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Spanish nouns are either masculine (male) or feminine (female) and have the articles la (feminine) and el (masculine). In English we simply use the word the as an article for any noun, whether it has a masculine or feminine connotation to it. As a general rule, it is easy to spot a feminine noun in Spanish- it ends with the letter -a, and the masculine nouns end in -o.
To describe 'a' thing instead of 'the' thing the articles una (feminine) and un (masculine) are used.
For example,
la niña (the girl)
una niña (a girl)
el zapato (the shoe)
un zapato (a shoe)
To make a noun plural when it ends in a vowel add -s.
To make a noun plural when it ends in a consonant add -es. But if it ends in a 'z' then change the z to c.
Also, if the plural is of a mixed group then use the masculine article (los).
For example,
el hombre (the man) => los hombres (the men)
la casa (the house) => las casas {the houses)
el avión (the plane)=> los aviones (the planes - note the dropped accent)
la ciudad (the city) => las ciudades (the cities)
el lápiz (the pencil) => los lápices (the pencils)
dos gatos y cinco gatas (2 male cats and 5 female cats) => los gatos (speaking of them collectively as a group)
To make things smaller, or diminutive, use little endings to nouns like this:
casa (house) => casita (little house)
chica (small) => chiquita (very small- feminine)
libro (book) => librito (little book - or pamphlet)
*The diminuitive is frequently used as a term of endearment or to show affection towards something (mi hijita = my dear daughter).
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