Linkup, May. (m) means that a noun is masculine. 501 lessons. Do you have any QUESTION or comment about Spanish language? Words ending in -ismo are simply the Spanish counterparts to the English isms because they share the same Latin root. Fast, easy, reliable language certification, 35,000+ worksheets, games, and lesson plans. Given that its key for your conversations and it can also help you practice this spelling change, in this guide, well learn the probar conjugation Hola! So how come it's "el problema" and not "la problema" since "el" should always modify a masculine noun and "la" a feminine noun. List of colors in Spanish 1. Remember that nouns that end with z do not follow a default gender guideline. Ese rbol es muy viejo. LONERS - words that end with any of the letters in LONERS are usually masculine. Colors are ADJECTIVES. That said, we need to get something out of the way before diving into the rules for gender in Spanish. Get a Step-by-Step Map to Learning Spanish. Because of this, he has really hard opinions about AP Style. Learn all about the Spanish gender roles below Feminine (la) vs Masculine (el). Ests muy estresado; necesitas irte de vacaciones. * These words are shortened from words that do end in A: discoteca, fotografa, motocicleta, pornografa, and radiodifusin. Nuestro coche est sucio. For instance, a cat can be el gato (masculine) or la . ). With these rules below, you'll know which to use with every word "el" or "la". The only exception to the weekly sampling rate occurred between sessions 11 and 12 when the family took a two-week. Adjectives that end with an -e or a consonant cannot be modified to express the Spanish grammatical gender. I like the red bag more. In both theFluenz online programand the Fluenz Spanish Immersions, we take it one step at a time. Privacy | Terms of Use. My kitty is sick. All the Spanish nouns ending in cin, -sin, -tad, -tud, -dad or umbre are feminine: There are some Spanish nouns that have the same form for both masculine and feminine. (general) a. vacation (United States) Me urge una vacacin! There are also adjectives where the singular masculine form ends in -e or a consonant, and it keeps the same form in the feminine singular ( verde, azul, gris, marrn) and both gender . The general rule states that all Spanish nouns are masculine or feminine. Copyright 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited. From students and tourists to doctors and soldiers whove moved and visited here over the years. These are some of the nouns whose endings cannot change. [Determiner] + [noun] + [verb conjugated] + [adjective]. Youve probably heard this one before: words ending in -a are feminine and words ending in -o are masculine. Cardinal directions are masculine, too: el norte, el sur, el este, el oeste. Mi padres pasaron las vacaciones de Semana Santa en Argentina. La luz es bastante brillante. Given that this may be a new concept for new learners, many people wonder what grammatical gender in Spanish is. The two most basic rules about gender are based on the last letter of the noun: A word that ends in -o is masculine, and a word that ends in -a is feminine. Many students assume that confusing the gender of words in Spanish is not a big deal. trabajador (feminine trabajadora, masculine plural trabajadores, feminine plural trabajadoras) hard-working Synonyms: currante, trabajante; Noun . You know that people and animals are masculine or feminine, but did you know that nouns in Spanish have gender? Feminine nouns have different letters at the end of them than masculine ones. Here are some of the letters that we usually see at the end of masculine words. Normalmente, voy de vacaciones en diciembre. "Favourite" is "favorito" in Spanish. During the day Im a freelancer and marketer, while at night Im here writing for students of the world wide web looking to learn Spanish. el gato male cat However, with some specific nouns (especially when we talk about professions) we do replace the -e with an -a, and both forms are correct: El presidente -> La presidente / La presidenta. The masculine form is the one that appears on a dictionary. Two examples are doctora (female doctor) and camisa (shirt). Fluenz Fluenz Blog Learn Spanish Basic Spanish El or La? Words that end in -in are feminine nouns, such as religin (religion). Besides the masculine and feminine genders, some nouns are called: de gnero comn, epiceno, and ambiguo. More examples: rea (el rea/las reas), aula (el aula/las aulas), guila (el guila/las guilas), etc. Los delfines son adorables. Think youve got it? My students are already speaking Spanish and using it in their everyday lives. And because it is an occupation, we said that those that end in -a, tend to stay the same. vacation translate: vacances [feminine, plural], vacances [feminine, plural], passer ses vacances, vacances, passer des. It's a good place to start for beginners though! They went to Europe on vacation. The truth can be painful. The opposite time of day, la noche (night), is feminine, so you can think of them as a pair. For those who are serious about their Spanish, there is nothing like the entire Fluenz journey including our digital App, the face-to-face Online Immersion, and the six-day experiences in Mexico City, Barcelona, or Oaxaca. But, more exceptions! La maestra tiene dos gatitas.The teacher has two kitties. Common exceptions: not feminine, masculine El mapa- the map- masculine El da- the day- masculine. As you may already know, most masculine words in Spanish end with -o. Thomas grew up in suburban Massachusetts, and moved to New York City for college. Learn all about the Spanish gender roles below - Feminine (la) vs Masculine (el). El patn elctrico es muy prctico. The idea here is that words that end in any of the letters L-O-N-E-R-S tend to be masculine. frias, sair de frias, frias [feminine, vacances [feminine, plural], passer ses vacances, vacanza, andare in vacanza, (passare le vacanze), Test your vocabulary with our fun image quizzes, Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. Soccer is very boring. This couch is very comfortable. Although words that end in -a are usually feminine, we already know that the words with -ma at the end of them are masculine. Feminine or masculine? La parte - the part. Men wish that they had been warriors, or are proud that they once were. Las aguas azucaradas son malas para la salud. " El nio es bonito y gordo ". Have you tried it yet? Some of the exceptions occur because of how the words were treated in other languages, such as Latin and Greek. The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures. The same goes for some words that end in -o that are actually feminine: la mano, la radio, la foto, etc. Well start with the most obvious, which is that most words that end in o are going to be masculine. Why? The man sneezed.). My cousins design is not finished. Feminine nouns that end in -o * These words are shortened from words that do end in A: discoteca, fotografa, motocicleta, pornografa, and radiodifusin. Days and months are masculine: el lunes, el mircoles, el sbado, este abril, ese enero, etc. For those interested in a little history, masculine Spanish nouns that end in-ta,-pa and-ma tend to come from Greek originally. Words ending simply in -inare often masculine, as in: el camin, el avin, etc., so bear that in mind! We say EL agua frA (The cold water). nine fem--nn 1 : of the female sex 2 : characteristic of or belonging to women : womanly 3 : of, relating to, or making up the class of words that ordinarily includes most of those referring to females a feminine noun in Latin femininely adverb feminineness noun femininity fem--nin-t- noun feminine 2 of 2 noun 1 Exceptions: el mapa, el da, el planeta, el sof, el problema, el tema, el sistema, el idioma, el drama, etc. 08, 2020, https://lingualinkup.com/el-la-spanish/, Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions. For living things (such as people and animals), the grammatical gender is associated with the biological gender: El perro de Luis es blanco. Luca tiene cualidades muy buenas. There are one hundred chairs available. As you can see, below that chart, youll then see the el & la exceptions for Spanish words. Even though these endings can generally help you with the gender of a noun, there are some words that do not follow these rules. Here's what's included: Get conjugations, examples, and pronunciations for millions of words and phrases in Spanish and English. This is a little more complicated but my recommendation is to learn the more common words in a first moment. When you first start learning Spanish, grammatical gender can seem arbitrary and confusing. Unfortunately, there are not as many rules to know whether a noun in Spanish is masculine. "Masculine and Feminine in Spanish (el & la): The Rules & Their Many Exceptions." The general rule is that words ending with -o are masculine and words ending with -a are feminine. The Masculine and feminine 2 Whack-a-mole. The balcony is very big. Mi gatita est enferma. Estamos de vacaciones en la Florida ahora mismo. Nouns that end in -ma are masculine, such as the word problema (problem), Nouns that end in -pa, like the word mapa (map), are also masculine. La mochila roja me gusta ms. But if you paid close attention to those words, you may have noticed that none of them had the suffix -in: El balcn es muy grande. My mom has a cherry tree. El ftbol es muy aburrido. That being said, there are, of course, exceptions to this rule. The kids play in the park. (in summer) a. veranear Copyright 2006 Harrap Publishers Limited vacation noun 1 especially (Britain) (Jur) receso (m) vacacional (formal); periodo (m) vacacional During the day Im a freelancer and online marketer, while at night Im here writing for students of the world wide web looking to learn Spanish. So, well cover those exceptions below, too. An exception is nene (colloquial term for little kid): el nene -> la nena. El telfono is masculine. For instance, when the word for a person or occupation ends in -e. When occupations end in -a it gets messy. The standard rules are here on the top of the page, but you shouldn't trust them fully. -Tud, like in the word actitud (attitude) is also a common ending for feminine nouns. Feminine: (a, cin, dad) La chica- the girl. (Translation of vacation from the Cambridge English-Spanish Dictionary Cambridge University Press), (Translation of vacation from the GLOBAL English-Spanish Dictionary 2020 K Dictionaries Ltd), Watch your back! tony bloom starlizard. Learn and practice Spanish * Daily practice * Find your level (proficiency test) * Spanish for beginners * Travel Spanish, A1 | A2 | B1 | B2 | C1 Find your level. That pattern works for things too. Este semestre est bien pesado. Most animal names have a female and a male form, but not all do. Create an account to start this course today. And it gets easier with time and practice. Therefore, you simply need to memorize the gender of words that end with z. Your email address will not be published. Let's look at the word persona (person) to help explain this idea.

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