9.1.1

Definite Article

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Nouns

A noun is a person, place, thing or idea. In Spanish, nouns can be masculine or feminine and singular or plural:

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Masculine singular

  • 'El' comes before nouns that are singular and masculine.
  • Most masculine singular nouns will end in an 'o'.
    • El niño - the boy.
    • El perro (🐕) - the dog.
    • El teatro - the theatre.
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Masculine and plural nouns

  • 'Los' comes before nouns that are plural and masculine.
  • Most masculine plural nouns will end in 'os'.
    • Los niños - the boys.
    • Los perros (🐕) - the dogs.
    • Los teatros - the theatres.
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Feminine and singular nouns

  • 'La' comes before nouns that are singular and feminine.
  • Most feminine singular nouns will end in 'a'.
    • La niña - the girl.
    • La piscina - the swimming pool.
    • La guitarra - the guitar.
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Feminine and plural nouns

  • If a noun is plural and feminine it uses the definite article of 'las'.
  • Most feminine plural nouns will end in'as'.
    • Las niñas - the girls.
    • Las piscinas - the swimming pools.
    • E.g. Las guitarras (the guitars).
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An exception

  • The word that comes before feminine words that start with a stressed 'a' or 'h' is 'el' instead of 'la'.
    • El agua - water.
    • El aula - the classroom.

Jump to other topics

1The Basics

2Current & Future Study & Employment

3Identity & Culture

3.1Me, My Family & Friends

3.2Me, My Family & Friends - Translations

3.3Technology in Everyday Life

3.4Technology in Everyday Life - Translations

3.5Free Time Activities

3.6Free Time Activities - Translations

3.7Customs & Festivals in Spanish Speaking Countries

3.8Customs & Festivals - Translations

4Areas of Interest

4.1Home, Town, Neighbourhood & Region

4.2Home, Town, Neighbourhood & Region - Translations

4.3Social Issues

4.4Social Issues - Translations

4.5Global Issues

4.6Global Issues - Translations

4.7Travel & Tourism

4.8Travel & Tourism - Translations

5Listening Practice

6Common Tenses

7Important Verbs

8Advanced Tenses

9Extra Grammar

9.1Articles

9.2Negatives

9.3Nouns

9.4Asking Questions

9.5Adjectives

9.6Adverbs

9.7Conjunctions

9.8Pronouns

9.9By, With, From, Of

9.10Verbs

9.11Comparisons

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