11.3.5

Masculine & Feminine

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Noun Endings that Are Usually Feminine

There are a lot of feminine nouns that do not end in 'a'. These nouns still follow patterns. These rules make it easier to work out the gender of a noun:

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Nouns that end in 'dad', 'tad' and 'ud'

  • Nouns that end in 'dad', 'tad' and 'ud' are always feminine.
    • La sociedad.
      • Society.
    • La libertad.
      • Freedom.
    • La salud.
      • Health.
Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ez'Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ez' ?? "content

Nouns that end in 'ez'

  • Una nuez
    • A nut
  • Una escasez.
    • A shortage
Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ión'Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ión' ?? "content

Nouns that end in 'ión'

  • La estación.
    • The season.
  • La comprensión.
    • Understanding.
  • There are two exceptions to this rule:
    • El camión (lorry) and el avión (aeroplane).
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Letters of the alphabet

  • All names of the letters in the Spanish alphabet are feminine.
    • La ce (c), la jota (j), la ve(v).
  • In English 'ñ' does not exist.
    • It is spelt 'la eñe'.

Noun Endings that Are Usually Masculine

There are a lot of masculine nouns that do not end in either 'o'. These nouns still follow patterns. These rules make it easier to work out the gender of a noun:

Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ón'Illustrative background for Nouns that end in 'ón' ?? "content

Nouns that end in 'ón'

  • El jamón.
    • Ham.
  • El guión
    • Hyphen.
Illustrative background for Nouns that en in 'or'Illustrative background for Nouns that en in 'or' ?? "content

Nouns that en in 'or'

  • El color.
    • Colour.
  • El amor.
    • Love
Illustrative background for Nouns that en in 'aje'Illustrative background for Nouns that en in 'aje' ?? "content

Nouns that en in 'aje'

  • El maquillaje.
    • Make-up
  • El patinaje.
    • Skating.

Jump to other topics

1The Basics

2Home & Abroad

3Education & Employment

4Personal Life & Relationships

5The World Around Us

6Social Activities, Fitness & Health

7Listening

8Common Tenses

9Important Verbs

10Advanced Tenses

11Extra Grammar

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