Spanish grammar: género y número de los sustantivos

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

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'.