Putting words together
Choosing el or la
Article–noun gender
Choose el or un for a masculine noun, and la or una for a feminine noun.
The pattern
- Learn a noun with its article: el libro, la mesa.
- An -o ending is often masculine and -a often feminine, but there are exceptions.
La cuna está lista.
The crib is ready.
Why it works: Cuna is feminine, so it takes la.
Notice the difference
El problema es pequeño.
The problem is small.
Why it works: Problema is masculine despite ending in -a.
One thing to watch for
Feminine nouns such as agua and hacha take el immediately before the singular noun: el agua fría, el hacha pequeña. They remain feminine: la misma agua, las aguas.