Los Art ículos (Articles)

1. Los Artículos(Articles) • In English, “the” is the only definite article (elartículodefinido). In Spanish, there are four: “el, la, los, and las”

2. “el” is for masculinesingular nouns. • “los” is for masculineplural nouns

3. “la” is for femininesingular nouns. • “las” is for femininepluralnouns

4. 2)In English, “a” or “an” can be an indefinite article (elartículoindefinido) In Spanish, there are four as well: “un, una, unos, and unas”

5. “un” is for masculinesingular nouns • “unos” is for masculineplural nouns

6. “una” is for femininesingular nouns • “unas” is for feminineplural nouns

7. Los Sustantivos (Nouns) In Spanish, all nouns (sustantivos) have either masculine or feminine gender (el genero).

8. Masculino 3)Nouns that refer to male beings and most nouns that end in “o” or “e” are generally masculine (masculino). (L-O-N-E-R-S) Ex: hombre, libro

9. Femenina 4)Nouns that refer to female beings and most nouns that end in “a”, “ión”, “tad”, or “dad” are generally feminine (femenina). (D-IÓN-Z-A) Ex: mujer, mesa, nación, libertad, and universidad

10. Excepciones (Exceptions) 5)There are exceptions to these rules; Some nouns appear to be masculine or feminine; however, they are not and must be memorized.

11. Ejemplos de Excepciones • The words “el día” and “el agua” are masculine eventhough they end in “a” • The word “la foto” is feminine eventhough it ends in “o”

12. Otras Excepciones The words ending in “ma” or “pa” are masculine. A good way to remember this is to say: -Ma’s and Pa’s get no La’s 

13. Ma’s and Pa’s Ejemplos: drama, problema, programa, mapa

14. Making nouns plural • add “s” to words that end in vowels Ex: estudiante estudiantes

15. Making nouns plural • add “es” to words that end in consonants Ex: televisor televisores

16. Making nouns plural • change the z to a “c” to words that end in “z” Ex: luz luces

17. El Fin