Common Nouns Part #1 - Masculine Vs. Feminine

Common Nouns Part #1 - Masculine Vs. Feminine

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The first part of this lesson explains what nouns are and how they are used in Spanish with definite and indefinite articles.

First of all, what is a noun?

It can be defined in the same way both in Spanish and English. They are words which are used to name the things we see around us or the names we give to people, animals, places, ideas or concepts.

The main difference between how nouns are formed in English and Spanish is that all nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine. In English nouns are only considered masculine or feminine if there is an obvious distinction between gender; man and woman for example. In English the word it is used to refer to things that are considered neither masculine nor feminine.

In Spanish all things have a gender. Even nouns for inanimate things (things that are not living), have a gender. Spanish nouns are nearly always used with articles which tell us whether the noun is masculine or feminine. The following shows how articles are used with nouns both in Spanish and English. To learn more about articles take a look at the separate lesson on articles.

Definite articles in English and Spanish.

the floor - el piso (masculine - singular)

the window - la ventana (feminine - singular)

the floors - los pisos (masculine - plural)

the windows - las ventanas (feminine - plural)

Indefinite articles

a (an) floor - un piso (masculine - singular)

a (an) window - una ventana (feminine - singular)

some or any floors - unos pisos (masculine - plural)

some or any windows - unas ventanas (feminine - plural)

You can see that the absence of gender in English makes the use of articles much easier to remember. In Spanish, the article to be used always depends on whether a noun is masculine or feminine, and singular or plural.

The gender of Spanish nouns is also very important because it can also determine the gender of other words that are used with it, such as adjectives.

Now let's look at different types of nouns. Different names are given to different types of nouns, depending on the type of thing that is being named.

Proper nouns

This is the name given to nouns which refer to specific people, places or things. In English these types of nouns should always start with a capital letter. In Spanish this is not always the case.

Common nouns

This type refers to people, places and things in a more general way. They are not specific and are the opposite of proper nouns.

Concrete nouns

A concrete noun is the name given to a noun that can be perceived via the physical senses, touch, smell, sight, hearing and taste.

Abstract nouns

This type of nouns is the opposite of concrete nouns and refers to things that can only be perceived by thought rather than via one of the physical senses.

Countable and non countable nouns

As the name suggests these nouns refer to these that either can or can't be physically counted.

Collective nouns

Collective nouns are similar to non countable nouns even though they can be counted. They refer to groups of people, animals or things. The way to distinguish them between non countable nouns is to imagine the things that make up the group. Non countable nouns are made up of individual units of the non countable noun itself; grains of sugar. Collective nouns are made up of individual nouns in their own right; men and women in a team.

About the Author:
Copyright 2010 SpanishFaculty.com.

Susana Rodriguez is a Spanish teacher that provides free lessons online.
Please visit SpanishFaculty.com to access exercises, vocabulary, and funny games that will help you improve your Spanish skills.



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