Género y Concordancia - Video Notes (Vocabulary Flashcards)

These flashcards cover the main gender rules for Spanish nouns and adjectives, including endings, exceptions, and pluralization as presented in the video notes.

Masculine nouns ending in -o

Most masculine Spanish nouns end with -o (e.g., el techo, el brazo).

Feminine nouns ending in -a

Most feminine Spanish nouns end with -a (e.g., la silla, la oreja).

Nouns ending in -e or -u (ambiguous endings)

Nouns ending in -e or -u can be either masculine or feminine; examples show both genders in these endings (e.g., el puente vs la fuente).

Nouns ending in -ista (masc vs fem)

Nouns ending in -ista can be masculine or feminine; masculine el dentista, el socialista; feminine la dentista, la fascista.

Nouns ending in -és or -or (masculine)

Nouns ending in -és or -or are typically masculine (e.g., el francés, el marcador).

Nouns ending in -esa or -ora (feminine)

Nouns ending in -esa or -ora are typically feminine (e.g., la inglesa, la senadora).

Consonant-ending nouns (often masculine)

Many nouns ending in a consonant are masculine (e.g., el lápiz, el análisis, el cinturón, el animal), with some feminine exceptions (e.g., la nariz, la niñez, la dosis, la vocal, la flor).

Nouns ending in -ama/-ema/-oma (masculine)

Nouns ending in -ama, -ema, or -oma are typically masculine (e.g., el telegrama, el problema, los síntomas).

Nouns ending in -sión/-cción/-dad/-tad (feminine)

Nouns ending in -sión, -cción, -dad, or -tad are feminine (e.g., las diversiones, la nación, la verdad, las universidades, la voluntad).

Foreign-language words (often masculine)

Words borrowed from other languages are commonly masculine: el Internet, el email, el software, el jonrón, el suéter, el champiñón, el champú.

Exceptions: el día vs la mano

Some nouns ending in -a or -o are exceptions to the usual gender: el día (masculine) and la mano (feminine).

Feminine words with stressed initial a (article usage)

Feminine words starting with a stressed -a- use el/un in the singular (e.g., el agua limpia, un águila vieja) but take las/unas in plural.

El cura vs la cura

El cura means priest; la cura means cure.

Radio vs televisión vs radio/televisión meanings

El radio o el televisor refer to an apparatus; la radio y la televisión refer to programs or broadcasts.

Formation of feminine from -o endings (-o → -a)

Masculine -o nouns form feminine with -a: el italiano → la italiana, el cubano → la cubana; exceptions include el marido y el yerno.

Formation of feminine from -r endings

Nouns ending in -r form feminine by adding -a: el trabajador → la trabajadora.

Formation of feminine from -és endings

Masculine -és nouns form feminine by adding -a and dropping the acute on the -é: el japonés → la japonesa, el francés → la francesa.

Formation of feminine from -e endings

Masculine nouns ending in -e form feminine with -a: el presidente → la presidenta, el dependiente → la dependienta.

Masculine -e nouns with feminine -a option

Some masculine -e nouns change to feminine with -a (e.g., el asistente de vuelo → la asistente de vuelo; el estudiante → la estudiante).

Some masculine nouns ending in -a/-o but not changing

Some masculine nouns ending in -a or -o or other consonants do not change for feminine in this material (e.g., terapeuta, inca; algunas imágenes de aztecas).

Plural formation for -vowel endings (-s)

If a word ends in a vowel, form the plural by adding -s (e.g., la costilla → las costillas; la frente → las frentes).

Plural formation for -í endings

If a word ends in -í, form the plural by adding -es (e.g., el esquí → los esquíes; la iraní → las iraníes; el iraquí → los iraquíes).

Plural formation for consonant endings

If a word ends in a consonant, form the plural by adding -es (e.g., la universidad → las universidades; la nación → las naciones; el televisor → los televisores; el pulmón → los pulmones).

Plural formation for -z endings

Nouns ending in -z change z to -c and add -es in plural (e.g., la nariz → las narices; la cruz → las cruces).

Pluralization for -s ending words

Words ending in -s typically keep the same form in plural (e.g., el viernes → los viernes; la dosis → las dosis).

Accent rule in -és plurals

In plurals of -és endings, the accent on é is dropped (e.g., francés → franceses).

Adjective concord: -o endings

Adjectives ending in -o change to -a in feminine form: nuevo → nueva; amplio → amplia.

Adjective concord: -e and -r endings

Adjectives ending in -e or -r generally do not change by gender (e.g., costarricenses, estadounidense).

Adjectives ending in -és/-eses (feminine form)

Adjectives ending in -és or -eses add -a in the feminine: japonés → japonesa; franceses → francesas.

Adjectives ending in -z (plural)

Adjectives ending in -z become -ces in the plural of both genders (e.g., feliz → felices; momento singular → momentos felices).

Adjectives ending in -ista/-asta

Adjectives ending in -ista or -asta generally do not change gender in the singular (e.g., conformista); in plural they follow normal gender-number rules (conformistas, entusiastas).