1. Unidad 1
Articles & Adjectives

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

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

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

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

6. *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

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

8. For example:
la mujer el hombre
la clase la televisión

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

10. 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

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

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

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

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

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

16. 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

17. 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

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

19. 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

20. 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

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

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

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. 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.

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

27. 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.

28. 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.

29. 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.