CSG208

197

Nouns and Articles

One useful strategy to learn the gender of Spanish nouns is to study them in two ways: first, nouns with specific endings that indicate either feminine or masculine, and second, whole groups of nouns that are either masculine or feminine.

Two morę groups deserve attention, especially because they include some very common words. These lists show a selected number of words from these categories. Use them as a reference tool.

• Some nouns referring to people or animals may have different forms for the masculine and feminine. The articles, of course, change with the gender. Notę the similarities of some of the English equivalents.

el actor/la actriz el caballo/la yegua el conde/la condesa el emperador/la emperatriz el heroe/la heroina el hombre/la mujer el marido/la esposa el padre/la mądre el prmcipe/la princesa el rey/la reina el varón/la hembra el yerno/la nuera

actor/actress horse/marę count/countess emperor/empress hero/heroine man/woman husband/wife father/mother prince/princess king/queen małe/female

son-in-law/daughter-in-law

• Some nouns have a different meaning if used with the masculine or the feminine article. Grammatical gender changes the meaning even though the word is spelled the same.

el capital/la Capital el cometa/la cometa el corte/la corte el cura/la cura el editorial/la editorial el frente/la frente el guia/la guia el orden/la orden el Papa/la papa el policia/la policia

Capital (money)/Capital (city)

comet/kite

cut/court

priest/cure

newspaper editorial/publishing house front/ forehead

guide/female guide, telephone guide, or guidebook order (in a sequence)/order (command) the Pope/potato police officer/ the police force

Note\ The masculine or feminine article in Spanish may indicate a difference in size as in el cesto/la cesta, where the feminine indicates a larger basket. For certain words, albeit rare, the gender may be a matter of preference—as in el mar/la mar. Seamen tend to prefer la mar when they refer to the sea.

Note\ Political correctness penetrates and affects language usage. The changes in the use of the gender of nouns show social evolution and preference for certain terms, for example, changes in the names of professions that formęrly excluded women. In some areas of the His-panic world a woman appointed to a presiden/s cabinet is called la ministra and in others, la ministra. Similarly, we see la presidente or la presidenta, as well as la medica, currently pre-ferred as the feminine form of el medico. You will learn these preferences as you read up-to-date newspapers and magazines and listen to native speakers from different regions.