12.1.1

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:

Illustrative background for Masculine singularIllustrative background for Masculine singular ?? "content

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.
Illustrative background for Masculine and plural nounsIllustrative background for Masculine and plural nouns ?? "content

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.
Illustrative background for Feminine and plural nounsIllustrative background for Feminine and plural nouns ?? "content

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

1Phonics/Alphabet/Spellings

2You, Family & Home

3School & Jobs

4Town, Shopping, Food, Drink

5Free Time

6Holiday

7The World Around Us

8Present Tense

9Past Tense

10Future Tense

11Conditional

12Grammar

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