Nouns and Articles by Cari Luna
In Spanish, just as in English, nouns are words for people, places, and things. The difference in Spanish, however, is that each noun has a gender: It is either masculine or feminine. The gender of the noun will determine what article it takes.
FACT
English only has three articles: “a” and “an” (indefinite articles), and “the” (a definite article). Spanish also has definite and indefinite articles, but they vary according to the gender and number of the noun.
In the Singular
For example, bolígrafo is the Spanish word for “pen.”It's masculine, so to say “the pen” we would use the masculine article el. On the other hand, casa (house) is a feminine noun. To say “the house” we would use the feminine article la. For indefinite articles, use un for masculine nouns and una for feminine nouns.
Singular Spanish Articles
el |
ehl |
the (masculine) |
la |
lah |
the (feminine) |
un |
oon |
a (masculine) |
una |
OO-nah |
a (feminine) |
How do you know which nouns are masculine and which are feminine? Generally, masculine nouns end with -o, and feminine nouns end with -a. Of course, there are exceptions, which will have to be memorized. Don't worry, though! Mistakes with the gender of a noun are common, and you'll still be understood. As long as you're aware that there is such a thing as noun gender, there's no need to agonize over it. As you become more familiar with the language, the correct article will come to you naturally.
In the Plural
Just as in English, a Spanish noun is made plural by adding either -s or -es to the singular form. However, in Spanish, the articles that accompany the nouns also have singular and plural forms and still retain their gender differences. For example, el bolígrafo becomes los bolígrafos; la casa becomes las casas.
ESSENTIAL
Adjectives modify nouns. In Spanish, adjectives are conjugated just as articles — the ending changes based on the gender and number of the noun. For example, look at the conjugations of pequeño (little): la casa pequeña, las casas pequeñas, el bolígrafo pequeño, los bolígrafos pequeños. Also note that in Spanish, adjectives generally follow the nouns they describe.
There's also a difference in the use of indefinite articles in the plural. In English, we drop “a” or “an” when the noun is plural, whereas in Spanish, the articles un and una are made plural and may be translated as “some.” So, “(some) pens” are unos bolígrafos and “(some) houses” are unas casas.
Plural Spanish Articles
los |
lohs |
the (masculine) |
las |
lahs |
the (feminine) |
unos |
OO-nohs |
some (masculine) |
unas |
OO-nahs |
some (feminine) |
