Sustantivos, adjetivos, articulos, verbos y mucho mas.
A noun is a word used to denote a person, place, thing, or idea.
Person: John, girl, dentist
Place: garden, university, Venezuela
Thing: book, car, tomato
Idea: liberty, despair, intelligence
In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.
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Masculine |
Feminine |
|
el chico
boy |
la chica
girl |
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el jardín
garden |
la universidad
university |
|
el libro
book |
la revista
magazine |
|
el miedo
fear |
la libertad
liberty |
The idea that nouns have gender seems perfectly natural when the noun stands for a living creature. This is because in English, living creatures often have different names, depending upon whether they are male or female.
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Masculine |
Feminine |
|
|
|
|
man |
woman |
|
tiger |
tigress |
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aviator |
aviatrix |
The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures.
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el gato
male cat |
la gata
female cat |
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el perro
male dog |
la perra
female dog |
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el chico
boy |
la chica
girl |
|
el abuelo
grandfather |
la abuela
grandmother |
Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine.
Notice the word usually! There are exceptions to these two rules and you will soon be learning them. One cannot predict the gender of a noun that stands for a non-living thing. One cannot predict the gender of a noun, except in the case of living creatures. Do not try to analyze the nature of the object, looking for some inherent masculinity or femininity. It won't work! When you learn a new noun, you should also learn its definite article (el, la). There are several reasons for this:
- Because you cannot predict the gender of most nouns.
- Because not every noun that ends in -o is masculine, and not every noun that ends in -a is feminine.
- Because many nouns end in letters other than o or a.
- Because the definite article (el, la) is your clue as to whether a noun is masculine or feminine.
Why do you care whether a noun is masculine or feminine? Good question! As you shall see in upcoming lessons, Spanish places a great deal more emphasis on gender than does English.
Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a.
el profesor
la profesora
Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la).
el estudiante
la estudiante
el pianista
la pianista
Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.
la televisión
la decisión
la conversación
la habitación
la ciudad
la universidad
la dificultad
la libertad
la actitud
la gratitud
la certidumbre
la muchedumbre
Four of the nouns that end in -a are simply exceptions and must be memorized.
el día
el mapa
el planeta
el sofá
A few nouns that end in -o are feminine.
la mano
la radio
Let's review the rules for making nouns plural.
· If a noun ends in a vowel, simply add -s.
· If a noun ends in a consonant, simply add -es.
· If a noun ends in a -z, change the z to c before adding -es.
· If a noun ends in ión, drop the written accent before adding -es.
· If the plural refers to a mixed group, use the masculine.
· For compound nouns, change "el" to "los".
The Verb Form "Hay"
The verb form "hay" has two meanings:
there is
there are
Examples:
Hay muchos libros en la biblioteca.
There are many books in the library
Hay un libro en la mesa.
There is a book on the table.
Let's review something about adjectives
· Adjectives that end in -o have four forms: alto, alta, altos, altas
· Adjectives that end in -e have two forms: inteligente, inteligentes
· Most adjectives that end in a consonant have two forms: popular, populares (form plural by adding -es)
· Adjectives that end in -o have four forms
alto
alta
altos
altas
· Adjectives of nationality ending in -o are no different from other such adjectives
guatemalteco
guatemalteca
guatemaltecos
guatemaltecas
· Adjectives that end in -e have two forms
inteligente
inteligentes
· Most adjectives ending with a consonant have two forms
popular
populares
· Adjectives of nationality ending in a consonant have four forms
español
española
españoles
españolas
· Adjectives ending in -or, -án, -ón, or -ín have four forms
hablador
habladora
habladores
habladoras
· Adjectives that are descriptive usually follow the noun they describe
casa blanca
chica alta
· When an adjective speaks of a quality that is inherent and usually taken for granted, the adjective precedes the noun
la blanca nieve
los altos picos
· Adjectives of quantity usually come before the noun
pocos libros
muchos libros
Weather Expressions
Remember, an idiom is an expression that cannot be immediately understood by analyzing its literal meaning. A few examples of idioms in English are:
to "drive someone crazy"
to "lose it"
to be "raining cats and dogs"
Spanish also has many idiomatic expressions. Although their literal translations sound odd to English speakers, they sound perfectly natural to native speakers. Here is one example:
Idiom: Hace mucho frío
Literally: It makes much cold
True Meaning: It is very cold
In Spanish, there are a number of idiomatic expressions that employ the verb hacer (literal meaning: to do or to make), and are used to describe the weather.
¿Qué tiempo hace?
What's the weather like?
Hace frío.
It's cold.
Hace calor.
It's hot.
Hace viento.
It's windy.
Hace sol.
It's sunny.
Hace buen tiempo.
The weather is good.
Hace mal tiempo.
The weather is bad.
Hace fresco.
It's brisk.
Like the idioms that use tener, these idioms also contain a noun.
el frío
el calor
el viento
el sol
el tiempo
Because the idioms use nouns, they are modified by adjectives, not adverbs.
Hace frío.
Hace mucho frío. (not muy)
There are also weather expressions that use the verb hay:
Hay niebla.
It's foggy.
Hay neblina.
It's misty.
Hay sol.
The sun is shining.
Hay luna.
The moon is out.
Hay relámpagos.
It's lightning.
Hay humedad.
It's humid.
Hay nubes.
It's cloudy.
Hay lluvias torrenciales.
It's pouring.
Hay un vendaval.
There's a windstorm.
Hay granizo.
It's hailing.
Hay lloviznas.
It's sprinkling.
Other weather expressions use the verb estar along with an adjective:
Está oscuro.
It's dark.
Está nublado.
It's cloudy.
Está lloviendo.
It's raining.
Other weather expressions simply use a single verb:
Llueve.
It is raining. or It rains.
From the verb llover (to rain)
Nieva.
It is snowing. or It snows.
From the verb nevar (to snow)
Truena.
It is thundering. or It thunders.
From the verb tronar (to thunder)
Llovizna.
It is drizzling. or It drizzles.
From the verb lloviznar (to drizzle)
Here are some common ways to ask about the weather:
¿Qué tiempo hace?
¿Qué clima hace?
¿Cómo está el clima en ...?
¿Cómo está el tiempo?
¿Cómo está el clima hoy?
The first practice exercise and test will cover ten of the most common and useful of these expressions:
¿Qué tiempo hace?
Hace frío.
Hace calor.
Hace viento.
Hay niebla.
Hay granizo.
Hay relámpagos.
Llovizna.
Nieva.
Llueve.
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