English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Spanish Nouns And Gender # 2 Masculine Nouns - Places, Things, Ideas A Review for Intermediate and Advanced Students As a general rule, nouns that end in –o, are masculine and nouns that end in –a are feminine. For example, el año is a masculine noun and la vida is a feminine noun. But, there are many exceptions to the rule. Some nouns that end in –a, –e, -u are masculine. el cine el coche el colega el día el espíritu el meringue el parque el perfume el pie el postre el viaje el tranvía
movie house car colleague day spirit baked egg white park perfume foot dessert trip trolley
el tranvía
Exercise 1 Read each English clue below. Circle the corresponding Spanish article and noun in the word search puzzle. The words can appear horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forward, and backward. E
J
K
H
E
A
N
B
O
E
Z
L
N
M
D
I
Z
O
L
L
Q
G
P
F
M
B
P
C
I
T
D
O
N
E
D
G
O
L
X
R
X
D
A
N
R
L
J
Z
E
A
A
í
D
L
E
F
G
R
P
N
L
O
B
G
T
L
U
D
T
V
Z
B
A
R
Y
X
A
M
X
í
I
U
L
U
N
F
P
K
E
A
Q
A
Y
D
J
M
X
Q
D
O
colleague
day
foot
perfume
trolley
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Nouns ending in –ma, -pa, –ta are usually masculine. These nouns have Greek origins. el anagrama el aroma el clima el cometa el crucigrama el diagrama el dilema el diploma el drama el enigma el esquema el fantasma el idioma el mapa el panaorama el pentagrama el planeta el poema el prisma el problema el programa el profeta el síntoma el sistema el telegrama el tema
anagram aroma climate comet crucigram diagram dilemma diploma drama enigma sketch ghost language map panorama pentagram planet poem prism problem program prophet symptom system telegram theme
el planeta
Exercise 2 Read the English clue. Complete the puzzle with the Spanish article and noun.
Across 5. diagram 6. sketch
Down 1. prophet 2. dilemma 3. anagram 4. map 5. theme
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Nouns that end in –ambre, –aje are masculine. el alambre el calambre el enjambre el montaje el paisaje el pasaje el personaje el salvaje
wire cramp swarm of bees setting scenery train/bus fare character savage
el enjambre Exercise 3 Unscramble each of the words. Copy the letters in the numbered boxes to the corresponding numbered boxes at the bottom. A sentence will appear. (Hint: The scenery is pretty.) The answer to the sentence is on page 9.
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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These nouns are masculine. They end in an accented vowel, a consonant, - ín, -ís, -ón, -or, -ión, -z. Many of them can easily be mistaken for feminine nouns. accented consonant vowel el colibrí el abad (hummingbird) (abbot)
-ín
-ís
-ón
-or
-ión
-z
el cojín (cushion)
el análisis (analysis)
el amor (love)
el avión (airplane)
el ajedrez (chess)
el sofá (sofá)
el jardín (garden)
el énfasis (emphasis)
el galardón (prize) el malecón (jetty) el rincón (corner) el riñón (kidney)
el calor (heat)
el bastión el altavoz (stronghold) speaker
el color (color) el rencor (hate)
el camión (truck) el gorrión (sparrow)
el antifaz (mask) el aprendiz (apprentice)
el sudor (sweat) el temblor (tremor) el valor (courage) el vapor (vapor) el bailador
el limpión (wipe) el sarampión (measles) el turbión (squall)
el arroz (rice) el avestruz (ostrich)
el árbol (tree) el césped (turf) el huésped (host)
el país (country) el parenthesis (parenthesis)
el general (general) el origen (origen) el pan (bread) el régimen (regime) el reloj (watch) el sol (sun) el sud (south)
el cáliz (goblet) el haz (sheaf) el lápiz (pencil) el maíz (maise) el pez (fish)
Exercise 4 Find and circle the words in the box on the right. The words can appear horizontally, vertically, diagonally, forward, and backward. A hidden Spanish sentence will appear between the circled words in the top 2 lines of the word search puzzle. Write the sentence below. (Hint: I prefer rice to bread.) The answer is to the sentence is on page 9. P R S R K J G Y E Q Q X J N S
N Ó I B R U T L E B J K C Ó D
R O B N L R C N J B E K U C R
E Z C E S O L D Í S O U G N T
F A X V L D J L W D B Q P I R
I L E I Y E V D V G R K X R C
E P B Q P P W Q R E R A T L D
E R Y N K S S Í A P L E J E J
Í L Q U P É X A H A W Y G L X
R A V J J C S E I C B T C K E
O N R A L L Z U Z S F E G B J
E K V X L E Z E G G S X U T X
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
L B G G T O P G K U T M J L U
A P E I H L R V F Y R L I E Z
R N C A E U X B F Y P P Z V N
__ __
EL EL EL EL EL EL EL EL
COLIBRÍ CÉSPED JARDÍN PAÍS PEZ RINCÓN TURBIÓN VALOR
__ __ __ __ __
__ __
__ __ __ .
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- take the masculine article in the singular form. Because these nouns are feminine, the adjective used to modify this type of noun is also feminine. el agua el águila el ala el alba el alma el área el arma el arpa el aula el ave el hacha el hada el hambre
water eagle wing dawn soul area weapon harp classroom bird ax fairy hunger
el alba
Exercise 5 Here are 2 fallen phrase puzzles. A Spanish sentence fits into each puzzle. Use the scrambled letters under each column of the puzzle to complete the sentence. (Hints: The golden eagle flies high in the sky. Let’s put the Christmas tree in the living room.) The answers are on page 9.
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Compound nouns combine a verb or a preposition with a noun. They are masculine. el abrelatas can opener el cumpleaños birthday el guardarropa closet el lavaplatos dishwasher el parabrisas windshield el parachoques bumper el paraguas umbrella el paracaídas parachute el pararrayos lightening rod el rascacielos skyscraper el rompecabezas jigsaw puzzle el sacacorchos corkscrew el rompecabezas el salvavidas life preserver el sujetapapeles stapler Exercise 6 Here are 3 cryptograms. Write the letter that corresponds with the number in each of the blanks below in order to form the Spanish sentence. (Hints: You had better take your umbrella. Juan throws the life preserver to Mario. Today is Robert’s birthday. ) The answers are on page 10. A 13
__ 8 __ 22
B 12
__ 5 __ 13
A 26
__ 11 __ 22
A 13
D 8
G 1
__ __ __ __ __ __ 12 5 16 7 13 26 __ __ __ __ __ __. 16 13 1 15 13 26
D 6
__ 2 __ 26
E 5
__ 26 __ 13
B 1
E 19
I 1
__ __ __ 9 6 17 __ __ __ __ 2 6 1 26
D 14
__ __ 26 15
L 4
P 22
R 16
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 4 4 5 6 13 16 21 5
J 11
L 3
__ __ __ __ __ 21 17 1 13 26 __ __. 1 24
C 10
Í 7
E 26
__ __ 26 5
M 22
__ __ 19 3
H 9
L 5
N 21
S 26
T 21
U 15
__ __ 5 4
O 24
R 13
S 15
T 17
U 2
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 15 26 3 10 26 10 1 6 26 15
__ 26
M 21
T 23
ñ 20
O 6
V 6
P 3
R 2
__ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ 10 25 21 3 5 26 13 20 6 15
S 15
V 10
U 25
Y 17
__ __ 14 26
__ __ __. 2 23 6
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Words that fit into these categories are masculine. Category Example rivers el Tajo mountains, lakes, seas, oceans el Himalaya, el lago Titicaca, el mar Mediterráneo cars, boats, aircraft el Mercedes months, days el enero, el lunes wines el Rioja pictures named by artists el Goya sports teams el Real Madrid infinitives el comer numbers el siete musical notes el do, el fa colors el verde fruit trees el limonero languages el español Exercise 7 These are scrambled sentences. Unscramble the boxes to reveal the sentence. Write the sentence on the line provided. (Hints: The Tajo is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula. The lemon tree is a citrus tree. January is the first month of the year.) The answers are on page 10. Example: DE
Í O
L
B É R
R GO
T A J
T A J L A
O
E L D E
R
N Í N
L A
E P E
I C A
S N Í N
P E
E
O E E
A
L R S U L
I
Í O A
S U L
S
L A
.
I
M Á S B É R
E
E L
MÁS
L A I C A
R G O .
__El Tajo es el río más grande de la Península Ibérica.__
___________________________________________________________
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Some nouns have a different meaning if used with the masculine or the feminine article. Masculine el capital el canal el cólera el coma el cometa el corte el cura el editorial el frente el guía el mañana el modelo el orden el papa el pez el policía
capital (money) TV channel cholera coma comet cut priest newspaper editorial front guide (person) tomorrow model (example) order (arrangement) pope fish police officer
Feminine la capital la canal la cólera la coma la cometa la corte la cura la editorial la frente la guía la mañana la modela la orden la papa la pez la policía
capital (city) gutter anger comma kite court cure publishing house forehead guidebook morning fashion model order (command) potato tar police department
Exercise 8 Complete the sentence with the appropriate definite article. Él me dio _____ orden y tengo que hacer lo que quiere. (He gave me the order and I have to do what he wants.) ¿Cuál es _____ capital de España? (What is the capital of Spain?) _____ cólera es una enfermedad epidémica. (Cholera is an epidemic illness.) Compré _____ guía pero no me sirvió de ayuda. (I bought the guidebook but it didn’t help me.) Él me besó en _____ frente. (He kissed me on the forehead.) _____ pez huele mal. (The fish smells bad.)
El me besó en la frente.
Ella vio el amanecer por _____ mañana. (She saw the sunrise in the morning.) Los científicos no han hallado _____ cura contra el cáncer. (Scientists have not found the cure for cáncer.) _____ corte castigó a los criminales. (The court punished the criminals.)
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English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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The Answers Exercise 1 E
E L
I P
P O
E A
Í
D
L G
R E
E L T R A N V Í A
L C L
L F
E U
A
M E
el colega, el día, el pie, el perfume, el tranvía
Exercise 2 Across – 5. el diagrama 6. el esquema Down – 1. el profeta 2. el dilema 3. el anagrama
4. el mapa
5. el tema
Exercise 3 el salvaje, el montaje, el calambre, el personaje, el alambre, el pasaje, el enjambre, el paisaje The sentence: El paisaje es bonito. (The scenery is pretty.) Exercise 4
E
N ó I B R U T L E
E R B
V
I O
L D
E
A P
S S Í A P L E J E
C N Í D R A
N
ó
Í L
C
N
I
R
L
É
C
l
L E
E O P
L R
E
L E
Hidden sentence: Prefiero el arroz al pan. (I prefer rice to bread.) P R
R O
E Z
F A
I L
E P
A
R N
O
E
L
A
R
Exercise 5 El águila caudal vuela en el alto cielo. (The golden eagle flies high in the sky.) Pongamos el árbol de Navidad en el salón. (Let’s put the Christmas tree in the living room.) Free Handout – http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) N I C O, frogthroat, adstream, House Photography, monkeysox, cfinke
English-Spanish Helpful Handouts - For English Speakers Who Want To Learn Spanish
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Exercise 6 Deberías llevarte el paraguas. (You had better take your umbrella.) Juan tira el salvavidas a Mario. (Juan throws the life preserver to Mario.) Hoy es el cumpleaños de Roberto. (Today is Robert’s birthday.) Exercise 7 El Tajo es el río más largo de la Península Ibérica. (The Tajo is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula.) El limonero es un árbol cítrico. (The lemon tree is a citrus tree.) El enero es el primer mes del año. (January is the first month of the year.) Exercise 8 Él me dio la orden y tengo que hacer lo que quiere. (He gave me the order and I have to do what he wants.) ¿Cuál es la capital de España? (What is the capital of Spain?) El cólera es una enfermedad epidémica. (Cholera is an epidemic illness.) Compré la guía pero no me sirvió de ayuda. (I bought the guide book but it didn’t help me.) Él me besó en la frente. (He kissed me on the forehead.) El pez huele mal. (The fish smells bad.) Ella vio el amanecer por la mañana. (She saw the sunrise this morning.) Los científicos no han hallado la cura contra el cáncer. (Scientists have not found the cure for cáncer.) La corte castigó a los criminales. (The court punished the criminals.)
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