Unidad 1 Articles & Adjectives

REMEMBER: Nouns refer to people, animals, places, and things.

REMEMBER: In Spanish, nouns have gender. They are either masculine or feminine.

REMEMBER: Most nouns that end in -o are masculine.

REMEMBER: Most nouns that end in -a are feminine.

*nouns that end in –ma and –pa are usually masculine For example: el libro la pizza An exception: el día *nouns that end in –ma and –pa are usually masculine and ones that end in –dad, -ción, and sión are usually feminine

Some other Spanish nouns end in -e or a consonant.

For example: la mujer el hombre la clase la televisión

Some can be both masculine and feminine: el/la estudiante

REMEMBER: To make nouns plural you usually add -s to words ending in a vowel and -es to words ending in a consonant. estudiante estudiantes papel papeles EXCEPTION: Words that end in –z lápiz ----- > lápices

We use El and Los with masculine nouns and La and Las with feminine nouns.

REMEMBER: El , La , Los and Las are called definite articles. In English they mean “the”

It’s a good idea to learn a noun with its definite article, el or la, because that will usually tell you the gender.

REMEMBER: Un , Una , Unos and Unas are called indefinite articles. In English they mean “a”, “an”, “some”, or “a few”

We use Un and Unos with masculine nouns and Una and Unas with feminine nouns.

SUMMARY: un a, an un libro = a book unos some, a few The masculine indefinite articles are: un a, an un libro = a book unos some, a few unos libros = some books The masculine definite articles are: el the el libro = the book los the los libros = the books

SUMMARY: una a, an una chica = a girl unas some, a few The feminine indefinite articles are: una a, an una chica = a girl unas some, a few unas chicas = some girls The feminine definite articles are: la the la chica = the girl las the las chicas = the girls

Practice Make these nouns plural. 1. el lápiz 2. la mujer 3. un libro 4. una patineta

Practice Make these nouns plural. 1. el lápiz --- los lápices 2. la mujer --- las mujeres 3. un libro --- unos libros 4. una patineta --- unas patinetas

DON’T FORGET: Like Spanish articles, Spanish adjectives must change their endings to match the gender and number of the nouns they describe. If the noun is feminine, then the adjective will be feminine If the noun is masculine then the adjective will be masculine. If the noun is singular, then the adjective will be singular If the noun is plural then the adjective will be plural. Spanish4Teachers.og

For example: singular plural masculine guapo guapos feminine guapa   singular plural masculine guapo guapos feminine guapa guapas Spanish4Teachers.og

For example: El hombre es guapo. La mujer es guapa. Los hombres son guapos. Las mujeres son guapas.

El chico es joven. La chica es trabajadora. Los chicos son perezosos. Las chicas son bonitas. El maestro es serio. La maestra es alta. Los maestros son viejos. Las maestras son inteligentes.

Note: Adjectives must be placed after the noun they modify in Spanish. He is a tall boy. Él es un chico alto. The teacher is a nice woman. La maestra es una mujer simpática.

These adjectives must also agree in number and gender. They are pretty girls. Ellas son chicas bonitas. You all are lazy students. Ustedes son estudiantes perezosos.

Practice Write in Spanish. 1. He is tall. 2. We are athletic. 3. They are artistic. 4. We are bad.

Practice Write in Spanish. 1. He is tall. – Él es alto. 2. We are athletic. – Nosotros somos atléticos. 3. They are artistic. – Ellos son artísticos. 4. We are bad. – Nosotros somos malos.

Practice Write in Spanish. 1. She is an athletic girl. 2. We are smart students. 3. I am a nice person. 4. They are good boys.

Practice Write in Spanish. 1. Ella es una chica atlética. 2. Nosotros somos estudiantes inteligentes. 3. Yo soy una persona simpática. 4. Ellos son chicos buenos.