Buenos días chicos,

I hope you are doing well and all of you have revised previous topics and perfected them.

Today we are going to Gender of Noun.

You have to memorize and rewrite all the rules with new examples. 

Before we start, all of you open your register and note down the learning outcome of today's topic

Learning outcome : 

At the end of this class, the learner will be able to : 

1) Learn definition of Noun

2) Gender in Spanish

3) Masculine and feminine nouns

4) exceptions 

I guess all of you have written the LO.

Now lets begin

REVISION - GENDER OF NOUNS

In Spanish, there only 2 genders, masculine and feminine. It means that all nouns are either masculine or feminine. No neuter gender in spanish. 


let's look at the rule to identify which noun is Masculine and which one is feminine in Spanish language

Rule #1

• When speaking about living creatures, nouns that end in “o” are masculine.

el abuelo → the grandfather                           el tío → the uncle
los abuelos → the grandparents                    los tíos → the uncles 

Rule #2

• When speaking about living creatures, nouns that end in “a” are feminine.

la abuela → the grandmother                           la tía → the aunt
los abuelas → the grandmothers                    las tías → the aunts 

Rule #3

• When there is a group of mixed gender, no matter what the ratio is of females to males and males to females, the group is always referred to as masculine.

1 niño + 4 niñas = 5 niños                    1 boy + 4 girls = 5 kids
3 gatos + 542 gatas = 545 gatos        3 male cats + 542 female cats = 545 cats 

Rule #4

• Masculine nouns that end in consonants (non-vowels) have a corresponding feminine form that ends in “a”

Examples:

el profesor → the male professor             la profesora → the female professor
el doctor → the male doctor                       la doctora →  the female doctor
el señor → the Mr.                                         la señora →  the Mrs. 

Rule #5

• Some nouns that refer to professions have the same form for masculine and feminine. The article is the only thing that changes.

Examples:

el piloto → the male pilot                                  la piloto → the female pilot
el soldado → the male soldier                         la soldado → the female soldier

Rule #6

• Nouns that end in –sión, –ción, –dad, –tud and –umbre are feminine and will always require the feminine article.

Examples:

la exposición → the exhibition
la habitación →  the room
la felicidad →  the happiness
la solicitud →  the application
la costumbre →  the custom

Rule #7

• Nouns that end in –ma are masculine and will always require a masculine article

Examples:

el problema →  the problem
el emblema →  the emblem
el enigma →  the mystery

Rule #8

• Some nouns that end in “a” are masculine
• Some nouns that end in “o” are feminine

Examples:

A

el día → the day
el mapa → the map
el cura → the priest
el planeta → the planet

O

la foto → the photo
la mano →  the hand
la radio →  the radio
la moto →  the motorcycle

Exercise

Identify the gender of the following nouns and write in the blanks

1. _________ paseo
2. _________ prima
3. _________ dependiente
4. _________ carnaval
5. _________ televisión
6. _________ paz
7. _________ miércoles
8. _________ nacionalidad
9. _________ sabor
10. _________ oeste

The following nouns are exceptions to the rule. Choose the correct article.

1. _________ mano
2. _________ lápiz
3. _________ avión
4. _________ señal
5. _________ alud