Palabras masculinas y femeninas

ESPAÑOL 1
Unit 0A: Greetings and Body Parts
HW #8: 0A
Semana 3
Nombre: ___________________
Fecha: ______________
Clase: Rojo Azul Amarillo Verde
Palabras masculinas y femeninas
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.
MASCULINE
el chico .................... boy
el jardín .................... garden
el libro ..................... book
el miedo ...................fear
FEMININE
la chica ........................girl
la universidad ...............university
la revista ......................magazine
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.
MASCULINE
man
tiger
aviator
FEMININE
woman
tigress
aviatrix
The following Spanish nouns all denote living creatures.
el gato ..................... male cat
el perro .................... male dog
el chico .................... boy
el abuelo .................. grandfather
la gata .........................female cat
la perra ........................female dog
la chica ........................girl
la abuela ......................grandmother
How are all of these masculine nouns alike?
el gato
el perro
el chico
el abuelo
HINT: look at both the beginning and the ending of each word pair.
How are all of these feminine nouns alike?
la gata
la perra
la chica
la abuela
HINT: look at both the beginning and the ending of each word pair.
ESPAÑOL 1
Unit 0A: Greetings and Body Parts
HW #8: 0A
Semana 3
“El” and “la” both mean “the.”
el chico (the boy)
el perro (the male dog)
Nombre: ___________________
Fecha: ______________
Clase: Rojo Azul Amarillo Verde
la chica (the girl)
la gata (the female cat)
NOTE: These two words (el, la) are called “definite articles.” You will learn more about them in a
later lesson.
What do you notice about the last letter of these nouns?
MASCULINE
gato
perro
chico
abuelo
FEMININE
gata
perra
chica
abuela
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. Try to predict
whether the Spanish words for the following things are masculine or feminine:
MASCULINE OR FEMININE?
book
house
money
window
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!
Take a guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “dress” is masculine or feminine? You might
expect it to be feminine, since a dress is an article of clothing worn by females. Actually, the word for
“dress” is a masculine word:
el vestido
Take another guess. Do you think the Spanish word for “necktie” is masculine or feminine?
You might expect it to be masculine, since a necktie is an article of clothing worn by males. Actually,
the word for “necktie” is a feminine word:
la corbata
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.
ESPAÑOL 1
Unit 0A: Greetings and Body Parts
HW #8: 0A
A. Circle the correct answer.
1. Which word is masculine?
a. la casa
b. la mesa
c. el libro
d. la ventana
2. Which word is feminine?
a. el chico
b. el hermano
c. el abuelo
d. la hermana
3. Which word is masculine?
a. el cuaderno
b. la pluma
c. la maestra
d. la profesora
4. Which word is feminine?
a. el número
b. el teléfono
c. el muchacho
d. la tía
5. ¿Cuál es la palabra masculina?
a. la mañana
b. la palabra
c. el diccionario
d. la tarea
Semana 3
Nombre: ___________________
Fecha: ______________
Clase: Rojo Azul Amarillo Verde
B. Choose between masculine or
feminine. Circle the best answer.
6. el libro
a. is a masculine word
b. is a feminine word
7. la pluma
a. is a masculine word
b. is a feminine word
8. el cuaderno
a. is a masculine word
b. is a feminine word
9. el escritorio
a. is a masculine word
b. is a feminine word
10. la silla
a. is a masculine word
b. is a feminine word
C. Circle the correct last letter of
each word.
11. el libr___
o
a
12. la mes____
o
a
13. el gat____
o
a
14. la gat____
o
a
15. el chic____
o
a
16. la chic____
o
a
17. el cuadern___
o
a
18. la plum____
o
a
19. el vestid____
o
a
20. la corbat____
o
a
ESPAÑOL 1
Unit 0A: Greetings and Body Parts
HW #8: 0A
Semana 3
Nombre: ___________________
Fecha: ______________
Clase: Rojo Azul Amarillo Verde
D. Notes Reflection:
21. Go back and highlight or underline the most important things to remember about masculine
and feminine nouns in the notes. Highlight or underline at least 3 things.
22. What was surprising or interesting in the notes? Respond in at least 3 sentences.
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