Spanish Nouns
http://spanish.about.com/od/nouns/a/nouns.htm?nl=1
Here are 10 facts about Spanish nouns that will come in handy as you learn Spanish:
1. Spanish nouns have gender, and nearly all are either masculine or feminine. Although male creatures are usually (not always) represented by masculine nouns and female creatures by feminine nouns, in most cases the gender of a noun appears arbitrary.
2. The only neuter (neither masculine nor feminine) nouns are abstract nouns, which are formed by preceding a descriptive adjective with the definite article lo. For example, you could say lo importante to form a neuter noun (or an adjective functioning as a noun) meaning "the important thing."
3. Adjectives referring to nouns must agree with the noun in number and gender. For example, in the sentence "Las casas son nuevas" ("The houses are new"), casas is plural and feminine, and so are las and nuevas.
4. Nouns that end in o are usually masculine, and those ending in a are usually feminine. But there are exceptions to this gender rule.
5. Nouns are usually made plural by adding an s or es. The rules followed are very similar to those of English.
6. Spanish nouns are capitalized less often in Spanish than in English. Examples of nouns that aren't capitalized are days of the week, months of the year, names of nationalities, names of languages and names of religions.
7. Spanish does not freely use nouns as adjectives as can be done in English. In English, the use of attributive nouns — placing a noun before another noun to act like an adjective — is extremely common. For example, in English I could refer to a "paper cup," where "paper" acts like an adjective describing the type of cup. In Spanish, however, it is usually necessary to tie the two nouns together in a different way. One common way is through the use of the preposition de. A paper cup, for example, is una taza de papel (literally, "a cup of paper").
8. Suffixes can be used to change the meanings of nouns. Most commonly, diminutive suffixes can be used to indicate that something is small or dear, and augmentative suffixes can be used to indicate that something is large or disliked.
9. Other suffixes or endings are used to show how a noun is used. For example, the -ería ending usually refers to a place where something is made or sold, and an -ista ending often indicates an occupation.
10. A collective noun is a singular noun that refers to a group of things or beings. Unlike in English, where collective nouns usually take a singular verb, collective nouns in Spanish can be used with either singular or plural verbs, depending on the structure of the sentence.
Here are 10 facts about Spanish nouns that will come in handy as you learn Spanish:
1. Spanish nouns have gender, and nearly all are either masculine or feminine. Although male creatures are usually (not always) represented by masculine nouns and female creatures by feminine nouns, in most cases the gender of a noun appears arbitrary.
2. The only neuter (neither masculine nor feminine) nouns are abstract nouns, which are formed by preceding a descriptive adjective with the definite article lo. For example, you could say lo importante to form a neuter noun (or an adjective functioning as a noun) meaning "the important thing."
3. Adjectives referring to nouns must agree with the noun in number and gender. For example, in the sentence "Las casas son nuevas" ("The houses are new"), casas is plural and feminine, and so are las and nuevas.
4. Nouns that end in o are usually masculine, and those ending in a are usually feminine. But there are exceptions to this gender rule.
5. Nouns are usually made plural by adding an s or es. The rules followed are very similar to those of English.
6. Spanish nouns are capitalized less often in Spanish than in English. Examples of nouns that aren't capitalized are days of the week, months of the year, names of nationalities, names of languages and names of religions.
7. Spanish does not freely use nouns as adjectives as can be done in English. In English, the use of attributive nouns — placing a noun before another noun to act like an adjective — is extremely common. For example, in English I could refer to a "paper cup," where "paper" acts like an adjective describing the type of cup. In Spanish, however, it is usually necessary to tie the two nouns together in a different way. One common way is through the use of the preposition de. A paper cup, for example, is una taza de papel (literally, "a cup of paper").
8. Suffixes can be used to change the meanings of nouns. Most commonly, diminutive suffixes can be used to indicate that something is small or dear, and augmentative suffixes can be used to indicate that something is large or disliked.
9. Other suffixes or endings are used to show how a noun is used. For example, the -ería ending usually refers to a place where something is made or sold, and an -ista ending often indicates an occupation.
10. A collective noun is a singular noun that refers to a group of things or beings. Unlike in English, where collective nouns usually take a singular verb, collective nouns in Spanish can be used with either singular or plural verbs, depending on the structure of the sentence.
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