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A1.3.3 Spanish grammar: The Gender of Nouns

Recognize the gender of nouns.

Gramática: El género de los sustantivos

A1 Spanish Noun gender

Level: A1

Module 1: Presentarse (To introduce oneself)

Lesson 3: ¿De dónde eres? (Where are you from?)

Learning history

Teaching guidelines +/- 15 minutes

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  1. There are masculine and feminine nouns.
  2. The article agrees with the gender.
GéneroTerminacionesEjemplo 
MasculinoEn -o El libro (The book)
El perro (The dog)
 En -orEl profesor (The teacher)
El color (The color)
 En -ma (de origen griego)El problema (The problem)
El programa (The programme)
 Días de la semana, meses, océanos, ríos, montañasEl lunes (Monday)
El Atlántico (The Atlantic)
FemeninoEn -a La casa (The house)
La mesa (The table)
 En -ción, -siónLa canción (The song)
La televisión (The television)
 En -dad, -tad, -tudLa ciudad (The city)
La juventud (Youth)
 En -umbreLa costumbre (The custom)
Masculino y/o femeninoEn -e 

El coche (The car)

La noche (The night)

 Terminaciones en consonante, especialmente -l, -n, -r, -s, -zEl árbol (The tree)
La flor (The flower)
ExcepcionesLa mano (femenino)La mano (The hand)
 El mapa (masculino)El mapa (The map)

Exceptions!

  1. There are nouns that have the same ending: "el estudiante" and "la estudiante".
  2. Common exceptions: la mano, el mapa, el sofá, el planeta, el idioma

Exercise 1: The Gender of Nouns

Instruction: Choose the correct word, read the sentence out loud and translate.

Show answers Show translation

El, La

1. ... mano

La mano
(The hand)

2. ... planeta

El planeta
(The planet)

3. ... lunes

El lunes
(Monday)

4. ... policía

El policía
(The policeman)

5. ... ciudad

La ciudad
(The city)

6. ... día

El día
(The day)

7. ... perro

El perro
(The dog)

8. ... abuelo

El abuelo
(The grandfather)

9. ... enfermero

El enfermero
(The nurse)

10. ... cocinero

El cocinero
(The cook)

11. ... casa

La casa
(The house)

12. ... mar

El mar
(The sea)

Exercise 2: Translate and use in a sentence

Instruction: Translate and say the word out loud. Use the word in a sentence.

Show translation
1. El
(The)
2. La
(The)