How to use nouns in Spanish?

If you’re learning Spanish online, it is important to know the basics and understand how the language works. That’s why,  we will talk about how to use nouns in Spanish.

What is a noun in Spanish?

Nouns are words that are used to call or name material or immaterial elements that exist in reality or that are constructions of our thoughts. Nouns are usually accompanied by an article or a determiner or are replaced by a pronoun.

Examples of material nouns:

• La revista – the magazine
• El libro – the book
• El carro – the car
• El computador – the computer

Examples of nouns that are constructions of our thoughts:

• La libertad – the freedom
• El tiempo – the time

All nouns in Spanish always have a gender, which can be masculine or feminine (there are no neutral nouns). It is very important to know if a noun is masculine or feminine because all the elements that refer to it (articles, adjectives, demonstratives …) must have the same gender. Examples:

• Este es el edificio más alto de esta ciudad.

This is the talles buiding in the city.

• El informe final de desempeño arrojó buenos resultados.

The final performance report yielded good results.

• El tiempo no me alcanza para las reuniones.

Time is not enough for me for meetings.

General rules for using nouns in Spanish:

The nouns that name (concrete objects, concepts, feelings, etc.) have only one gender: some are always masculine and others are always feminine. Generally, the masculine corresponds to an ending in -o, and the feminine ending in -a:

Since nouns always have a gender, this is how each one works:

MASCULINE NOUNS END IN -O, examples:

• El edificio, el carro, el escritorio, el sello, el bolígrafo, el teclado, el documento.

The building, the car, the desk, the stamp, the pen, the keyboard, the document.

FEMININE NOUNS END IN -A, examples:

• La carta, la silla, las tijeras, las gafas, la impresora, la libreta, la oficina.

The letter, the chair, the scissors, the glasses, the printer, the notebook, the office.

Here you will find several exercises to practice.

Special rules for using nouns in Spanish

Please note that there are exceptions to the above rule, there are some masculine nouns that end in -a. Usually, they are from a Greek root. An idea to keep in mind is the endings:

–ama

–ema

–ima

–oma

Some examples:

• El idioma, el día, el programa, el esquema, el problema, el sistema.

The language, the day, the program, the scheme, the problem, the system.

There are also some feminine nouns that end in -o, for example:

• La radio, la foto, la moto.

The radio, the photo, the motorcycle.

Some additional rules:

Nouns ending in -aje and -or are generally masculine:

• -aje: el masaje, el garaje, el pasaje, el peaje…

The massage, the garage, the passage, the toll…

• -or: el amor, el dolor, el error, el olor, el sabor, el terror…

The love, the pain, the mistake, the smell, the taste, the terror…

(There are also exceptions to this rule, for example: una flor)

Nouns ending in -ción, -sión, -dad y -tad are feminine:

• -ción: la canción, la relación, la traducción…

The song, the relationship, the translation…

• –dad: la bondad, la ciudad, la verdad…

The goodness, the city, the truth…

• -sión: la expresión, la prisión, la televisión.

The expression, the prison, the television…

• -tad: la amistad, la lealtad, la libertad…

The friendship, the loyalty, the freedom …

In all other cases, gender cannot be known from the form of the word. Remember, however, that the dictionary always indicates the gender of each noun.

How to use gender nouns in Spanish of people and animals?

A. General rule:

• The nouns that name people or animals generally have two forms: one masculine and one feminine. The masculine is the basic form (it is the form that appears in the dictionary).
• Generally, if the masculine ends in a vowel -o, the feminine is done by changing this vowel for an -a; if the masculine ends in a consonant, the feminine is done by adding an -a, examples:

Note: with some nouns ending in -e, the feminine is also done by changing that vowel for an -a, examples:

• el jefe/la jefa – the boss

• el presidente/la presidenta – The president

There are some exceptions:

• El paciente / la paciente – The patient

• El teniente / la teniente – The lieutenant

B. Special rules for the gender of persons: 

un hombre / una mujer  

a man / a woman

el padre / la madre

the father / the mother

There are some words with special endings for the feminine:

el actor / la actriz

el alcalde / la alcaldesa –the mayor

el presidente / la presidenta

In other cases, we have nouns that have only one form for both genders (such as those ending in -ante or –ista), and the words that refer to them (articles, adjectives, etc.) are used in masculine or feminine, depending on the person’s gender, examples:

el/la:

artista/taxista/periodista

artist/taxi driver/journalist

cónyuge/mártir/testigo…

spouse / martyr / witness …

Frida Kalo es una artista muy conocida.

Frida Kalo is a very well known artist.

Sí, pero Camilo Décimo también es un artista  muy conocido, ¿o no?

Yes, but Camilo Décimo is also a well-known artist, isn’t he?

C. Special rules for the gender of animals: toro, vaca…

As with nouns referring to a person, in some cases we also have a different word for each gender:

el caballo/la yegua

the horse / the mare

el toro/ la vaca

the bull / the cow

Note: there are some words with special endings for the feminine:

el gallo/ la gallina

the rooster / the hen

el tigre/ la tigresa

the tiger / the tigress

Many animal names have only one form, masculine or feminine:

el calamar, caracol, cocodrilo, mejillón, pulpo…

squid, snail, crocodile, mussel, octopus …

la almeja, gamba, hormiga, jirafa, tortuga..

clam, shrimp, ant, giraffe, turtle …

But…

el cocodrilo hembra ( la cocodrilo)

la jirafa macho (el jirafa)

Noun number

In Spanish, in addition to gender (masculine and feminine), nouns have numbers (singular or plural). The number indicates the number of objects that we refer to by the noun. The singular is the basic form (it is the form that appears in the dictionary).
In contrast, the plural is always marked, at least, with a final -s:

For example:

• ¿Has hecho el informe?

Have you done the report? (Report is singular and refers to a single report)

• ¿Cuántos informes te faltan para la junta directiva?

How many reports are you missing for the board of directors. (Reports are plural and refer to several reports)

A. Formation of the plural

When the singular noun ends in a vowel, the plural is made by adding a final -s:

Singular nouns in: 
-a, -e, -i, -o, -u:

mapa, sofá, clase, café, bici

map, couch, class, cafe, bike

PLURAL IN -S:

mapas, sofás, clases, cafés, bicis

When the singular ends in a consonant, the plural is made by adding -es:

Singular in: 

-d, -j, -l, -n, -r, -s, -z

pared, reloj, árbol, cajón, botón, motor, país, pez

wall, clock, tree, drawer, button, motor, country, fish

Plural in -es:

paredes, relojes, árboles, cajones, botones, motores, países, peces

Stressed words ending in -í and -ú can also make the plural by adding -es:

israelí – israelís/ israelíes

tabú tabús/ tabúes

If the singular noun ends in an unstressed vowel (without accent) + -s, the plural does not change (note that the accent is on the underlined vowels):

el/los: abrebotellas, abrelatas, cumpleaños, jueves, lavavajillas, microondas, paraguas, sacacorchos…

bottle opener, can opener, birthday, Thursday, umbrella, corkscrew

la/las: crisis, tesis

When the singular ends in -y, the plural becomes -s in words of foreign origin (the -y is interpreted as -i). In Spanish words ending in -y (very few), the plural is made in -es:

 rey – reyes (king – kings)

penalti  – penaltis (penalty – penalties)

ley – leyes (law – laws)

B. Particular uses

Non-countable nouns (which refer to things that cannot be counted) are used in the singular to talk about in general or an undetermined amount. When used in the plural they’re used to speak of different types or different units of the same matter:

agua, arroz, carne, luz, madera, música, pan, papel, pescado, plástico, té, vino…

water, rice, meat, light, wood, music, bread, paper, fish, plastic, tea, wine …

Singular:

• ¿Tú tomas vino en las comidas? Do you drink wine with meals?

Plural:

• Aquí hay muchos vinos de calidad. (Distintos tipos de vino)

There are many quality wines here. (Different types of wine)

•  Si me tomo tres vinos, me mareo. (Distintas copas de vino)

If I have three wines, I get dizzy. (Different glasses of wine)

Some singular nouns refer to sets with several elements, but agree in the singular:

la familia, la gente, el público

the family, the people, the public

En España la gente come mucho, ¿no?

In Spain, people eat a lot, don’t they?

(La gente comen mucho)

Other nouns are normally used in the plural:

las gafas, las tijeras, los zapatos… unos pantalones, unas pinzas, unos binoculares…

The glasses, The scissors, The shoes … some pants, some tweezers, some binoculars …

Example:

• Esas gafas de sol son nuevas, ¿verdad?

Those sunglasses are new, right?

• ¿Le gustan estos pantalones? Son italianos.

Do you like these pants? They are Italian.

Time to practice!

Here you will find several exercises

Inspiration and source: Martinez, P., Miquel, L., & Alonso, R. (2011). Gramática básica del estudiante de español: Libro – Edición revisada y a. Barcelona, Spain: Difusión Centro de Publicación y Publicaciones de Idiomas.