Spanish Articles and Gender: el, la, un, una and Noun Endings

Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine. The article in front of it must match that gender and its number (singular or plural). There are two kinds of article: definite (el, la, los, las = the) and indefinite (un, una, unos, unas = a, an, some). Learn each new noun together with its article from the start, and the rest of this guide will make much more sense.

Every noun has a gender

In Spanish, objects and ideas have grammatical gender, not just people and animals. There is nothing feminine about a table or masculine about a book. It is simply a feature of the word:

• la mesa the table (feminine)
• el libro the book (masculine)

The good news is that the ending of a noun often tells you its gender.

Endings that are usually masculine

Ending	Examples
-o	el libro the book, el vaso the glass
-or	el color the colour, el calor the heat
-aje	el viaje the trip, el garaje the garage
-ma (many words from Greek)	el problema the problem, el idioma the language, el tema the topic

Endings that are usually feminine

Ending	Examples
-a	la casa the house, la ventana the window
-ción, -sión	la canción the song, la televisión the television
-dad, -tad	la ciudad the city, la libertad freedom

Common exceptions

A small number of very frequent words break the pattern. Memorise these early:

• Masculine words ending in -a: el día the day, el mapa the map, el sofá the sofa, el planeta the planet
• Feminine words ending in -o: la mano the hand, la foto the photo, la moto the motorbike, la radio the radio
• A feminine word ending in -or: la flor the flower

La foto and la moto are feminine because they are short for la fotografía and la motocicleta.

Nouns ending in -e or a consonant

For these there is no reliable rule, so learn the article with the word:

• el coche the car – la noche the night
• el café the coffee – la leche the milk
• el lápiz the pencil – la luz the light
• el hotel the hotel – la flor the flower

People and animals

For people, gender usually follows the person:

Pattern	Masculine	Feminine
-o → -a	el chico the boy	la chica the girl
consonant → + -a	el profesor the (male) teacher	la profesora the (female) teacher
same form, article changes	el estudiante the (male) student	la estudiante the (female) student
same form, article changes	el turista the (male) tourist	la turista the (female) tourist
different words	el padre the father	la madre the mother

Words ending in -ista and -nte usually keep the same form for both genders. Only the article shows who you mean.

Plural of nouns

Noun ends in	Rule	Example
a vowel	add -s	el libro → los libros the books
a consonant	add -es	la ciudad → las ciudades the cities
-z	change to -ces	el lápiz → los lápices the pencils

Spelling note: words ending in -ción or -sión lose their written accent in the plural: la canción → las canciones the songs.

When a group includes both males and females, Spanish uses the masculine plural:

• los padres the parents
• los hijos the children (sons and daughters)

The definite article: el, la, los, las

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	el	la
Plural	los	las

• el perro → los perros the dog → the dogs
• la calle → las calles the street → the streets

The indefinite article: un, una, unos, unas

	Masculine	Feminine
Singular	un	una
Plural	unos	unas

• un amigo a friend – unos amigos some friends
• una casa a house – unas casas some houses

With numbers, unos/unas means about: Hay unas veinte personas. There are about twenty people.

Contractions: al and del

When a or de comes before el, they join into one word:

• a + el = al: Voy al mercado. I’m going to the market.
• de + el = del: Vengo del trabajo. I’m coming from work.

This only happens with el. There is no contraction with la, los or las:

• Voy a la playa. I’m going to the beach.
• Es el coche de los vecinos. It’s the neighbours’ car.

Feminine nouns with el: el agua

Feminine singular nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- take el and un instead of la and una. This makes them easier to pronounce. The noun is still feminine, so adjectives stay feminine:

• el agua fría the cold water
• el aula the classroom
• Tengo mucha hambre. I’m very hungry.

In the plural, the normal article returns: las aguas the waters, las aulas the classrooms. The rule does not apply when the first syllable is unstressed: la amiga the (female) friend, la hamburguesa the burger.

When to use the definite article

1. Specific or known things. Both speakers know which one:

• Cierra la puerta, por favor. Close the door, please.

2. General statements and likes. Spanish uses the article where English often does not:

• Los perros son muy simpáticos. Dogs are very friendly.
• Me gusta el chocolate. I like chocolate.

This is why you always see an article after gustar – see our guide to gustar and similar verbs.

3. Days of the week, meaning on:

• El lunes tengo un examen. I have an exam on Monday.
• Los sábados juego al fútbol. I play football on Saturdays.

But after ser there is no article: Hoy es lunes. Today is Monday.

4. Telling the time:

• Es la una. It’s one o’clock.
• Son las ocho. It’s eight o’clock.

5. Titles when you talk about someone:

• El señor García no está. Mr García isn’t here.

When you speak directly to the person, drop the article: Buenos días, señora Ruiz. Good morning, Mrs Ruiz.

6. Body parts, where English uses my, your:

• Me lavo las manos. I wash my hands.

When to use the indefinite article

First mention of something. After that, switch to the definite article:

• Tengo un perro. El perro se llama Max. I have a dog. The dog is called Max.

After hay (there is / there are) with a singular noun:

• Hay un supermercado cerca. There’s a supermarket nearby.

The choice between hay and estar depends on the article, which our guide to hay vs estar explains in detail.

When not to use an article

Professions and nationalities after ser (with no adjective):

• Soy camarero. I’m a waiter.
• Ana es médica. Ana is a doctor.

Add an adjective and the article comes back: Ana es una médica excelente. Ana is an excellent doctor.

Languages after hablar, estudiar and aprender:

• Hablo inglés y francés. I speak English and French.
• But: El español es bonito. Spanish is beautiful.

Unspecified amounts, usually with plural or uncountable nouns:

• ¿Hay leche? Is there any milk?
• No tengo hermanos. I don’t have any brothers or sisters.

Before otro, cien and mil:

• Quiero otro café. I want another coffee.
• Cuesta cien euros. It costs a hundred euros.

Definite vs indefinite at a glance

Definite	Indefinite
a specific, known thing	any one, or something new
Tengo el libro. I have the book. (the one we talked about)	Tengo un libro. I have a book. (some book)
¿Dónde está el banco? Where is the bank?	¿Hay un banco por aquí? Is there a bank around here?
general statements: El café es bueno. Coffee is good.	approximate numbers: unos diez euros about ten euros

Agreement beyond the article

Adjectives also agree with the noun in gender and number:

• el coche rojo the red car – la casa roja the red house
• los coches rojos the red cars – las casas rojas the red houses

The same agreement appears with words like nuestro/nuestra, covered in our guide to possessive adjectives.

Common mistakes

• ✗ la problema → ✓ el problema – many -ma words from Greek are masculine.
• ✗ el mano → ✓ la mano – an exception: feminine despite ending in -o.
• ✗ Voy a el cine → ✓ Voy al cine – a + el must contract to al.
• ✗ Soy un estudiante → ✓ Soy estudiante – no article with professions or roles after ser.
• ✗ Quiero un otro café → ✓ Quiero otro café – otro never takes un.
• ✗ Me gusta café → ✓ Me gusta el café – general likes need the definite article.
• ✗ la agua / el agua frío → ✓ el agua fría – el for sound, but the noun stays feminine.
• ✗ Hay el banco cerca → ✓ Hay un banco cerca – hay is not used with the definite article.
• ✗ los lápizes → ✓ los lápices – final -z becomes -ces in the plural.

Quick check

Choose or write the correct form.

1. ___ problema es difícil. (El / La)
2. Vivo en ___ ciudad pequeña. (un / una)
3. Vamos ___ parque. (a el / al)
4. Mi hermano es ___ ingeniero. (un / no article)
5. Write the plural: el lápiz → ___

Answers

1. El problema es difícil. The problem is difficult.
2. Vivo en una ciudad pequeña. I live in a small town.
3. Vamos al parque. We’re going to the park.
4. Mi hermano es ingeniero (no article). My brother is an engineer.
5. los lápices the pencils

Next step

Now put the rules into practice: test yourself with our Spanish A1 Articles and Gender test, and review any question you get wrong against the tables above. To learn more nouns with their articles, try the A1 everyday vocabulary test on family, home and daily routine, then continue with the other Spanish A1 tests to build a solid base.