El perro es grande.
English: The dog is big.
- Language
- Spanish
- Level
- A1
- Unit
- Sustantivos y artículos
- Practice types
- 0
What this grammar point covers
In Spanish, nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). This means that every noun is either masculine or feminine, and can be singular or plural.
When to use it
You use gender and number with every noun in Spanish. Articles and adjectives must match the noun's gender and number.
Key forms
- Masculine singular: el libro
- Feminine singular: la mesa
- Masculine plural: los libros
- Feminine plural: las mesas
Examples
La casa es bonita.
English: The house is pretty.
Los gatos son negros.
English: The cats are black.
Las sillas están limpias.
English: The chairs are clean.
Tips
- Most nouns ending in -o are masculine; most ending in -a are feminine.
- To make nouns plural, add -s if it ends in a vowel, or -es if it ends in a consonant.
- Articles (el, la, los, las) must always match the noun in gender and number.
Exceptions and edge cases
- Some nouns do not follow the usual rules, like 'el día' (masculine) or 'la mano' (feminine).
- Nouns that start with a stressed 'a-' use 'el' in singular, even if they are feminine: 'el agua', 'el águila'.