[MUSIC PLAYING] So let's start with nouns, Los Sustantivos. In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine. That's not to say that everything refers to gender in a physical sense, but rather that it refers to linguistic gender. So la computadora is not a girl, el telefono is not a boy, and neither one is more feminine or more masculine than the other. It's just that this is how they structure their language.
Because nouns all have gender, you have to make the adjectives agree with that gender. So linguistic gender is extremely different from how we view it. Linguistic gender is something that was carried into Spanish from Latin. So, if you don't like this, blame Latin, and it's a very important part of each noun. In Latin, they actually had five genders, if you can imagine that, which just goes to prove that it can't possibly always be physical.
Because all articles and adjectives have to agree with the noun in gender, it's important to know how to determine what gender the noun is. In Spanish, you'll often see the word of the before a noun. We don't use the is often in English as they do in Spanish. But if you see el or la in front of a word, that indicates that the word that follows is a noun because el and la both mean the. El is used with masculine words and la is used with feminine words.
In general, if you see a noun ending in the letter O, like libro or like cuaderno, it's most likely masculine. If it ends in the letter A, or --ah, like mesa, farmacia, computadora, it's most likely feminine. There are exceptions, like el agua, la mano, el dia, la radio. But about 95% of the time, a noun that ends in an O is masculine, and when it ends in an --ah is feminine. The safest way to memorize the gender of a noun is to memorize its article with it, the el or la in front.
In fact, Spanish speaking children all across the Spanish speaking world learn their vocabulary words with the el and la in front of all nouns, which is why they instinctively know whether a word is masculine or feminine. But, as a shortcut, it's sometimes nice learning a second language to be able to tell in other ways. So look for an --or or an --ah. When you're studying, you can even color code nouns on flashcards to help you remember their gender. You can do masculine nouns in blue and feminine nouns in pink, or whichever colors you would like to assign.
Definite Articles. One of the most difficult things for English speakers when learning Spanish is that all nouns have gender. Not just nouns that refer to people, but nouns that refer to places and things. In English, we're accustomed to using the word it to refer to an object, like the lamp, that has no gender, and it is bright. So we don't typically think of the lamp as being masculine or feminine. However, that's not the case in Spanish.
All romance languages, those that come from Latin, have gender. So even objects are feminine or masculine. It has nothing to do with physical gender when it refers to an object, but rather linguistic gender, the structure of the language itself. So, therefore, in Spanish, there are four words that mean the. So there's el for masculine singular, such as el libro, la for feminine singular, la computadora, los for masculine plural, like los papeles, and las for feminine plural, like las ciudades.
It can be difficult for an English speaker to remember which nouns are masculine and which ones are feminine. Now, in Spanish speaking countries, they don't have to really process or think about it consciously because in school all children learn the el or the la with each new word that they learn as vocabulary. As learners of Spanish as a second language, we would need to learn that el or la with every single noun, which, of course, is a foolproof way to always know which gender a noun is. However, there are a couple of easier ways.
First of all, you can learn which endings are common to masculine nouns versus feminine nouns. The most typical endings for masculine nouns are --oe, the letter R, and the ending --ma, --oe, by far, being the most common. And that's not to say there aren't others. These are just the most common ones you'll come across. So try el libro, el conductor, el problema. Muy bien.
The most common endings for feminine nouns are --ah, the ending --dad, and I-O-N, --ion. Again, these are not the only feminine endings, but these are, by far, the most common endings. And can you guess which one is the most common of the three for feminine nouns? --ah, A, as in --ah in espanol. So let's try these, la mesa, la universidad, la seccion.
There is always an exception to the rule. So it would be el dia. Now try la mano. It ends in an O, but it's feminine. El mapa.
Now, there are some endings that could refer to either masculine or feminine nouns, and they are the most common, --ee, come --e in espanol. Also, --ista is one. The letter N is also one. Sometimes they're easier to determine because they refer to people.
For example, el dentista, the male dentist, versus la dentista, the female dentist. If it refers to an inanimate object, in other words, not a person, then you'll simply have to learn the el or the la with it. For example, ending in E, you have la clase that happens to be feminine. But el cheque is masculine.
Students who are visual learners will benefit from making their own flash cards that are color coded. This is especially useful for those that do not follow the rules. Good luck. Buenos fuerte.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
A noun is a person, place, or thing (e.g., pharmacist, pharmacy, prescription). In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.
However, this is not to say that "la computadora" is a girl and that "el teléfono" is a boy. Linguistic gender is very different from how we typically view gender.
1a. Gender
Linguistic gender was carried into Spanish from Latin. It is a very important part of each noun. The gender of a noun determines the form of any adjective or article that describes it.
You will thus use the article "el" with masculine words and "la" with feminine words. They both mean "the." You will also want to remember the following rules:
[UPBEAT MUSIC] Now here's some nouns for you to learn. All of these refer to objects or places. Remember that a noun is a person, place, thing, or idea. So we'll be talking about people in just a minute. But for right now, let's talk about objects, so things, and places.
We're going to start with the masculine nouns. So try this after me; el papel, el bolígrafo that's paper and pen respectively. You may also have heard the word pluma for pen, so you can say either el bolígrafo or la pluma. La pluma is an antiquated word, it refers to when they used feathers to write, so it was the plume. However, bolígrafo is more modern and refers to a ballpoint graphic instrument or a ballpoint pen.
Now, try el libro for book. Think of the word library, where you find books. Cash is el dinero en efectivo. El dinero en efectivo. If you control your R, you do it there, el dinero. If not, el dinero, just like it's a double-D. And then efectivo is, as in cold hard cash. I have it in my hand, as opposed to just money in general, which is dinero, which can be any form. It can be in the form of a debit card, or a check, or a cashier's check.
Next check which is el cheque. El cheque. Notice the hard "ch" sound. Coupon is el cupón. El cupón. The O has an accent mark. Pencil, el lápiz. El lápiz. Remember that the Z is soft.
Medication, el medicamento. El medicamento. Insurance, el seguro. Technically, el seguro medico, but since they're not going to be talking to you about car insurance or homeowners, it's safe to just say el seguro.
Hospital, remember the H is silent, el hospital. El hospital. Telephone has an accent on the second E, so it's pronounced el teléfono. El teléfono. Your J is like an H, so message is el mensaje. El mensaje.
So looking at this list, you can tell, obviously, that words that end in an O are usually masculine. Also, you'll notice that the ending E can be masculine, but it can also be feminine. So you can think of E as either, you'll just have to learn those on a case-by-case basis. There are other endings that are typically one or the other and you'll learn those as we go along.
Now try the feminine nouns after me. La computadora. La computadora. La forma, as in the former shape of something. La forma. La caja. La caja. The J is like an H. That's a box, as in the cash register or the cash box. Notice caja does not refer to cash. Caja refers to the box in which you put the cash.
Credit card is la tarjeta. La tarjeta de crédito. Crédito. The E has the accent. For debit card you would simply substitute débito. Débito. D-É-B-I-T-O, débito.
Calculator is la calculadora. La calculadora. That's why you want to count from the end, right? Because you're stressed syllable comes second to last. This is a very long word, so don't count from the beginning. La calculadora
Bottle is la botella. La botella. The double-L like a Y. La farmacia for pharmacy. Prescription is la receta. La receta. Now, this one technically is a recipe, but no one's going to be asking you for a squash casserole recipe, they're going to be bringing their prescriptions to you. So receta is fine to use by itself. It goes back to the days of yore and the apothecaries where they mixed everything, there was a recipe for every drug.
Medicine is la medicina. La medicina. Drug, la droga. It's preferable to use la medicina or el medicamento in referring to drugs, medicines, medications, because la droga, for some Spanish speakers, implies illegal substances and you certainly don't want any confusion.
Office is la oficina. Remember the O is "oh" in Spanish. La oficina. The I's are very tight. And clinic, la clínica. There's an accent on the first I. La clínica.
[UPBEAT MUSIC]
Here are some nouns for you to learn.
Masculine Noun | English Translation | Feminine Noun | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
el papel | paper | la computadora | computer |
el bolígrafo | pen | la forma | form |
el libro | book | la caja | cash register |
el dinero | money | la tarjeta de crédito | credit card |
el dinero en efectivo | cash | la tarjeta de débito | debit card |
el cheque | check | la calculadora | calculator |
el cupón | coupon | la botella | bottle |
el lápiz | pencil | la farmacia | pharmacy |
el medicamento | medication | la receta | prescription |
el seguro | insurance | la medicina | medicine |
el hospital | hospital | la droga | drug |
el teléfono | telephone | la oficina | office |
el mensaje | message | la clínica | clinic |
[MUSIC PLAYING] Here are some more nouns.
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This time, everything listed refers to a person, not a thing or a place. These are all people. When you have a noun that refers to a person, the linguistic gender always matches the physical gender.
So el hombre is man. Again, "el ohm bray," silent H. Whereas [SPANISH] is a woman, [SPANISH] is feminine. Now try these El chico, la chica; el muchacho, la muchacha; el niño, la niña. So this all refer to boys and girls. But notice that niño and niña aer reserved for little boy and little girl, or that storm system that wreaks havoc every couple of years in Central America.
The chico and chica are actually quite universal. You might hear people who are in their 80s referring to friends as, hola, chico, [SPANISH] chica. And then muchacho and muchacha are older boys and girls, think middle school aged, even high school and young adults.
The word for boyfriend, or fiancee, or even groom, is [SPANISH], and the feminine counterpart, [SPANISH]. this goes back to medieval times, not the one in Orlando, but actual medieval times, when all marriages were arranged. And therefore, your chosen groom and or bride was, by default, your fianceé and your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Friend is el amigo or la amiga. A male pharmacist is [SPANISH]. The E-U is a tricky combination there. And a female pharmacist, [SPANISH]. It's an "a oo" combination, "ew."
A male tech, [SPANISH]. Notice the accent mark on the E. A female technician, [SPANISH]. Doctor, male, would be el doctor. A female, la doctora, still the "oh, oh" sound. La doctora for both, oh, oh. A male nurse, [SPANISH]. And female, [SPANISH].
A secretary, el secretario, la secretaria. Here's some more. Husband, [SPANISH]. Wife, [SPANISH]. Or you might hear people use [SPANISH] for husband and [SPANISH] for wife.
Father and mother, el padre, la madre. Son and daughter, [SPANISH]. The H is silent, J is like an H, "eee ho, eee hah." Brother and sister, [SPANISH]. Grandfather, grandmother, [SPANISH]. Uncle and aunt, [SPANISH]. The accent is on the eye in those words.
Male cousin, [SPANISH]. A female cousin, [SPANISH]. Patient. [SPANISH]. Notice the word is the same, because a noun that ends in an E can be either masculine and feminine. If it's a male, you'll use the "el" masculine article, referring to "the." And with a female, you'd use la.
Just the same, you would say [SPANISH] for a male customer or [SPANISH] for a female customer. A couple of notes about these. You'll hear el padre, la madre, but when you hear a child talking to his or her parents, you might hear them call them, mami, papi, or papa, mama.
Also to note, the plural, masculine form of these refers to a group. For example, [SPANISH] is not necessarily the grandfather's, it's grandparent. [SPANISH] would be children, as in my kids, not necessarily my sons. And los padres is parents, not fathers.
Another thing to note is the word [SPANISH]. Although technically it means uncle, and it does mean uncle often, sometimes you'll see two guys about the same age, youngish, referring to each other as [SPANISH].
This is not being used as the familial term, uncle, in this case. Instead, it's being used as man, dude, guy, brother. Sort of like two guys that are young might call each other hey, brother, in English. So [SPANISH] doesn't always refer to uncle.
So we've learned about gender. There's one other aspect of nouns you need to know, number. This is far easier. All nouns have both a singular and a plural form. So we've been talking about the singular form so far. In order to make them plural, for most, you just add an S.
If your noun ends in a vowel, which is most often the case, tack on an S to the end of the word and you have the plural. So amigo becomes amigos. [SPANISH] becomes [SPANISH].
Now, you try these. [SPANISH]. Muy bien, libros. What about [SPANISH]? Excelente. However, if the noun ends in a consonant, you would add an E-S to the end to make it plural.
So [SPANISH] can't be [SPANISH] to make it plural. In fact, that doesn't even sound Spanish. You have to buffer those consonants. They don't like the consonant clusters. They usually like to soften them a bit by sticking a vowel in between.
So [SPANISH] becomes [SPANISH]. How about [SPANISH], P-A-P-E-L? How would you make [SPANISH] plural? [SPANISH], add an E-S to the end.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[MUSIC STOPS]
If the noun is a person, the linguistic gender is always the same as the physical gender.
Masculine Noun | English Translation | Feminine Noun | English Translation |
---|---|---|---|
el hombre | man | la mujer | woman |
el chico / el muchacho | boy | la chica / la muchacha | girl |
el niño | little boy - child | la niña | little girl - child |
el novio | boyfriend / fiancé | la novia | girlfriend / fianceé |
el amigo | male friend | la amiga | female friend |
el farmacéutico | male pharmacist | la farmacéutica | female pharmacist |
el técnic | male technician | la técnica | female technician |
el doctor | male doctor | la doctora | female doctor |
el enfermero | male nurse | la enfermera | female nurse |
el secretario | male secretary | la secretaria | female secretary |
el esposo / el marido | husband | la esposa / la mujer | wife |
el padre | father | la madre | mother |
el hijo | son | la hija | daughter |
el hermano | brother | la hermana | sister |
el abuelo | grandfather | la abuela | grandmother |
el tío | uncle | la tía | aunt |
el primo | male cousin | la prima | female cousin |
el paciente | male patient | la paciente | female patient |
el cliente | male customer | la cliente | female customer |
1b. Number
Now that you've learned about the gender of nouns, you must learn the other aspect: number. This one is much easier. All nouns have two forms: singular and plural.
To make a singular noun plural, follow these rules:
If you are struggling with a concept or terminology in the course, you may contact PharmacySpanishSupport@capella.edu for assistance.
If you are having technical issues, please contact learningcoach@sophia.org.
Source: This content has been adapted from "Pharmacy Spanish" by Stephanie Langston.