Genders and numbers are very important factors in the structure of the Spanish language. In comparison to English, which is generally gender-free, and singular and plural are relatively straightforward along with nouns in Spanish, on the other hand, are either masculine or feminine and either singular or plural. Specifically, in Spanish, nouns come in two varieties, singular or plural and two genders, masculine or feminine. This lesson we will focus on the formation of making genders and numbers in the Spanish language that both include rules, exceptions and practical examples.
Gender of Nouns in Spanish
a. Masculine Nouns:
In Spanish, nouns ending in "-o" are typically masculine.
Examples: "perro" (dog), "libro" (book), "chico" (boy)
b. Feminine Nouns:
Nouns ending in "-a" are generally feminine.
Examples: "casa" (house), "mesa" (table), "niña" (girl)
c. Gender Exceptions:
Some nouns don't follow the typical gender patterns:
- Masculine: "día" (day), "problema" (problem)
- Feminine: "mano" (hand), "foto" (photo)
d. Gender Agreement:
Adjectives, articles, and other modifiers must agree in gender with the nouns they modify.
Example: "el libro rojo" (the red book), "la mesa grande" (the big table)
And here we have multiple examples on the noun
Masculine Nouns
- "El perro" (The dog)
- "El gato" (The cat)
- "El libro" (The book)
- "El hombre" (The man)
- "El carro" (The car)
- "El árbol" (The tree)
- "El teléfono" (The telephone)
- "El hermano" (The brother)
- "El amigo" (The friend)
- "El profesor" (The professor)
Feminine Nouns
- La casa (The house)
- La mesa (The table)
- La silla (The chair)
- La mujer (The woman)
- La niña (The girl)
- La flor (The flower)
- La ventana (The window)
- La hermana (The sister)
- La amiga (The friend - female)
- La profesora (The professor - female)
Number of Nouns in Spanish
a. Singular Nouns
Nouns referring to one person or thing are singular.
Examples: el perro (the dog), la casa (the house)
b. Plural Nouns
Nouns referring to more than one person or thing are plural.
Examples: los perros (the dogs), las casas (the houses)
c. Forming Plural Nouns
- Add -s to most nouns ending in a vowel.
- Add -es to nouns ending in a consonant.
Examples: libros (books), maestras (teachers)
d. Irregular Plurals
Some nouns have irregular plural forms.
Examples: hijo (son) → hijos (sons), mujer (woman) → mujeres (women)
And here we have some examples on number of nouns
Singular Nouns
- El libro (The book)
- La mesa (The table)
- El perro (The dog)
- La flor (The flower)
- El niño (The boy)
- La casa (The house)
- El árbol (The tree)
- La silla (The chair)
- El teléfono (The telephone)
- La ventana (The window)
Plural Nouns
- Los libros (The books)
- Las mesas (The tables)
- Los perros (The dogs)
- Las flores (The flowers)
- Los niños (The boys)
- Las casas (The houses)
- Los árboles (The trees)
- Las sillas (The chairs)
- Los teléfonos (The telephones)
- Las ventanas (The windows)
Gender and Number Agreement
Adjectives
Adjectives must agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe
Example el perro negro (the black dog), las casas grandes (the big houses)
Articles
Definite (el, la, los, las) and indefinite (un, una, unos, unas) articles also agree in gender and number with the nouns they precede
Examples
Masculine Singular Nouns with Adjectives and Articles
El perro negro (The black dog)
El libro interesante (The interesting book)
El hombre alto (The tall man)
El carro rojo (The red car)
El árbol grande (The big tree)
Feminine Singular Nouns with Adjectives and Articles
La casa blanca (The white house)
La mesa pequeña (The small table)
La silla cómoda (The comfortable chair)
La mujer inteligente (The intelligent woman)
La flor bonita (The beautiful flower)
Masculine Plural Nouns with Adjectives and Articles
Los libros interesantes (The interesting books)
Los perros negros (The black dogs)
Los hombres altos (The tall men)
Los carros rojos (The red cars)
Los árboles grandes (The big trees)
Feminine Plural Nouns with Adjectives and Articles
Las casas blancas (The white houses)
Las mesas pequeñas (The small tables)
Las sillas cómodas (The comfortable chairs)
Las mujeres inteligentes (The intelligent women)
Las flores bonitas (The beautiful flowers)
In these examples, you can see how adjectives (negro, interesante, alto, blanca, pequeña, etc) agree in gender and number with the nouns they describe, and how articles (el, la, los, las) also change accordingly to match the gender and number of the nouns
Common Mistakes
Forgetting Gender
Learners often forget the gender of nouns, leading to errors in adjective and article agreement
Example Incorrect el mesa grande (the big table) - Correct la mesa grande
Incorrect Plurals
Misforming plural nouns can result in grammatical errors
Example Incorrect libroses (books) - Correct libros
Gender and Number Overgeneralization
Assuming all nouns follow the same gender and number patterns can lead to mistakes with irregular nouns
Example Incorrect la día (the day) - Correct el día
Finally, here are variable examples for gender and number of nouns in Spanish
- El gato (masculine, singular) - The cat
- La mesa (feminine, singular) - The table
- Los perros (masculine, plural) - The dogs
- Las sillas (feminine, plural) - The chairs
- El libro (masculine, singular) - The book
- La casa (feminine, singular) - The house
- Los niños (masculine, plural) - The children
- Las niñas (feminine, plural) - The girls
- El bolígrafo (masculine, singular) - The pen
- La ventana (feminine, singular) - The window
- Los hermanos (masculine, plural) - The brothers
- Las hermanas (feminine, plural) - The sisters
- El coche (masculine, singular) - The car
- La puerta (feminine, singular) - The door
- Los estudiantes (masculine, plural) - The students
- Las profesoras (feminine, plural) - The female teachers
- El árbol (masculine, singular) - The tree
- La flor (feminine, singular) - The flower
- Los amigos (masculine, plural) - The friends (male or mixed group)
- Las amigas (feminine, plural) - The friends (female group)
- El sol (masculine, singular) - The sun
- La luna (feminine, singular) - The moon
- Los pájaros (masculine, plural) - The birds
- Las estrellas (feminine, plural) - The stars
- El reloj (masculine, singular) - The clock
- La cocina (feminine, singular) - The kitchen
- Los juguetes (masculine, plural) - The toys
- Las muñecas (feminine, plural) - The dolls
- El cuchillo (masculine, singular) - The knife
- La cuchara (feminine, singular) - The spoon
These examples demonstrate how nouns in Spanish can vary in gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural), resulting in different forms of articles and adjectives
