9.3.1

People & Animals

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Gender of Nouns for People and Animals

The most common noun endings are 'o' for masculine nouns, and 'a' for feminine nouns. But there are others. When talking about animals and people they can either be masculine or feminine.

Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'o'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'o' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'o'

  • Nouns that end in 'o' are generally masculine.
  • To form the feminine of these nouns you replace the 'o' with an 'a'.
    • El tío → La tía.
      • The Uncle → The Aunt.
Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'd', 'l', 'n', 'r', 's' and 'z'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'd', 'l', 'n', 'r', 's' and 'z' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'd', 'l', 'n', 'r', 's' and 'z'

  • When in the masculine form these nouns do not have an 'o'.
  • To put them into the feminine form you add an 'a' to the masculine form.
    • El doctor → La doctora.
      • The doctor.
  • There are two main exceptions, which stay in the masculine form even when feminine.
    • El/la joven (the youth) and El/la líder (the leader).
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Nouns ending in 'e'

  • Nouns that end in 'e' stay that way when masculine.
  • When these nouns are feminine sometimes the 'e' changes to an 'a', while sometimes it stays the same.
    • El presidente → La presidenta.
      • The president.
    • El alcalde → La alcalde.
      • The mayor.
  • An exception to this is:
    • El tigre (the tiger) La tigresa (the tigress).
Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'ón' or 'ín'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'ón' or 'ín' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'ón' or 'ín'

  • These nouns, in the masculine form, end in 'ón' or 'ín'.
  • In the feminine form they change to 'ona' or 'ina'.
    • 'El campeón → la campeona.
      • The champion.
    • El bailarín → La bailarina.
      • The ballet dancer
Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'í' or 'ú'Illustrative background for Nouns ending in 'í' or 'ú' ?? "content

Nouns ending in 'í' or 'ú'

  • These nouns are normally masculine.
  • These nouns are usually only feminine when talking about someone's nationality or religion.
  • These noun endings do not change when feminine, It is only the article that changes.
    • El ají - the chilli pepper.
    • El hindú → La hindú - the Hindu.

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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