Nouns: Declension

01

Determining Gender

For nouns referring to people or animals, the grammatical gender usually matches the biological gender. For inanimate objects and abstract concepts, the gender is determined by the word's ending.

Masculine Nouns

Most nouns ending in -o are masculine. Other common masculine endings include -or, -aje, and -an.

• El libro es rojo.

  The book is red.

• Este paisaje es bonito.

  This landscape is pretty.

Feminine Nouns

Most nouns ending in -a are feminine. Other endings that almost always indicate a feminine noun are -ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, and -ez.

• La libertad es importante.

  Freedom is important.

• Tengo una habitación grande.

  I have a large room.

02

Common Gender Exceptions

There are several high-frequency nouns that do not follow the standard rules regarding endings.

• Greek Origin: Nouns of Greek origin ending in -ma, -pa, or -ta are typically masculine, despite ending in "a".
• Shortened Words: Some words retain the gender of the longer version. For example, la foto is feminine because it comes from la fotografía.
• Irregular Basics: A few basic words simply defy the rules, such as el día (the day) or la mano (the hand).

• No es un problema grave.

  It is not a serious problem.

• El mapa está en la mesa.

  The map is on the table.

03

Nouns Referring to People

When a noun refers to a person, the ending often changes to reflect the gender of that person.

• -o to -a: Many nouns ending in -o change to -a for the feminine form (e.g., el chico becomes la chica).
• Consonants: Nouns ending in a consonant often add an -a (e.g., el profesor becomes la profesora).
• Invariant Nouns: Nouns ending in -ista or -nte usually do not change form. The gender is indicated solely by the article (el or la).

• El periodista escribe bien.

  The (male) journalist writes well.

• La estudiante es inteligente.

  The (female) student is intelligent.

04

Forming the Plural

Spanish has three main rules for transforming a singular noun into a plural one.

1. Nouns ending in a vowel

If a word ends in an unaccented vowel or -é, simply add -s.

• Los coches son rápidos.

  The cars are fast.

• Compré dos manzanas.

  I bought two apples.

2. Nouns ending in a consonant

If a word ends in a consonant (including -y), add -es.

• Hay muchas flores en el jardín.

  There are many flowers in the garden.

• Los reyes viven aquí.

  The kings live here.

3. Nouns ending in -z

If a word ends in -z, the z changes to c before adding -es. This is a spelling rule to preserve the pronunciation.

• Los peces nadan en el mar.

  The fish swim in the sea.

• Necesito dos lápices.

  I need two pencils.

05

Plurals and Accent Marks

When a noun is pluralized, the stress of the word generally remains on the same syllable. Because the number of syllables changes, written accent marks may appear or disappear to maintain correct pronunciation rules.

The most common occurrence is with words ending in -n or -s with an accent on the last syllable. In the plural, they lose the written accent.

• La canción

  The songs.

• El autobús

  The buses.

Conversely, some singular words gain an accent in the plural to keep the stress in the original place, though this is less common.

• El examen

  The exams.

06

Invariant Plurals

Nouns that end in -s or -x and have the stress on a syllable other than the last do not change in the plural. The number is indicated only by the article. This applies to most days of the week and compound nouns.

• El lunes

  Mondays.

• El paraguas

  The umbrellas.