Gender, Definite, & Indefinite Articles Making things plural Feminine or Masculine? Words that end in a, d, or ión, or that refer to a female being are usually feminine words. Words that end in o, or refer to a male being are generally masculine words (L O N E R & S (when referring to a singular item ending in s) Other words must be learned on a case by case basis. Are these words masculine or feminine? maestra libro escritorio pared abrigo papel tienda amigos ventana pluma maestro vestido fruta museo silla puerta pared lección anaranjada camisa queso tazón rojo cuaderno blanco falda chaqueta ciudad televisión boca Definite Articles The definite articles mean THE. There are four definite articles in Spanish Masculine Feminine Singular el la Plural los las Which definite articles would you use with the following words? maestros libro escritorios abrigo puerta pared estación casa
queso faldas lecciones boca chaqueta pelotas cuaderno sopa ciudades paredes ventanas baños Indefinite Articles Indefinite articles mean a or an or a few or some Masculine Feminine Singular un una Plural unos unas Which indefinite articles would you use with the following words? maestros libro escritorios abrigo puerta pared estación casa queso faldas lecciones boca chaqueta pelotas cuaderno sopa ciudades paredes ventanas baños Making Words Plural To make a word plural, add an s if it ends in a vowel, and es if it ends in a consonant. If the word ends in a z, change the z to a c before adding es maestro libro escritorio abrigo puerta pared estación casa queso falda lección boca chaqueta pelota cuaderno sopa lápiz pared nariz señor
More Practice with Indefinite and Definite Articles You already know the definite articles in Spanish: El the masculine singular Los- the masculine plural La- the feminine singular Las- the feminine plural But how do you say, a or an? Or a few or some? These are known as the indefinite articles. In Spanish, we use un and una to say a or an. We use un with singular masculine nouns. un boligrafo un libro un aeropuerto un paraguas a pen a book an airport an umbrella We use una with singular feminine nouns. una pizarra una puerto una chaqueta una moto a board a door a jacket a motorcycle We use unos and unas to say a few or some. unos barcos unos coches unos libros unos zapatos some ships some cars a few books some shoes unas mesas unas pantimedias unas faldas unas ensaladas a few tables some pantyhose a few skirts some salads Which indefinite article would you use with the following nouns? abrigo guantes pantalones traje suéter camisas vestidos camiseta calcetines blusas aviones tren amigo muchacha escuela alumnos amigas muchachos cursos alumnos profesor
Choose the correct definite article. 1. chico es de Bolivia. 2. profesora es muy simpática. 3. lápiz es rojo. 4. proyector está roto. 5. ciudad es grande. 6. hombres son gordos. 7. lecciones son aburridas. 8. manzanas son rojas. 9. libros son viejos. 10. diccionarios están allí.
Repaso: Gender Agreement and Definite Articles A word is feminine if it ends in,, or refers to a female being. A word is masculine if it ends in,,,, or refers to a male being. Masculine or Feminine? Put a check in the appropriate column. Palabra Masculino Femenina sabor enfermedad lección conductor tazón cielo canción tierra papel estante marcador grapadora cajón estudiante semana fin salida aseos cucaracha borrador cartel There are four definite articles in Spanish. They all mean the. We decide how to use them based on what we are talking about. The four definite articles are:
singular plural masculine (LONER) feminine (a, d, ión) Which singular definite article (el or la) would we use with the following words? sabor lección tazón canción papel marcador enfermedad conductor cielo tierra estante grapadora We make words plural by adding an es if the word ends in a consonant, or a s if it ends in a vowel. Please make the following words plural. sabor semana salida borrador cartel tierra estudiante fin conductor chica enfermedad papel Now, decide if we will use los or las with the above words. Fill in the appropriate plural definite article in front of the word.