Hola chic@s,
From now on, when you see ‘🧭’, I’ll be breaking down a Spanish Grammar point in simple terms. Not more boring rules, but just enough direction to keep you speaking.
Today we’re talking about Spanish gender.
Masculine and feminine.
I’ve always found Spanish gender particularly intimidating, because it doesn’t exist
in English and there’s a high chance of getting it wrong, especially when you have
to reproduce it in spoken Spanish.
Overthinking paradise.
This difficulty only compounds when you try and memorise gender instead of notice it.
So first off, I want you to remember this 👇
Articles do the heavy lifting.
Un/Unos/El/Los = Masculine
Una/Unas/La/Las = Feminine
So if you can spot the article, you already know the gender.
e.j El hielo
The ice
Here we can see ‘el’, so we know ‘ice’ in Spanish is masculine and we can use according adjectives to agree with this masculine noun.
Ok, but what about speaking Spanish when you can’t see the article?
As I will always say, it doesn’t matter if you get it wrong.
But, if you find yourself panicking mid-sentence then here’s a clever rule to help
you reduce a bit of that anxiety.
Words that usually end in ‘-o’ 👉 masculine
Words that usually end in ‘-a’ 👉 feminine
e.j el perro, el libro, el tráfico
e.j la mesa, la droga, la hipoteca
This isn’t a law, but it’s a direction.
And it will keep you moving forward.
There are some masculine nouns that end in ‘-a’:
el día, el mapa, el problema, el sistema, el idioma
There are some feminine nouns that end in ‘-o’:
la mano, la foto, la moto
You don’t need to memorise them all, but you’ll meet them often enough that they stick.
So, during that moment when your brain freezes during speaking, you can always fall back on:
Words that usually end in ‘-o’ 👉 masculine
Words that usually end in ‘-a’ 👉 feminine
You’ll be right more often than not, but not always.
And that’s good enough.
The most important thing is to keep speaking Spanish.
Momentum matters more than accuracy.
So I hope this helps in relieving some of the anxiety when you’re out their speaking.
You might want to share this gift with someone who feels a bit disheartened
on their Spanish journey right now. It will help them get their bearings 👇
Spanish Gender Guide - 🧭 Bearings #5
(There’s also a bonus part on the word ‘el agua’ - a devious little word 😈).
Un abrazo,
Harrison
Spanish for living, not just learning.
P.S - The Subjunctive Workshop is taking place on Sunday 8th February @6pm GMT.
Use the code ‘subjunctive15’ at checkout to claim 15% off. A full recording and
e-book (worth £15) will be provided to you after the event.
🔗 Register here 🔗
