Severn Spanish

Feminine nouns beginning with stressed 'a' (Adv.)

 

Introduction

You are by now familiar with the standard pairings of articles and nouns based on number and gender. However, there is a special category of noun that has a unique relationship with its set of articles. As you may have guessed, this group consists of feminine nouns that begin with a stressed 'a' sound, such as aula (classroom), agua (water), alma (soul), etc. Also included are words that begin with a stressed 'ha,' which is pronounced exactly like a plain 'a.'

 

Articles used with these nouns

Due to the peculiarities of Spanish pronunciation, it was determined at some point that pronouncing these words would be a lot easier and more clear if the article la and the start of the word did not blend together so much. So with these words, the typically masculine articles el and un are used. Note that such usage does not affect the actual gender of the nouns, which are still feminine. Therefore, the plural articles las and unas, are still used. Furthermore, any adjectives used with these nouns take the feminine form when applicable. Thus, a phrase such as el aula desordenada for "the disorganized classroom" is perfect Spanish, and its plural would be las aulas desordenadas.

 

A few noteworthy exceptions:

• la a (literally the letter a)

• la hache (again, literally the letter h)

 

Important examples

• el arpa/las arpas (harp)

• el águila/las águilas (eagle)

• el agua/las aguas (water)

• el alma/las almas (soul)

• el arte/las artes (art)

• el ala/las alas (wing)