Masculine Nouns

• Usually end in -o
• Article: el (singular), los (plural)
• Examples: el libro (the book), el perro (the dog), el gato (the cat)
• Adjectives must agree: el libro rojo (the red book), los libros rojos (the red books)

Feminine Nouns

• Usually end in -a
• Article: la (singular), las (plural)
• Examples: la casa (the house), la mesa (the table), la silla (the chair)
• Adjectives must agree: la casa roja (the red house), las casas rojas (the red houses)

• -dad, -tad → Always Feminine: la ciudad (the city), la libertad (the freedom)
• -ción, -sión → Always Feminine: la canción (the song), la televisión (the television)
• -aje → Always Masculine: el viaje (the trip), el mensaje (the message)
• -ma (Greek origin) → Usually Masculine: el problema (the problem), el sistema (the system)

Ends in -a but MASCULINE

• el día (the day)
• el mapa (the map)
• el planeta (the planet)

Ends in -o but FEMININE

• la mano (the hand)
• la foto (the photo)
• la moto (the motorcycle)

Ends in -e or consonant

Gender varies – must be memorized:

• Masculine: el café (the coffee), el puente (the bridge), el amor (the love)
• Feminine: la noche (the night), la clase (the class), la flor (the flower)

In Spanish, articles and adjectives must match the gender and number of the noun:

• El niño alto (The tall boy – masculine singular)
• La niña alta (The tall girl – feminine singular)
• Los niños altos (The tall boys – masculine plural)
• Las niñas altas (The tall girls – feminine plural)