Every noun has a gender
Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine, including things and ideas. The article must match the gender and number of the noun.
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the (singular) | el libro | la mesa |
| the (plural) | los libros | las mesas |
| a / an | un libro | una mesa |
| some | unos libros | unas mesas |
Which gender? The endings help
| Usually masculine | Usually feminine |
|---|---|
| -o: el vaso, el perro | -a: la casa, la silla |
| -or: el color, el ordenador | -ción / -sión: la canción, la televisión |
| -aje: el viaje, el garaje | -dad / -tad: la ciudad, la libertad |
| -ma (Greek words): el problema, el idioma, el tema | -umbre: la costumbre |
Nouns ending in -e or in a consonant can be either: el coche, la noche, el hotel, la sal. Learn the article with the noun.
People usually follow their sex: el profesor / la profesora, el chico / la chica. Some nouns only change the article: el estudiante / la estudiante, el turista / la turista.
Common exceptions
- el día (day), el mapa (map), el sofá (sofa), el planeta (planet): masculine despite -a.
- la mano (hand), la foto (photo, from fotografía), la moto (motorbike), la radio: feminine despite -o.
El agua: feminine with el
Feminine nouns that start with a stressed a- or ha- take el and un in the singular, only to avoid two a sounds colliding. The noun stays feminine:
- El agua está fría. — The water is cold.
- Tengo un hambre terrible. — I am terribly hungry.
- Las aguas del río. — The waters of the river. (plural: back to las)
Other examples: el aula (classroom), el águila (eagle), el arma (weapon). This does not apply when the first a is unstressed: la amiga, la agenda.
Contractions al and del
A + el becomes al, and de + el becomes del. There is no contraction with la, los, las, or with the pronoun él.
- Voy al mercado. — I am going to the market.
- Es la casa del profesor. — It is the teacher's house.
- Vengo de la playa. — I am coming from the beach.
The word lo is not an article for nouns. It is used before adjectives to mean "the ... thing": Lo bueno es que... — The good thing is that...
Watch out as an English speaker
- Don't drop the article. English leaves out "the" with general nouns; Spanish keeps it. ✗ Me gusta café. / ✓ Me gusta el café. ✗ Leche es buena. / ✓ La leche es buena.
- No article with professions after ser. English says "a teacher"; Spanish doesn't. ✗ Soy un profesor. / ✓ Soy profesor.
- Trusting the -a ending blindly. Problema and día end in -a, but they are masculine. ✗ la problema / ✓ el problema. ✗ la día / ✓ el día.
- Contraction is obligatory. ✗ Voy a el banco. / ✓ Voy al banco.
Example dialogue
¿Dónde está la llave del coche? — Where is the car key?
Está en la mesa, al lado del agua. — It's on the table, next to the water.
¿Y el mapa? — And the map?
En el sofá, con una foto de Toledo. — On the sofa, with a photo of Toledo.