Severn Spanish

Nouns I: Nouns Referring to People

Review

Remember the two properties of nouns: number (singular or plural) and gender (masculine or feminine).

Also remember articles and how they agree with their nouns in both number and gender. The two types of articles are definite (el, la, los, las) and indefinite (un, una, unos, unas). Definite articles mean “the,” and indefinite articles mean “a/an” or “some.”

 

 

Nouns that refer to people

Nouns that refer to people are special because many of them have the ability to change between masculine and feminine forms, depending on whether the person is a male or a female.

Examples: el abuelo (grandfather) vs. la abuela (grandmother); el doctor (male doctor) vs. la doctora (female doctor)

Included in the group of nouns that refer to people are professions (doctor, lawyer, actor, etc.), family (aunt, cousin, brother, etc.), and other miscellaneous titles (adolescent, lover, beginner, etc.). There are certain ways that nouns in this group can change to reflect gender, depending on their endings.

 

Nouns with masculine forms that end in -o

These nouns are very common. The feminine form is almost always formed by replacing the -o with -a.

Examples: el abuelo (grandfather) vs. la abuela (grandmother); el abogado (male lawyer) vs. la abogada (female lawyer);  el amigo (male friend) vs. la amiga (female friend); el tío (uncle) vs. la tía (aunt)

 

Nouns with masculine forms that end in -or

These nouns are made feminine by adding an -a to the end of the word.

Examples: el profesor (male teacher) vs. la profesora (female teacher); el doctor (male doctor) vs. la doctora (female doctor); el trabajador (male worker) vs. la trabajadora (female worker); el autor (male author) vs. la autora (female author)

 

Nouns with masculine forms that end in -a

These nouns do not change to become feminine; however, the article must match the gender of the person.

Examples: el artista (male artist) vs. la artista (female artist); el atleta (male athlete) vs. la atleta (female athlete)

 

Nouns with masculine forms that end in -e or a consonant other than -or

These nouns do not change to reflect gender; however, the article should still match the gender of the person.

Examples: el cantante (male singer) vs. la cantante (female singer); el joven (young male) vs. la joven (young female); el dependiente (male shop worker) vs. la dependiente (female shop worker)

 

Sometimes, you want to refer to a group of mixed gender — for instance, you may want to say “grandparents” instead of “grandfathers and grandmothers.” Whenever you are referring to a group of mixed gender, use the masculine noun. Therefore, abuelos can mean “grandfathers” or “grandparents,” doctores can mean “male doctors” or just “doctors,” and padres can mean “fathers” or “parents.”