Noun
(Sustantivo)
Gender
of the nouns (Género de los sustantivos)
The nouns in Spanish are either of masculine
or of feminine gender.
Generally, the masculine is marked by the
ending -o in singular, and the feminine
by -a,
cf.:
| Masculine |
Feminine |
-
macho male
-
muchacho boy
-
chico young boy
|
-
hembra female
-
muchacha girl
-
chica young girl
|
There are few important
exceptions of the above rule:
-
dia day,
mapa
map,
tranvía
tramway
are masculine;
-
mano hand,
foto
photo,
radio
broadcasting
are feminine.
There are also a lot
of nouns ending by vowels, other tan
o or a, or by consonants.
The nouns ending
by -i
and -u
are mainly masculine:
-
colibrí
a
little bird,
espiritu spirit
etc.
The nouns ending by
-l,
-n,
-r
or
-s
are mainly masculine:
-
árbol
tree,
rincón
corner,
pan
bread,
color
color,
mes
month
etc.
The nouns suffixed by
-miento,
-dor
/ -or (denoting
an agent), -al
are always masculine:
-
aborrecimiento
annoyance,
imperador
emperor,
temporal
tempest.
The nouns suffixed by
-ón,
-ión,
-d,
-tad,
-tud
are feminine:
-
razón
reason,
nación
natin,
pared
wall,
libertad
freedom,
magnitud
magnitude
etc.
Important ecxeptions
of the above rule are:
-
avión
aircraft,
camión
truck,
bastión
stronghold
and
-
abad abbot,
césped
lawn,
huésped
guest,
sud
south
and some others.
The nouns ending by
-z are
feminine:
-
cruz cross,
faz face,
luz
light,
paz
peace,
voice
voz
etc.
Important ecxeptions
of the above rule are:
-
arroz rice,
haz sheaf,
lápiz
pencil,
matiz
nuance,
pez
fish
etc.
Feminine
of the Nouns (Femenino de los Sustantivos)
| Termination
Change |
Examples |
|
Masculine
|
Feminine
|
Masculine
|
Feminine
|
|
-o
|
-a
|
chico boy
lobo wolf |
chica girl
loba she-wolf |
|
-o
|
-ina
|
gallo cock |
gallina hen |
|
|
+ -ina
|
rey king |
reína queen |
|
-ente
|
-enta
|
sirviente servant |
sirvienta maid |
|
-e
|
-a
|
sastre tailor |
sastra dress-maker |
|
-or
|
-ora
|
señor mister |
señora misteress |
|
-tor
|
-tora
|
corrector
corrector |
correctora |
|
-dor
|
-dora
|
aviador
aviator |
aviadora |
|
-tor
|
-triz
|
actor actor |
actriz actress |
|
-ión
|
-ióna
|
gorrión
sparrow |
gorriona she-sparrow |
|
-al
|
-ala
|
general
general |
generala |
|
|
+ -esa
|
alcalde
mayor
consul
consul |
alcaldesa
consulesa |
|
-ta
|
-tisa
|
poeta poet |
poetisa poetess |
| |
+ -isa
|
pitón python |
pitonisa she-python |
Some nouns have masculine and feminine
forms from different roots:
| Masculine |
Feminine |
-
el hombre man
-
el padre father
-
el caballo horse
-
el toro bull
-
el carnero ram
|
-
la mujer woman
-
la madre mother
-
la yegua mare
-
la vacca cow
-
la oveja sheep
|
Gender
of
the
nouns
of Greek origin (Género de los sustantivos de origen griego)
The nouns of Greek origin tend to preserve
the gender they have in Greek (the nouns of neuter gender being classified
as masculine). Thus:
The nouns suffixed by -ma and -ta
are masculine, cf.:
-
idioma language,
telegrama depeche,
clima
climate;
-
poeta poet,
profeta prophet,
cometa
comet
etc.
The words of Spanish origin, ending by -ma
and -ta are feminine, cf.:
-
llama flame,
casta caste,
rama
bough.
The nouns suffixed by -sis are feminine:
-
crisis crisis,
hipótesis
hypothesis,
síntesis
synthesis,
tesis
thesis
etc.
The separate treating of the Greek words was
inherited from the Classical Latin where they had a declination
pattern of their own.
Nouns
of common gender (Sustantivos del género común)
These are nouns with one form for both genders.
Here are included:
1. All the nouns suffixed by -ista,
cf.:
-
artista artist
-
capitalista capitalist
-
deportista sportsman
/ sportswoman
-
pianista pianist
-
turista tourist
etc.
2. Some other nouns, like:
-
camarada comrade
-
comerciante trader
-
compatriota compatriot
-
cónyuge spouse
-
estudiante student
-
hereje heretic
-
indigena indigen
|
-
idiota idiot
-
intérprete interpreter
-
mártir martyr
-
patriota patriot
-
rival rival
-
suicida one that
commits suicide
-
testigo witness
|
Nouns
of epicene gender (Sustantivos del género epiceno)
These are nouns used in both genders without
changing their meaning. The most of them tend to be used preferably in
masculine. Nouns of epicene gender are:
-
análisis analysis
(preferably masculine)
-
arte art (feminine
when meaning craft, feminine in plural)
-
azúcar sugar
(preferably masculine)
-
canal canal,
channel (preferably masculine)
-
fin end; objective
(preferably masculine)
-
mar sea (generally
masculine, the feminine is used in proverbs and in some idiomatic expressions)
-
margen marge,
margin, rim, range
-
puente bridge
(preferably masculine)
-
reuma rheumatism
(preferably masculine).
Nouns
of both genders (Sustantivos del género ambiguo)
These are nouns that seem to change their
meaning by changing their gender.
The most important of them are:
| Word |
Meaning
in masculine |
Meaning
in feminine |
capital
colera
corte
consonante
cura
frente
guarda
guardia
guía
justicia
mañana
moral
orden
parte
pendiente
pez
policía
trompeta
vista
vocal |
capital
(money)
cholera
blade
rhyme
parish priest
front
guardian, custodian
guard (man)
guide (man)
judge
tomorrow
fruit tree
order (system
of rules)
information
earing
fish
policeman
trumpeter
custom officer
voting assembly
member |
capital
(city)
anfer
(royal) court
consonant sound
treatment
forehead
custody
guard (royal
etc.), convoy
guide (manual)
justice, right
morning
moral, morality
command
part
slope
pitch (substance)
police
trumper
view
vowel (sound) |
Plural
of the Nouns (Plural de los Sustantivos)
| Terminations |
Plural |
Examples |
unstressed vowel
stressed -é
|
+ s
|
mesa table
: mesas tables
pie foot
: pies feet
gato cat
: gatos cats
tribu tribe
: tribus tribes
café coffee
: cafés coffees |
stressed vowel (but not -é)
-y
consonant
|
+ es
|
bajá pasha
: bajáes pashas
rey king
: reyes kings
mes month
: meses months |
Orthographic
Particularities:
|
Ending
in Singular
|
Ending
in Plural
|
Examples
|
|
-z
|
-ces
|
voz
voice
: voces voices |
|
-x
|
-ces
|
onix
onyx :
onices onyxes |
|
-c
|
-ques
|
vivac
bivouac
: vivaques bivouacs |
Particularities:
1. Some words ending by a stressed -á
forms plural by adding -s:
-
el papá dad
: los papás
-
la mamà mom
: las mamás
-
la sofá sofa
: las sofás
2. A lot of foreign nouns, ending by a consonant,
form plural by adding
-s:
-
el soviet soviet
: los soviets
-
el club club
: los clubs
-
el complot plot
: los complots
-
el esquí ski
: los esquís
-
el film film
: los films
-
el ticket ticket
: los tickets
-
el trust trust
: los trusts
-
el déficit deficit
: los déficits
3. Some foreign nouns form plural in two manners:
-
el ultimatum ultimatum
: los ultimatum
or
los ultimatumes
-
el sandwich sandwich
: los sandwich
or
los sandwiches
4. There are 3 nouns that change the accent
position in plural:
-
espécimen specimen
: especímenes
-
el régimen régime
: los regímenes
-
el carácter character
: los caracteres
5. The English loan word lord has the
plural form lores.
6. Many nouns, ending in singular by
-s, remain unchanged in plural:
-
el lunes monday
: los lunes
-
el martes tuesday
: los martes
etc.
-
el albatros albatross
: los albatros
-
el éxtasis ecstasy
: los éxtasis
-
la crísis crisis
: las crísis
-
la dosis dose
: las dosis
Plural
of the Compound Nouns (Plural de los Sustantivos Compuestos)
| Type
of Compound Noun |
Rule |
Examples |
| Verbal form + Noun in
pl. |
unchanged
|
el / los lavamanos
lavatory
el / los paracaídas parachute |
| Verbal form+Verbal form |
unchanged
|
el / los hazmereír
fool
el / los correvidile delator |
| Noun + Noun |
the 1st element
forms
plural
both elements form plural
|
el vagon restaurante
: los vagones restaurante
el gentilhombre courtier
:
los gentileshombres |
Pluralia
tantum
These are nouns used in plural only. The most
important between them are:
-
las afueras surrounding
area
-
las albricias present
for good news
-
los celos jealousy
-
los enseres home
things
-
los fastos chronicle
-
las fauces throat
-
las gafas spectacles
-
los modales manners
-
las pinzas pincers
-
los víveres victuals
Some nouns are used
indifferently in singular and plural:
-
la calza (las calzas)
sockets
-
la enagua (las enaguas)
underskirt
-
el pantalón
(los pantalones) pants
-
la tenaza (las tenazas)
pincers
-
la tijera (las tijeras)
scissors
Some geographical names
are used in plural only:
-
los Andes the
Ands
-
los Alpes the
Alps
-
las Antillas
the
Antilles
-
las Azores the
Azores
-
las Baleares
the Balearic Islands
-
los Carpatos
the Carpathians
Singularia
tantum
These are nouns used in singular only. The
most important between them are:
1. The proper names: Juan John,
María
Mary,
Sevilla
Seville,
España
Spain
etc.
2. Nouns, designating objects and phenomena
unique in themselves, such as:
-
el sol sun
-
la luna moon
-
el sur south
-
el norte north
-
el horizonte horizon
3. Nouns, designating substances, materials,
products etc.:
-
la leche milk
-
el pan bread
-
el carbón coal
-
la mantequilla butter
-
el trigo wheat
4. Abstract nouns, denoting quality, action
or state:
-
la alegría joy
-
la valentía valor
-
el desarollo development
-
la ingratitud ingratitude
-
el orgullo proud
5. Nouns implying a total plurality, such
as:
-
la gente people
-
la ropa dress
-
el dinero money
6. The nouns suffixed by -ismo and the names
of the sciences, as:
-
el impresionismo impressionism
-
la medicina medicine
(medical science)
-
la ingenería engineering
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