The core system
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| the | el / los | la / las |
| a/some | un / unos | una / unas |
Many nouns ending in -o are masculine and many ending in -a are feminine, but treat this as a pattern, not a law: la mano, el día, el problema.
el libro rojo · la casa roja · los libros rojos · las casas rojas
Learn nouns with their article
Instead of memorising mesa = table, learn la mesa. This stores the gender with the word and reduces later agreement errors.
Practice
- ___ problema importante
- ___ manos pequeñas
- ___ coche nuevo
- ___ casas blancas
Possible answers: 1 el/un problema importante · 2 las/unas manos pequeñas · 3 el/un coche nuevo · 4 las/unas casas blancas.
Frequently asked questions
Does biological sex always determine noun gender?
No. Grammatical gender is a property of nouns. For people and animals there is often a relationship, but not for ordinary objects and concepts.
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