Page 1 of 6

English-Spanish
Helpful Handouts
Spanish Nouns and Gender # 1
For English Speakers Who
People and Animals
Want to Learn Spanish
A Review for Intermediate and Advanced Students

In Spanish, all nouns are classified as either masculine or feminine. Most

nouns ending in -o are masculine and most nouns ending in –a are feminine.

Nouns that refer to people and animals generally reflect their

genders.

Masculine Feminine
el abuelo grandfather la abuela grandmother
el abuelo el amigo friend (male) la amiga friend (female)
el chico little boy la chica little girl
el compañero classmate la compañera classmate
(female) (female)
el cuñado brother-in–law la cuñada sister-in-law
el esposo husband la esposa wife
el gato cat (male) la gata cat (female)
el hermano brother la hermana sister
el hijo son la hija daughter
el muchacho boy la muchacha girl
el nieto grandson la nieta granddaughter
el niño child (male) la niña child (female)
el padre father la madre mother
el perro dog (male) la perra dog (female)
el primo cousin (male) la prima cousin (female
la abuela el sobrino nephew la sobrina niece
el suegro father-in-law la suegra mother-in-law
el tío uncle la tía aunt
el toro bull la vaca cow
el vecino neighbor (male) la vecina neighbor
(female)

Exercise 1
Fill in the blank with the Spanish masculine or feminine noun.

1. La __________ de María aún tiene vigor a los 82 años.

(Maria’s grandmother is still vigorous at age 82.)

2. Estoy casada y tengo un __________ y una __________.

(I am married and I have a son and a daughter.)
la mujer
y 3. Mi hermana tiene un hijo lo que significa que you tengo un __________.
el hombre (My sister has a son so I have a nephew.)

4. El queso es un alimento elaborado a partir de la leche de la __________.

(Cheese is a food made from cow’s milk.)

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
 Page 2 of 6

Exercise 1 (Continued)

5. El __________ ha hablado con el profesor.

(The boy has spoken with the teacher.)

6. Pablo siempre recibe una tarjeta de Navidad de su ___________.

(Pablo always receives a Christmas card from his grandson.)

el toro 7. La ___________ se llama Alicia.

(The neighbor’s name is Alicia.)

8. El __________ de mi vecino ladra toda la noche.

(My neighbor’s dog barks all night long.)

9. Te quiero presentar a un __________.

(I would like to introduce you to a friend.)

10. La __________ de él no es tan mayor como aparenta.

(His mother is not as old as she looks.)

11. El ___________ le embistió una cornada.

(The bull gored him with his horn.)

Exercise 2
Match the Spanish and English words.

1. _____ el chico a. female classmate

2. _____ la compañera b. daughter

3. _____ el cuñado c. bull

4. _____ la prima d. girl

el nieto
y 5. _____ la tía e. little boy
la abuela
6. _____ la niña f. cow

7. _____ la vaca g. female friend

8. _____ la esposa h. male cat

9. _____ la perra i. female cousin

10. _____ el sobrino j. female dog

11. _____ la hija k. nephew

12. _____ el abuelo l. brother-in-law

13. _____ la amiga m. grandfather

14. _____ el gato n. wife

el amigo
15. _____ el toro o. aunt

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
 Page 3 of 6

Some masculine nouns that refer to people and animals end in a

consonant or –e. To make these nouns feminine, add an –a after the
consonant, or change the -e to –a.

Masculine Feminine
el autor author la autora
el bailarín dancer la bailarina
el campeón champion la campeona
el colegial schoolboy/schoolgirl la colegiala
el doctor doctor la doctora
el escritor writer la escritora
el español Spainard la española
el francés Frenchman/Frenchwoman la francesa
el bailarín y la bailarina el jefe boss la jefa
el león lion/lioness la leona
el peatón pedestrian la peatona
el profesor professor la profesora

Exercise 3
Unscramble the words to fill in the blank.

1. ¿ Quién es __________ (le taour) de este novela?

(Who is the autor of this novel?)(male)

2. Serena Williams es __________ (nua ancpmaoe) de tenis.

(Serena Williams is a tennis champion.)(female)

3. Isabel Allende es __________ (al iotresarc) que más me gusta.

(Isabel Allende is my favorite writer.)(female)

4. __________ (lE apnóte) cruza la calle.

(The pedestrian crosses the street.)(male)
la campeona
5. _________ (aL efaj) rechazó el presupuesto para el nuevo proyecto.
(The boss rejected the budget for the new project.)(female)

6. __________ (lE neló) es el rey de la selva.

(The lion is the king of the jungle.)(male)

7. __________ (lE dtocro) le recomendió descansar.

(The doctor ordered him to rest.)(male)

8. Paula es __________ (nua aanbiilar) muy buena.

(Paula is a very good dancer.)(female)

9. Yo creo que __________ (le rsopofre) te conoce.

(I think that the history professor knows you.)(male)

10. María, ___________ , (nua oesaaplñ) es de Sevilla.

(Maria, a Spainard, is from Seville.)(female)

el león y la leona
11. __________ (aL eiagcolal) asiste a una escuela privada.
(The schoolgirl attends a private school.)(female)

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
 Page 4 of 6

Nouns ending in –ista can be masculine or feminine depending on whether

you are talking about a male or a female. Use the article to make these
nouns masculine or feminine.

Masculine Feminine
el artista artist la artista
el ciclista el capitalista capitalist la capitalista
el ciclista cyclist la ciclista
el comunista communist la comunista
el dentista dentist la dentista
el pianista pianist la pianista
el periodista journalist la periodista
el violinista violinist la violinista

Exercise 4
Write the correct article in front of the noun.

1. Tengo un amigo cuyo hermano es _____ pianista famoso.

(I have a friend whose brother is a famous pianist.)

2. El escádolo político fue destpado por __ periodista Elizabeth Vargas.

(The political scandal was brought to light by the journalist Elizabeth Vargas.)

3. El jóven se convitió en _____ gran artista.

(The young man became a great artist.)

4. “Abra la boca” dijo _____ dentista.

(Open your mouth” said the dentist.)

Some nouns ending in –nte that change the –e to –a when referring to

women.
el sirviente

Masculine Feminine
el presidente president la presidenta
el pariente relative la parienta
el sirviente servant la sirvienta

Other nouns ending in –nte do not change when referring to women.

Masculine Feminine
el estudiante student la estudiante
el cantante singer la cantante
el amante lover la amante

la cantante

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
 Page 5 of 6

Exercise 5
Translate the article and noun to Spanish.

the singer (male) __________ the student (female) ___________

the relative (female) ________ the president (female) __________

Some nouns are spelled the same whether they are masculine or
feminine. Use the article to make these nouns feminine.
la intérprete
Masculine Feminine
T el atleta athlete la atleta
el intérprete interpreter la intérprete
el joven young man/young woman la joven
el juez judge la juez
el modelo model la modelo
el pediatra pediatrician la pediatra
el poeta poet la poeta
el testigo witness la testigo

Exercise 6
Translate the article and noun to Spanish.

the poet (male) __________ the judge (female) ______________

the young woman ________ the pediatrician (male) ___________

the witness (female)_______ the athlete (male) _____________

el juez These nouns are spelled the same whether they are masculine of
feminine. But, the article does not change.

Masculine Feminine
el ángel angel el ángel
el personaje character el personaje
el ser being el ser
la estrella star la estrella
la víctima victim la víctima

Exercise 7
Translate the article and noun to Spanish.

the angel (female) ________ the victim (male) _____________

the star (male) ____________ the character (female) __________

el ángel the being (male)___________

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão
 Page 6 of 6

There are some nouns that have completely different masculine and feminine forms.

Masculine Feminine
el actor actor la actriz actress
el barón baron la baronesa baroness
el caballero gentleman la dama lady
el caballo horse la yegua mare
el carnero sheep la oveja ewe
el hombre man la mujer woman
el macho male la hembra female
el macho el padre father la madre mother
el príncipe prince la princesa princess
el rey king la reina queen
el toro bull la vaca cow
el yerno brother-in-law la nuera sister-in-law

Exercise 8
Read the English clues below and write the Spanish words to
Complete the puzzle.

la hembra

Across Down
1. sheep 2. baroness
3. male 4. cow
5. mother 6. prince
9. mare 7. woman
10. actor 8. queen
11. gentleman

el carnero

Free handout from English-Spanish Helpful Handouts http://sites.google.com/site/englishspanishhelpfulhandouts

Photos: www.flickr.com (Creative Commons License) A. Blight, matt.simpson, Alie Aesthetic, dalbera, Graham Hodgson,
fanz, sean dreilinger, CharlesFred, semuthutan, Scott Abelman, IXQUICK, Alice Popkorn, Tambako the Jaguar,
Flávio Cruvinel Brandão