Page 1 of 6 English-Spanish Helpful Handouts
Spanish Nouns and Gender # 1 People and Animals
For English Speakers Who Want to Learn Spanish
A Review for Intermediate and Advanced Students In Spanish, all nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. Most nouns ending in -o are masculine and most nouns ending in –a are feminine. Nouns that refer to people and animals generally reflect their genders.
el abuelo
la abuela
Masculine el abuelo el amigo el chico el compañero el cuñado el esposo el gato el hermano el hijo el muchacho el nieto el niño el padre el perro el primo el sobrino el suegro el tío el toro el vecino
grandfather friend (male) little boy classmate (female) brother-in–law husband cat (male) brother son boy grandson child (male) father dog (male) cousin (male) nephew father-in-law uncle bull neighbor (male)
Feminine la abuela la amiga la chica la compañera la cuñada la esposa la gata la hermana la hija la muchacha la nieta la niña la madre la perra la prima la sobrina la suegra la tía la vaca la vecina
grandmother friend (female) little girl classmate (female) sister-in-law wife cat (female) sister daughter girl granddaughter child (female) mother dog (female) cousin (female niece mother-in-law aunt cow neighbor (female)
Exercise 1 Fill in the blank with the Spanish masculine or feminine noun. 1. La __________ de María aún tiene vigor a los 82 años. (Maria’s grandmother is still vigorous at age 82.)
2. Estoy casada y tengo un __________ y una __________. (I am married and I have a son and a daughter.) la mujer y el hombre
3. Mi hermana tiene un hijo lo que significa que you tengo un __________. (My sister has a son so I have a nephew.)
4. El queso es un alimento elaborado a partir de la leche de la __________. (Cheese is a food made from cow’s milk.) Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
Page 2 of 6 Exercise 1 (Continued) 5. El __________ ha hablado con el profesor. (The boy has spoken with the teacher.)
6. Pablo siempre recibe una tarjeta de Navidad de su ___________. (Pablo always receives a Christmas card from his grandson.) el toro
7. La ___________ se llama Alicia. (The neighbor’s name is Alicia.)
8. El __________ de mi vecino ladra toda la noche. (My neighbor’s dog barks all night long.)
9. Te quiero presentar a un __________. (I would like to introduce you to a friend.)
10. La __________ de él no es tan mayor como aparenta. (His mother is not as old as she looks.)
11. El ___________ le embistió una cornada. (The bull gored him with his horn.)
Exercise 2 Match the Spanish and English words.
el nieto y la abuela
1. _____ el chico
a. female classmate
2. _____ la compañera
b. daughter
3. _____ el cuñado
c. bull
4. _____ la prima
d. girl
5. _____ la tía
e. little boy
6. _____ la niña
f. cow
7. _____ la vaca
g. female friend
8. _____ la esposa
h. male cat
9. _____ la perra
i. female cousin
10. _____ el sobrino
j. female dog
11. _____ la hija
k. nephew
12. _____ el abuelo
l. brother-in-law
13. _____ la amiga
m. grandfather
14. _____ el gato
n. wife
15. _____ el toro
o. aunt
el amigo
Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
Page 3 of 6 Some masculine nouns that refer to people and animals end in a consonant or –e. To make these nouns feminine, add an –a after the consonant, or change the -e to –a.
el bailarín y la bailarina
Masculine el autor el bailarín el campeón el colegial el doctor el escritor el español el francés el jefe el león el peatón el profesor
Feminine author la autora dancer la bailarina champion la campeona schoolboy/schoolgirl la colegiala doctor la doctora writer la escritora Spainard la española Frenchman/Frenchwoman la francesa boss la jefa lion/lioness la leona pedestrian la peatona professor
la profesora
Exercise 3 Unscramble the words to fill in the blank. 1. ¿ Quién es __________ (le taour) de este novela? (Who is the autor of this novel?)(male)
2. Serena Williams es __________ (nua ancpmaoe) de tenis. (Serena Williams is a tennis champion.)(female)
3. Isabel Allende es __________ (al iotresarc) que más me gusta. (Isabel Allende is my favorite writer.)(female)
4. __________ (lE apnóte) cruza la calle. (The pedestrian crosses the street.)(male) la campeona
5. _________ (aL efaj) rechazó el presupuesto para el nuevo proyecto. (The boss rejected the budget for the new project.)(female)
6. __________ (lE neló) es el rey de la selva. (The lion is the king of the jungle.)(male) 7. __________ (lE dtocro) le recomendió descansar. (The doctor ordered him to rest.)(male)
8. Paula es __________ (nua aanbiilar) muy buena. (Paula is a very good dancer.)(female)
9. Yo creo que __________ (le rsopofre) te conoce. (I think that the history professor knows you.)(male)
10. María, ___________ , (nua oesaaplñ) es de Sevilla. (Maria, a Spainard, is from Seville.)(female) el león y la leona
11. __________ (aL eiagcolal) asiste a una escuela privada. (The schoolgirl attends a private school.)(female) Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
Page 4 of 6 Nouns ending in –ista can be masculine or feminine depending on whether you are talking about a male or a female. Use the article to make these nouns masculine or feminine.
el ciclista
Masculine el artista el capitalista el ciclista el comunista el dentista el pianista el periodista el violinista
artist capitalist cyclist communist dentist pianist journalist violinist
Feminine la artista la capitalista la ciclista la comunista la dentista la pianista la periodista la violinista
Exercise 4 Write the correct article in front of the noun. 1. Tengo un amigo cuyo hermano es _____ pianista famoso. (I have a friend whose brother is a famous pianist.)
2. El escádolo político fue destpado por __ periodista Elizabeth Vargas. (The political scandal was brought to light by the journalist Elizabeth Vargas.)
3. El jóven se convitió en _____ gran artista. (The young man became a great artist.)
4. “Abra la boca” dijo _____ dentista. (Open your mouth” said the dentist.)
Some nouns ending in –nte that change the –e to –a when referring to women. el sirviente
Masculine el presidente el pariente el sirviente
president relative servant
Feminine la presidenta la parienta la sirvienta
Other nouns ending in –nte do not change when referring to women.
Masculine el estudiante el cantante el amante
student singer lover
Feminine la estudiante la cantante la amante
la cantante
Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
Page 5 of 6
Exercise 5 Translate the article and noun to Spanish. the singer (male) __________
the student (female) ___________
the relative (female) ________
the president (female) __________
Some nouns are spelled the same whether they are masculine or feminine. Use the article to make these nouns feminine. la intérprete
Masculine T el atleta el intérprete el joven el juez el modelo el pediatra el poeta el testigo
athlete interpreter young man/young woman judge model pediatrician poet witness
Feminine la atleta la intérprete la joven la juez la modelo la pediatra la poeta la testigo
Exercise 6 Translate the article and noun to Spanish.
el juez
the poet (male) __________
the judge (female) ______________
the young woman ________
the pediatrician (male) ___________
the witness (female)_______
the athlete (male) _____________
These nouns are spelled the same whether they are masculine of feminine. But, the article does not change. Masculine el ángel el personaje el ser la estrella la víctima
angel character being star victim
Feminine el ángel el personaje el ser la estrella la víctima
Exercise 7 Translate the article and noun to Spanish.
el ángel
the angel (female) ________
the victim (male) _____________
the star (male) ____________
the character (female) __________
the being (male)___________
Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
Page 6 of 6 There are some nouns that have completely different masculine and feminine forms.
el macho
Masculine el actor el barón el caballero el caballo el carnero el hombre el macho el padre el príncipe el rey el toro el yerno
actor baron gentleman horse sheep man male father prince king bull brother-in-law
Feminine la actriz la baronesa la dama la yegua la oveja la mujer la hembra la madre la princesa la reina la vaca la nuera
actress baroness lady mare ewe woman female mother princess queen cow sister-in-law
Exercise 8 Read the English clues below and write the Spanish words to Complete the puzzle.
la hembra
Across 1. sheep 3. male 5. mother 9. mare 10. actor 11. gentleman
Down 2. baroness 4. cow 6. prince 7. woman 8. queen
el carnero
Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson, fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar, Flávio Cruvinel Brandão