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Spanish Grammar: Nouns
Nouns Defined
A noun is the name of a person, place, thing, or idea: John, school, book, democracy.
Nouns are generally classified as proper nouns or common nouns.
A PROPER NOUN is the name of a particular person, place, or thing: Mr. Smith, Boston, January. Note that proper nouns are always capitalized.
A COMMON NOUN is the name given to any one of a general class of persons, places, or things. Common nouns are not capitalized:—student, book, hill.
Nouns are also frequently classified further as (1) concrete or (2) abstract (3) collective.
A CONCRETE NOUN is the name of anything that can be seen, touched, felt: desk, book, tooth, perfume.
An ABSTRACT NOUN is one which names some quality, idea, or general characteristic: love, honesty, truth.
A COLLECTIVE NOUN is the name of a group or collection of things: team, committee, army.
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GENDER OF NOUNS Defined
In English all nouns belong to one of the following four genders: masculine, feminine, common, neuter.
Masculine gender denotes the male sex and includes words such as boy, brother, uncle, father etc. Many masculine nouns end in -er or -or (author, actor, painter, broker).
Feminine gender denotes the female sex and includes words such as girl, sister, aunt, mother. Many feminine nouns end in -ess (actress, empress, seamstress, governess).
Common gender denotes such words as servant, child, cook, teacher, which may be either masculine or feminine gender.
Neuter gender refers to all inanimate objects (hook, chair, sky), also to some animate objects of a very low order (snake, bug, mosquito).
In Spanish all nouns are either masculine or feminine. There are no neuter nouns. As a general rule, all nouns which end in -o are masculine; all nouns which end in -a are feminine.
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MASCULINE Spanish NOUNS
Nouns indicating male beings, regardless of endings, are masculine.
| el hombre | the man |
| el rey | the king |
| el muchacho | the boy |
The names of most countries are considered masculine.
| (el) Japón | Japan |
| (el) Perú | Peru |
Note: However, if a country's name ends in an unstressed -a, it is considered to be of feminine gender.
| (la) Francia | France |
| (la) España | Spain |
The names of rivers and oceans, regardless of endings, are considered masculine.
| el Pacífico | Pacific Ocean |
| el Atlántico | Atlantic Ocean |
| el Amazonas | Amazon |
Infinitives used as nouns are masculine.
| el fumar | smoking |
The points of the compass are masculine.
| el norte |
north |
| el sur | south |
| el este | east |
| el oeste | west |
The days of the week, and the months of the year are all masculine.
| el lunes | Monday |
| el diciembre | December |
Most nouns that end in -o are masculine.
| el niño | boy |
| el vino | wine |
| el libro | book |
| el vestido | dress |
Note: A few nouns ending in -o are feminine, the most common of which are:
| la mano | hand |
| la radio | radio |
| la moto * | motorcycle |
| la foto ** | photograph |
* (abbreviation of la motocicleta) **(abbreviation of la fotografía)
Some nouns (usually of Greek origin) ending in -ma, -pa, and -ta are masculine.
| el problema | problem |
| el día | day |
| el idioma | language |
| el drama | drama |
| el sistema | system |
| el clima | climate |
| el programa | program |
| el mapa | map |
| el poeta | poet |
| el planeta | planet |
| el tema | subject, topic |
The plurals of many nouns when used to include the members of both sexes become masculine.
| los alumnos | the students (male and female) |
| los padres | the parents (both mother and father) |
| los niños | children (boys and girls ) |
Note: In all three examples, the groups could be comprised of either all males or (a mix of males and females).
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FEMININE Spanish NOUNS
Nouns indicating female beings, regardless of endings, are feminine.
| la actriz | actress |
| la hermana | sister |
| la mujer | woman |
Most names of cities are feminine.
| la Coruña | Coruna (town in northern Spain) |
| la Habana | Havana |
Nouns denoting letters of the alphabet are always feminine.
| la eme | (the) m |
| la jota | (the) j |
Most nouns that end in -a are feminine.
| la casa | house |
| la mesa | table |
| la oficina | office |
| la cocina | kitchen |
Note: Some nouns ending in -a are masculine. The most common of these are el día (the day) and number nouns (usually of Greek origin) ending in -ma, -pa, and -ta are masculine.
| el problema | problem |
| el día | day |
| el idioma | language |
| el drama | drama |
| el sistema | system |
| el clima | climate |
| el programa | program |
| el mapa | map |
| el poeta | poet |
| el planeta | planet |
| el tema | subject, topic |
Most nouns that end in -ión, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre, and an unaccented -ie are feminine.
| la bondad | kindness |
| la ciudad | city |
| la costumbre | custom |
| la serie | series |
| la actitud | attitude |
| la virtud | virtue |
| la revolución | revolution |
Note: A few nouns with endings listed above are masculine, e.g., el pie.
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More notes on gender
The majority of masculine nouns ending in -o change the -o to -a for the feminine form.
| el esposo | husband |
la esposa | wife |
| el primo | cousin (male) |
la prima | cousin (female) |
| el hermano | brother |
la hermana | sister |
| el tío | uncle |
la tía | aunt |
| el muchacho | young boy |
la muchacha | young girl |
| el gato | cat (male) |
la gata | cat (female) |
Some masculine nouns in order to indicate the feminine form do not change their spelling, but simply use the masculine or the feminine article to indicate the gender. A number of these nouns end in -a, -e, -ista, -nte, or end in a consontant.
| el líder | leader (male) |
la líder | leader (female) |
| el artista | artist (male) |
la artista | artist (female) |
| el estudiante | student (male) |
la estudiante | student (female) |
| el atleta | athlete (male) |
la atleta | athlete (female) |
| el joven | young man |
la joven | young woman |
Some nouns vary in meaning according to their gender.
| el ayuda | assistant |
la ayuda | help |
| el capital | money |
la capital | city |
| el cura | priest |
la cura | cure |
| el derecho | right, law |
la derecha | right (direction) |
| el fondo | bottom |
la fonda | inn |
| el frente | front |
la frente | forehead (body) |
| el guía | guide |
la guía | guidebook |
| el mañana | tomorrow |
la mañana | morning |
| el modo | way, manner |
la moda | fashion |
| el orden | order (series) |
la orden | order, command |
| el policía | policeman |
la policía | police force |
| el puerto | port |
la puerta | door |
| el punto | period, dot |
la punta | point, tip |
| el resto | rest |
la resta | subtraction |
| el suelo | ground |
la suela | sole (shoe) |
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Forming OF THE REGULAR PLURAL
Nouns are called singular if they refer to one person or object, plural if they refer to or represent more than one. In English, to indicate the plural form of most nouns, an s is added to the singular form: book, books; rule, rules; ware, wares; American, Americans.
In Spanish, nouns which end in a vowel regularly add -s to the singular to form the plural. The definite article must have the same gender (masculine or feminine) and the same number (singular or plural) as the noun.
| el gato | cat |
los gatos | cats |
| la casa | house |
las casas | houses |
| el libro | book |
los libros | books |
| la silla | chair |
las sillas | chairs |
Nouns ending in a consonant (including y) add -es to the singular to form the plural.
| el rey | king |
los reyes | kings, monarchs |
| la pared | wall |
las paredes | walls |
| la estación | station, season |
las estaciones | stations, seasons |
| la lección | lesson |
las lecciones | lessons |
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Forming OF THE IrrEGULAR PLURAL
Nouns ending in -z change the -z to -c before adding -es in the plural.
| la cruz | cross |
las cruces | crosses |
| la nariz | nose |
las narices | noses |
| el juez | judge |
los jueces | judges |
| el lápiz | pencil |
los lápices | pencils |
| la luz | light |
las luces | lights |
| la voz | voice |
las voces | voices |
Nouns ending in an accented -í or -ú usually add -es to form the plural.
| el rubí | ruby |
los rubíes | rubies |
| el tabú | taboo |
los tabúes | taboos |
Exceptions: In the two exceptions that follow, an -s is added to form the plural.
(a) Nouns of French origin ending in an accented vowel.
| el sofá | sofa |
los sofás | sofas |
| el menú | menu |
los menús | menus |
(b) Nouns ending in an -e (regardless of origin) upon which the accent (written or unwritten) falls.
| el té | tea |
los tés | teas |
| el clisé | cliché |
los clisés | clichés |
Nouns that have an unaccented final syllable ending in -s have the same form (spelled alike) for both singular and plural.
| el viernes | Friday |
los viernes | Fridays |
| la tesis | thesis |
las tesis | theses |
| la crisis | crisis |
las crisis | crises |
| el lunes | Monday |
los lunes | Mondays |