Grammatical Gender

What is it? (English)

In English, nouns have no gender. The article the never changes regardless of what noun follows.

The only gender in English is in pronouns: he, she, it — and those track biological sex or animacy, not grammar.

English	The article changes?
the book	no
the table	no
the city	no
the man	no
the woman	no

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How Spanish handles this differently

• Every Spanish noun is either masculine or feminine — this is grammatical gender
• It has nothing to do with the real-world object’s sex
• Gender is a property of the word, not the thing
• Gender determines the form of the article, adjective, and some pronouns that go with the noun

Think of it like a type system: every noun has a type tag (m or f), and everything that modifies it must match that tag.

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The two genders

Gender	Definite article	Indefinite article	Example
Masculine	el	un	el libro (the book)
Feminine	la	una	la mesa (the table)

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How to know a noun’s gender — patterns

Pattern 1: Ending in -o → masculine

Noun	Gender	English
libro	masculine	book
carro	masculine	car
año	masculine	year
vino	masculine	wine
plato	masculine	plate / dish
trabajo	masculine	work / job
tiempo	masculine	time / weather
cuaderno	masculine	notebook
ejemplo	masculine	example
precío	masculine	price

Pattern 2: Ending in -a → feminine

Noun	Gender	English
mesa	feminine	table
casa	feminine	house
puerta	feminine	door
camisa	feminine	shirt
tienda	feminine	store
silla	feminine	chair
ventuna	feminine	window
semuna	feminine	week
lengua	feminine	language / tongue
escuela	feminine	school

Pattern 3: Ending in -ción / -sión → feminine

Noun	Gender	English
canción	feminine	song
nación	feminine	nation
estación	feminine	station / season
situación	feminine	situation
información	feminine	information
televisión	feminine	television
profesión	feminine	profession
expresión	feminine	expression
decisión	feminine	decision
emoción	feminine	emotion

Pattern 4: Ending in -dad / -tad / -tud → feminine

Noun	Gender	English
ciudad	feminine	city
libertad	feminine	freedom
verdad	feminine	truth
sociedad	feminine	society
universidad	feminine	university
comunidad	feminine	community
voluntad	feminine	will / willpower
actitud	feminine	attitude
longitud	feminine	length
juventud	feminine	youth

Pattern 5: Ending in -or → masculine

Noun	Gender	English
color	masculine	color
calor	masculine	heat
dolor	masculine	pain
amor	masculine	love
humor	masculine	humor / mood
autor	masculine	author
error	masculine	error
factor	masculine	factor
sector	masculine	sector
vapor	masculine	steam / vapor

Pattern 6: Greek-origin words ending in -ema / -oma / -ama → masculine

Ending	Noun	Gender	English
-a	clima	masculine	climate
-ama	programa	masculine	program
-ema	problema	masculine	problem
-ema	sistema	masculine	system
-ema	tema	masculine	topic / theme
-ema	esquema	masculine	scheme / outline
-eta	planeta	masculine	planet
-oma	diploma	masculine	diploma
-oma	síndroma	masculine	syndrome
-oma	poenoma	masculine	phenomenon

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Exceptions — memorize these

Noun	English	Gender	Ending says…	Actual
el día	day	masculine	ends in -a → expect feminine	masculine
el mapa	map	masculine	ends in -a → expect feminine	masculine
el sofá	sofa	masculine	ends in -a → expect feminine	masculine
el tranvía	tram	masculine	ends in -a → expect feminine	masculine
la mano	hand	feminine	ends in -o → expect masculine	feminine
la foto	photo	feminine	ends in -o → expect masculine	feminine (short for fotografía)
la moto	motorbike	feminine	ends in -o → expect masculine	feminine (short for motocicleta)
la radio	radio	feminine	ends in -o → expect masculine	feminine

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Gender in person nouns

When a noun refers to a person, gender usually tracks biological sex.

Masculine	Feminine	English
el maestro	la maestra	teacher
el doctor	la doctora	doctor
el enfermero	la enfermera	nurse
el amigo	la amiga	friend
el hermano	la hermana	sibling (brother/sister)
el abogado	la abogada	lawyer
el architecto	la architecta	architect
el vecino	la vecina	neighbor
el chef	la chef	chef (no change)
el estudiante	la estudiante	student (no change)

Some professions are the same form for both genders. The article signals the difference: el estudiante / la estudiante.

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Why gender matters downstream

Gender is not just a label — it drives agreement across the sentence.

	Masculine	Feminine
Definite article	el libro	la mesa
Indefinite article	un libro	una mesa
Adjective (singular)	un libro pequeño	una mesa pequeña
Adjective (plural)	unos libros pequeños	unas mesas pequeñas

Get the gender wrong and the article, adjective, and pronoun all need to change. Learn gender with the noun — always.

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Common mistakes

• ❌ Assuming every word ending in -a is feminine → ✅ el día, el mapa, el sofá are masculine
• ❌ Assuming every word ending in -o is masculine → ✅ la mano, la foto are feminine
• ❌ Learning a noun without its article → ✅ always pair them: el libro, la mesa
• ❌ Applying the wrong article to a Greek-origin noun → ✅ el problema, el sistema (not la)

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Summary

• Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine — this is grammatical gender
• Gender is determined by the word, not the real-world object
• Strong patterns: -o → masculine, -a → feminine, -ción/-dad → feminine, -ema/-ama → masculine
• Exceptions exist — memorize them as you encounter them
• Learn each noun with its article as a unit: el libro, la mesa

See also: Articles — the article is the most visible effect of gender.
See also: Adjectives — gender agreement extends to all adjectives.