MODULE 4 NOUN AND THE USE OF ARTICLE

OVERVIEW

This module deals on Noun and article in Spanish. We always starts with noun as
one of the eight part of speech. In Spanish, it is important to tackle this, as ground so
will be able to understand Spanish language. It will particularly focus on gender of the
noun. This is very important in Spanish. Gender connects noun and article. You must
be able to know and understand the gender of a noun.

OBJECTIVES: At the end of this module:

1. Learn and identify the gender of the noun;

2. demonstrate the connection of noun and article, and;

3. analyze the gender of the noun and its connection to the article.

FOCUSING ON PART OF SPEECH

Too many people try to translate word for word from English to Spanish.
And that just doesn’t work. Why? Because a Spanish word may have many
applications depending on its usage (for example, as a noun or as an adjective) in
the sentence. In addition, many idiomatic phrases, when used properly,
distinguish a native speaker from someone who’s unfamiliar with the language.
(An idiomatic phrase is a phrase used in a particular language whose meaning can’t
easily be understood by a literal translation of its component words. An English
example is “It’s raining cats and dogs.”)

USING NOUN

A noun is the part of speech that refers to a person, place, thing, quality, idea,
or action. Here are some examples of nouns in action:

 Person: The boy is friendly. (El muchacho es amable.)

 Place: I want to go home. (Quiero ir a casa.)
 Thing: I would like to see that book. (Quisiera ver ese libro.)
 Quality: I admire her courage. (Admiro su coraje.)
 Idea: Communism is a political theory. (El comunismo es una teoría política.)
 Action: The plane’s departure is imminent. (La partida del avión es
inminente.)

In everyday speaking/writing, you use nouns most often in the following forms:

 As the subject of averb:

María speaks Spanish. (María habla español.)

 As the direct object of a verb:

I see María. (Yo veo a María.)
  As the indirect object of a verb:
I speak to María. (Yo le hablo a María.)

 As the object of a preposition:

I went out with María. (Yo salí con María.)
Unlike English nouns, all Spanish nouns have a gender: mas- culine or feminine.
All words you use to qualify or describe a noun must agree with the noun with
respect to gender.

MASCULINE NOUNS

The general rule is that nouns ending in -o are masculine. However, there are
some different noun endings and noun categories that are also considered masculine.
Below is a list of general rules, examples and exceptions for determining masculine
nouns in Spanish Grammar:

word ending example exception

la foto, la
-o el trabajo, el libro
mano
-aje el viaje, el traje
-ambre el hambre, el calambre
el colmenar, el ordenador, el
-ar, -er, -or
taller
-an, -en, -in, -on, un (with or el pan, el andén, el espadín, el
without an accent) jamón, el atún
-ate, -ete, ote el escaparate, el camarote
-é el café
-és el arnés
-che el coche, el porche la noche
la piel, la
-l el papel, el nivel
cárcel
la crema, la
-ma el programa, el poema
cama
-miento el pimiento, el sufrimiento
-n el tren la imagen
-pa el mapa, el arpa la capa
la carta, la
-ta el cometa, el planeta
pata
-x el tórax
-y el buey, el jersey
compound words formed with a
el paraguas (parar + agua)
verb
compass directions el norte
 days of the week el lunes
Months el enero
Numerals el uno
names of bodies of water and
el Atlántico, el Teide
mountains

FEMININE NOUNS

The general rule is that nouns ending in -a are feminine. However, there are some
different noun endings and noun categories that are also considered feminine. Below
is a list of general rules, examples and exceptions for determining feminine nouns in
Spanish grammar:

word ending example exception

-a la ventana, la comida el sofá, el día
-ia, -ie la historia, la serie
-ad, -ed, -id, ud la facultad, la pared, la vid, la salud el ataúd
-ez, -eza la vez, la tristeza
-is la tesis, la crisis el arcoíris
-ncia la provincia, la paciencia
-umbre la costumbre, la cumbre
-z la cruz, la nariz el lápiz
-ción, -sión, -zón la información, la presión, la razón
the name of islands Mallorca el Hierro
city names ending with -a Barcelona
many countries España, Italia Congo
letters of the alphabet la a

GENDER SENSITIVE

Identify the gender of the following:

1. paseo ________________ 6. paz __________________

2. prima ____________________ 7. miercoles _________________

3. dependiente ______________ 8. nacionalidad _______________

4. carnival __________________ 9. sabor_____________________

5. television _________________ 10. oeste____________________

SPANISH PLURAL NOUN FORMS

Spanish nouns can be singular or plural, and Spanish plural nouns will almost always
end in -s or -es.

Here are the rules (and, of course, exceptions) you need to know to pluralize Spanish
nouns.

Nouns that End in a Vowel

Let's first take a look at the rules for words that end in a vowel.

1. Just Add -s
Rule: If a singular noun ends in an unstressed vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or the stressed
vowels á, é or ó, add -s to the end of a singular noun to make it plural.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR PLURAL

la pera las peras

la bota las botas

el sonido los sonidos

el panti los pantis

el café los cafés

el papa los papás

el buró los burós

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come
across:

The plural of no
(no) is noes
.
The plural of yo
(I) can be yoes
or yos
.
2. Add -s or -es
Rule: If a singular noun ends in í or ú, you can add -s or -es to pluralize the word.
The -es plural form is considered to be a bit fancier.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR -S PLURAL -ES PLURAL

Tisú tisús tisúes

Tabú tabús tabúes

Israelí israelís israelíes

marroquí marroquís marroquíes

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come
across:
The plural of sí
(yes) is always síes
.
The plurals of loanwords (words that have come into Spanish from other languages)
that end in í or ú are formed by simply adding an -s to the end of the word. For
example: popurrís
(potpourris), menús
(menus)
Nouns that End in a Consonant

Now that you've got the rules for words ending in a vowel down, let's learn about
words that end in a consonant.

1. Add -es
Rule: If a singular noun ends in a vowel plus y or the consonants l, r, n, d, z, j, s,
x, or ch, add -es.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR PLURAL

el rey los reyes

el panel los paneles

el color los colores

el botón los botones

el césped los céspedes

la luz las luces

el reloj los relojes

el mes los meses

el reloj los relojes

el fax los faxes

el sándwich los sándwiches

If a singular noun ends in z, you must change the z to a c before adding -es.

2. Add -s

Rule: If a singular noun ends in a consonant cluster (more than one consonant
together) or a vowel plus a consonant other than l, r, n, d, z, j, s, x, or ch, add -s.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR PLURAL

el iceberg los icebergs

el esnob los esnobs

el zigzag los zigzags

el crac los cracs

el mamut los mamuts

There are a few exceptions to the above rule. Here are some you're likely to come
across:

The plural of club

(club) is clubes
.
The plural of álbum
(album) is álbumes
.
The singular and plural forms of words ending in -st or -zt are the same.
Examples: el test
, los test
Rule: If a singular noun ends in s or x, has more than one syllable, and the last
syllable is unstressed, the singular and plural forms are the same.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR PLURAL

el análisis los análisis

el jueves los jueves

el tórax los tórax

Rule: If the second word in a singular compound noun is a plural noun, the singular
and plural forms are the same.

Here are some examples.

SINGULAR PLURAL

el ciempiés los ciempiés

el pasapuré los pasapuré

If a singular noun ends in l, r, n, d, z, j and is a palabra esdrújula (a word with three

more syllables that is accented on the third-to-last syllable), the singular and plural
forms are the same.

Here is an example
.

SINGULAR PLURAL

el polisíndeton polisíndeton
HOW TO MAKE THEM MANY?

Give the plural form of the following:

1. flor ________________ 6. libro______________

2. pez________________ 7. luz_______________

3. lazo________________ 8. caja______________

4. brazo_______________ 9. empresa__________

5. camarero ___________ 10. Manzana_________

BeingSpecificwith Definite Articles

A definite article expresses the English word the and indicates a specific person or
thing, such as “the boy” or “the book.” You must choose the correct definite article to
“mark” a noun in order to say the.

You must choose the correct definite article to “mark” a noun in order to saythe.

Identifying the definitearticles

Spanish features four distinct definite articles that
correspond to the in English. The following table lists these
articles:

Masculine Feminine
Singular el la
Plural los las

Here are some examples of these definitive articles in action:

El muchacho es grande. (The boy is big.)

Los libros son interesantes. (The books are interesting.)
La muchacha es alta. (The girl is tall.)
Las casas son blancas. (The houses are white.)

Using definite articles

You come across many instances in Spanish where
you use the definite article even though you may or may
not use it in English. The rules in the following list show
how you use the definite articles in Spanish:

 With nouns in a general or abstract sense:

El amor es divino. (Love is divine.)

 With nouns in a specific sense:

La tía María trae regalos. (Aunt María brings gifts.)

 With names of languages (except after the verb hablar

and after the prepositions de and en):
Me gusta el español. (I like Spanish.)
 ¿Dónde está mi libro de español? (Where’s my Spanish book?)
Escríbame en español. (Write to me in Spanish.)

 With parts of the body (when the possessor is clear) in place of the
possessive adjective:
Me duelen los pies. (My feet hurt.)

 With titles and ranks when you aren’t addressing the person:
La señora Rivera está aquí. (Mrs. Rivera is here.)
Siéntese, Señora Rivera. (Have a seat, Mrs. Rivera.)

 With last names:

Los Gómez viven en Colombia. (The Gómezes live in Colombia.)

 With days of the week (except after the verb ser):

El domingo voy a México. (On Sunday I’m going to Mexico.)
Hoy es miércoles. (Today is Wednesday.)
 With seasons (you may omit the article after en):
No trabajo en (el) verano. (I don’t work in the summer.)

 With dates:
Es el cinco de mayo. (It’s May 5th.)

 With the hour of the day and other time expressions:

Son las once y media. (It’s 11:30.)
Salgo por la tarde. (I’m going out in the afternoon.)

 With the names of many cities and countries (though there’s a tendency to
omit the article in current usage):
el Brasil, el Ecuador, El Escorial, el Paraguay, el Perú, El Salvador, el Uruguay,
la Argentina, la China, La Habana, la India, La Paz, los Estados Unidos
Visitamos (el) Brasil. (We visited Brazil.)

REMEMBER

Capitalized articles are actually parts of the names of the countries, whereas
articles in lowercase are not.
For example, Yo nací en El Salvador pero pasé muchos años en la Argentina.
(I was born in El Salvador but I spent many years in Argentina.)
 With rivers, seas, and other geographical locations:
El Orinoco es un río. (The Orinoco is a river.)

 The definite article precedes the noun it modifies and agrees with that noun in
number and gender. For example, El mucha- cho es rubio y las muchachas
son morenas. (The boy is blond and the girls are brunette.)
Omitting the definite articles

 You omit the definite articles in the following situations in Spanish:

 Before nouns in apposition (when one noun explains another):

Madrid, capital de España, es una ciudad popular.
(Madrid, the capital of Spain, is a popular city.)

 Before numerals that express the title of rulers:

Carlos Quinto (Charles the Fifth)

Contracting with definite articles

 Spanish features only two contractions. They occur when the definite article el
is joined with the preposition a (a + el = al) or de (de + el = del). The only
exception to the rule is when the definite article is part of the title or name.
Here are some examples of this construction:

Voy al Uruguay. (I’m going to Uruguay.) Voy a El Salvador. (I’m going to El

Salvador.)
Soy del Uruguay. (I’m from Uruguay.) Soy de El Salvador.(I’m from El
Salvador.)

EL, LA, EL, LA

Choose the proper definite article ("el" or "la") to complete each sentence. Remember,
"el" is used with masculine nouns, while "la" is used for feminine nouns:

1. _________ perro de mi amigo es muy grande.

2. Dame ________ cuaderno.

3. Voy a dormir en ________ sofá.

4. _______ hermana de Juan es muy bonita.

5. Voy a salir con ________ hermano de mi novia.

6. ¿Donde está ________ casa de tus padres?

7. Vas a invitarle a ________ fiesta?

8. _______ semana pasada fuimos a la playa.

9. ________ tren sale a las 10:00.

10. Me sentí mal todo ________ día.

EL, LA, LOS, LAS

Translate the following and supply the correct definite article.

1. the tunnel = _____________________

2. the parking meter = _______________

3. the museum= ____________________

4. the candle= ______________________

5. the leg = _________________________

6. the crime=________________________

7. the themes= ______________________

8. the problems= _____________________

9. the garbage= ______________________

10. the jail= ___________________________

Identifying the indefinite articles

Four Spanish indefinite articles correspond to a, an, and one in the singular
and to some in the plural. The following table presents these articles:

Masculine Feminine
Singular un una
Plural unos unas

Here are some examples of the indefinite articles in action:

Compré un abrigo. (She bought an [one] overcoat.)

Es una mujer muy astuta. (She is a very astute woman.)
Necesito unos limones y unas limas. (I need some lemons and some limes.)

REMEMBER THIS

 As with definite articles, the indefinite article precedes the noun it modifies and
agrees with that noun in number and gender.

 Omitting indefinite articles

You omit the indefinite article from your Spanish construc- tions in the
following situations:

Before unmodified nouns that express nationality, profes- sion, or religious or

political affiliation:
El señor Robles es profesor. (Mr. Robles is a teacher.)

 However, you use the indefinite article when the noun is modified:
El señor Robles es un profesor liberal. (Mr. Robles is a liberal teacher.)
 Before the following nouns:
cien (one hundred): cien niños (one hundred children)
cierto (certain): ciertos idiomas (certain languages)
mil (one thousand): mil dólares (one thousand dollars)
otro (other): otra clase (another class)
qué (what a): qué lástima (what a pity)
semejante (similar): problema semejante (a similar problem)
tal (such a): tal cosa (such a thing)

UN, UNA, UNOS, UNAS

Write the correct indefinite pronoun.

1. _____________ camión frigorífico.

2. _____________ rebaño de cabras.

3. ____________ vacaciones en la playa.

4. ______________ preciosos ojos negros.

5. _____________ colección de miniaturas.

6. _____________ gemelos de campaña.

7. _____________ manada de lobos.

8. _____________ bandada de pájaros.

9. _____________ dromedarios majestuosos.

10. _____________ zapatillas de deporte.