Spanish Nouns and Articles: Rules and Practice

Notas: nouns, gender, definite articles, indefinite articles, hay, making nouns plural

Nouns & Gender • Nouns name 4 types of things: • People • Places • Things • Ideas (concepts)

Nouns & Gender • Nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine • Most nouns that end in –o are masculine • Most nouns that end in –a are feminine • The word that means masculine or feminine is gender • Nouns that do not follow that general rule must be memorized.

escritorio mesa bolígrafo cuaderno tiza pizarra puerta libro Nouns & GenderUsing the “-o” & “-a” rule, determine if the following nouns are masculine (M) or feminine (F). M. F. F. F. M. F. M. M.

Nouns & Gender Can you name some nouns from our list that do not fit the general rule and that must be memorized? borrador papel clase

Definite Articles • There is only one definite article in English. • It is the word “the”. • There are four definite articles in Spanish.

Definite Articles los el la las four ways to say "the"

bolígrafo mesas escritorios carpeta puertas libros tiza cuaderno Definite ArticlesWrite the definite article that goes with each noun. el las las los los la la el

Indefinite Articles • Indefinite articles are used to refer to things in general (non-specific things) • There are four indefinite articles in Spanish.

Indefinite Articles unos un una unas a, an some, a few

Articles – Definite & Indefinite • To know which article to use with a particular noun, you have to ask yourself 2 questions: • Is the noun masculine or feminine? • Is the noun singular or plural?

Fill in the blanks with the correct indefinite articles & write the English meaning. (don’t forget to ask yourself the 2 questions!) unas some folders carpetas = ______________ silla = ______________ libro = ______________ cuadernos = ______________ una a chair un a book unos some notebooks

Hay • In a sentence “hay” means: • There is • There are • In a question “hay” means: • Is there…? • Are there…?

Hay Por ejemplo: • Hay una pizarra en el colegio. • ¿Hay un bolígrafo en la mochila? There is a chalkboard in the school. Is there a pen in the backpack?

Sí y No(answering questions) • When answer a question affirmatively, you will usually begin your response with sí. • When answering negatively, begin with no & put a 2nd no before “hay” or the verb.

Sí y No(answering questions) Por ejemplo: ¿Hay tarea? Sí, hay tarea. No, no hay tarea.

Making Nouns Plural • If the noun ends in a vowel, add “s” • diccionario  diccionarios • If the noun ends in a consonant, add “es” • papel  papeles • If the noun ends in “z”, change the “z” to “c” and add “es” • lápiz  lápices

Making Nouns PluralWrite the following words in the plural form. • teléfono • computadora • reloj • luz • hoja • profesor teléfonos computadoras relojes luces hojas profesores

Spanish Nouns and Articles: Rules and Practice