docGender of Nouns
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Gender of Nouns
GENDER OF NOUNS What is a Noun? A noun is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, or idea. Person: John, girl, dentist Place: garden, university, Venezuela Thing: book, car, tomato Idea: liberty, despair, intelligence In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine Masculine Feminine el chico la chica boy girl el jardín la universidad garden university el libro la revista book magazine el miedo la libertad fear liberty The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female. The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures. Masculine Feminine El gato La gata Male cat Female cat El perro La perra Male dog Female dog El chico La chica Boy Girl El abuelo La abuela Grandfather grandmother How are all of these masculine nouns alike? el gato el perro el chico el abuelo Hint: look at both the beginning and the ending of each line. How are all of these feminine nouns alike? la gata la perra la chica la abuela Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine. Notice the word usually! There are exceptions to these two rules and you will soon be learning them. Definite Articles "El" and "la" both mean "the." el chico (the boy) la chica (the girl) el perro (the male dog) la gata (the female cat) Note: These two words (el, la) are called "definite articles." When you learn a new noun, you should also learn its definite article (el, la). There are several reasons for this: Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns. Because not every noun that ends in -o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in -a is feminine. Because many nouns end in letters other than o or a. Because the definite article (el, la) is your clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine. A. Find the correct answer 1. Which word is masculine? 4. Which word is feminine? la casa el número la mesa el teléfono el libro el muchacho la ventana la tía 2. Which word is feminine? 5. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina? el chico la mañana el hermano la palabra el abuelo el diccionario la hermana la tarea 3. Which word is masculine? el cuaderno la pluma la maestra la profesora B. Choose between masculine or feminine. 6. el libro is a masculine word is a feminine word 7. la pluma is a masculine word is a feminine word 8. el cuaderno is a masculine word is a feminine word 9. el escritorio is a masculine word es una palabra femenina 10. la silla es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina C. Select the correct letter. 11. el libr_ 16. la chic_ 12. la mes_ 17. el cuadern_ 13. el gat_ 18. la plum_ 14. la gat_ 19. el vestid_ 15. el chic_ 20. la corbat_ Gender of Nouns: Part II Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a. el profesor la profesora el doctor la doctora el señor la señora Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la). el estudiante la estudiante el pianista la pianista el artista la artista Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine la televisión la decisión la conversación la habitación la ciudad la universidad la dificultad la libertad la actitud la gratitud la certidumbre la muchedumbre Some nouns that end in -a are masculine el problema el telegrama el programa el mapa el sistema el poema el día el tema el clima el idioma el sofá el planeta Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine el telegrama el programa el problema el sistema el poema el idioma el clima el tema Note: A few nouns that end in -ma are feminine, such as la cama and la pluma. Other Exeptions Four of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized el día el mapa el planeta el sofá A few nouns that end in -o are feminine. la mano la radio Review of the rules learned Many nouns that denote living things have both a masculine and a feminine form. Most nouns that end in -o are masculine. Most nouns that end in -a are feminine. Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a. Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la). Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine. Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine. A few nouns that end in -o are feminine Remember, whenever you learn a new noun, learn it complete with its definite article (el, la). A. Find the correct answer 1. Which word is masculine? 5. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina? el día la mañana la gratitud la palabra la decisión el clima la certidumbre la tarea 2. Which word is feminine? 6. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina? el poema la chica el sofá la abuela la radio el idioma el tema la amiga 3. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina? 7. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina? la universidad la dificultad la televisión la computadora la libertad el sistema el mapa la fiesta 4. ¿Cuál es la palabra femenina? 8. ¿Cuál es la palabra femenina? el número el sistema el teléfono el tema el abuelo el planeta la mano la novia B. Choose between masculine or feminine 9. televisión is a masculine word is a feminine word 10. mano es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina 11. ciudad es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina 12. problema es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina 13. gratitud es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina 14. radio es una palabra masculina es una palabra femenina C. Select the correct letter 15. el dí_ 16. la man_ 17. el problem_ 18. el idiom_ 19. el tem_ 20. el poem_
