Siete 7

1.1. Los fonemas / Phonemes1.1.1. Las vocales / VowelsIn Spanish, there are five vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. Examples can be seen in these words: mar, es, ir, sol, tu.

Note: The sound system in Spanish is somewhat simpler than the English system. Spanish has only five ☞ vowels: /a/, /e/, /i/, /o/ and /u/. These are short and clearly pronounced. This contrasts with English where there are twelve individual vowel sounds, some of which are long and some of which are short.

1.1.2. Los diptongos, triptongos e hiatos / Diphthongs, triphthongs and hiatuses

A diphthong is the combination of two vowels which are pronounced in the same syllable. Spanish has fourteen diphthongs. In the following words, an example of each diphthong can be seen: I-ta-lia, sie-te, ra-dio, ciu-da-des, gua-pa, pue-do, Luis, an-ti-guo, trai-go, a-cei-te, oi-go, au-la, eu-ro, es-ta-dou-ni-den-se.

When three vowels are pronounced in the same syllable, a triphthong is formed: cam-biáis.

A hiatus occurs when a pair of vowels are pronounced as two separate syllables: co-rre-o, po-e-ma, a-é-re-o.

In ordinary spoken language, when two vowels which are the same occur together, these are usually pronounced as one: zoológico → zológico.

Note: Many Spanish diphthongs are similar to those used in English. However, one that is not is: / ☞ eu/ deuda.

1.1.3. Las consonantes / ConsonantsIn Spanish, consonants are classified according to where and how they are articulated and according to whether or not they are voiced. If the vocal chords are used they are voiced, if no vocal chords are used they are unvoiced (see the table on the next page).

In informal spoken Spanish, when the final consonant of one word is the same as the initial consonant of the following word, it is pronounced as one consonant: Un nuevo coche → u-nue-vo-co-che. If these final and initial consonants are both /r/, then together they are pronounced /rr/: Ha preguntado por Ramón → ha-pre-gun-ta-do-po-rra-món.

There are a group of consonants which are commonly found in conjunction with other consonants and which, together, form a part of the syllable that follows: pr, pl; br, bl; tr, dr; cr, cl; fr, fl; gr, gl: a-bril, in-clu-so, a-gra-da-ble.

The consonants ns, bs, rs, ls, ds may together form a part of the syllable that follows or they may be attached to separate syllables. It is more common to find them attached to separate syllables: in-se-gu-ro, ab-sor-ber. However, they form a part of the same syllable when they appear next to other consonants: cons-tru-ir, abs-trac-to.

Note: ☞● The sound indicated by the letters ll in llamar is pronounced something like the English lli in million.● The initial r or double rr is pronounced with a trill, as in the Spanish carro.● In Spanish, the letter v is pronounced as a /b/. The word vale, for example, is pronounced: /bale/. ● The letter h is silent.● Ñ is a letter that is only found in Spanish and sounds something like ny: niña, español. ● The letter j, and the letter g before e or i sound something like the h in horse, as in the following names:

Juan, José, Germán, Gil.

1. PRONUNCIACIÓN / PRONUNCIATION

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1.2. La sílaba / SyllablesA syllable consists of a sound or a group of sounds which are pronounced at one short time. They can be considered as the phonetic building blocks of words. In Spanish, each syllable has at least one vowel, which is the nucleus, and there may also be consonant sounds before or after the nucleus.

Words which only contain one syllable are called monosílabas, e.g., yo. Those which have two syllables are known as bisílabas, e.g., Cu-ba. Those which have three syllables are called trisílabas, e.g., Es-pa-ña. Finally, those which have more than three syllables are called polisílabas, e.g., Gua-te-ma-la, do-mi-ni-ca-na.

In Spanish, words with two or three syllables are the most common.

1.3. La acentuación / Word stressIn most words, one syllable is pronounced with greater intensity than the others so that it stands out. This is known as word stress. In Spanish, the stressed syllable is called la sílaba tónica or acentuada; the others are known as sílabas átonas.In Spanish, the stress can fall on any syllable:

If it falls on the final syllable, the word is ● aguda: ha-blar, es-tán.If it falls on the penultimate syllable, the word is ● llana: ca-lle, lá-piz.If it falls on the antepenultimate syllable, the word is ● esdrújula: Bél-gi-ca.If it falls before the antepenultimate syllable, the word is ● sobresdrújula: cuén-ta-se-lo.

In most Spanish words, the stress falls on the penultimate syllable (palabras llanas).

Mode of

Place of articulation

articulation

Bilabial

Labiodental

Interdental

Dental

Alveolar

Plosive

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

unvoiced

voiced

/p/ lápiz

/b/ noviembre

/t/ portugués

/d/ ducha

/k/ Canadá

/g/ gafas

/m/ mar

/n/ menú

/|/ español

/r/ nevera

/rr/ rojo

/f/ alfabeto

/T/ hacer

/s/ sal

// mayo

/x/ viajar

/l/ Julia

/ʎ/ calle

// chino

Nasal Simple trill Multiple trill Fricative Lateral Affricate

Palatal

Velar

CONSONANTS

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1.4. El grupo fónico y la sinalefa/ The tonic group and synalepha

The tonic group is a group of words which are normally uttered as one sense group (phrase or clause) without intrusive pauses. They function as complete grammatical units, and can be understood on their own: Ayer vino Pedro a comer a casa, || pero se marchó enseguida || porque tenía prisa. ||Spoken Spanish is notable for its frequent use of tonic phrasing.

Synalepha occurs when two syllables from two different words run together, and as a result are pronounced as one syllable: Ten-goun-po-co-de-frí-o. Sometimes syllables from three words are linked in this way: Par-teaEu-ro-pa.

1.5. La entonación / IntonationIn Spanish, the most important aspect of intonation occurs at the end of the sentence. There are four basic intonation patterns.

1.5.1. La entonación enunciativa / Declarative intonationSentences which are affirmative or negative have a final falling intonation:

Trabaja en una multinacional.

If the elements in the sentence are listed without a conjunction (y, e, ni, etc.), each part is pronounced with a final falling intonation:

La reunión fue larga, pesada, difícil.

In cases where a conjunction is used to link the elements, each part is pronounced with a rising intonation, except the final part:

He invitado a Ana, a Jaime y a Eva.

1.5.2. La entonación interrogativa / Interrogative intonationIf the utterance does not begin with an interrogative pronoun (question word), the final intonation rises:

¿Estás cansada?

However, if the utterance begins with an interrogative pronoun, the final intonation usually falls:

¿A qué te dedicas?

PRONUNCIACIÓN / PRONUNCIATION

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1.5.3. La entonación suspendida / Suspended intonationThis type of intonation indicates an interruption and incompleteness. It is usually represented in writing by a series of dots (ellipsis):

Si quieres...

1.5.4. La entonación enfática / Emphatic intonationThis type of intonation is associated with emphatic utterances. It is characterized by a high rising and a high falling tone:

¡Estupendo!

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2.1. El alfabeto / The alphabetSpanish uses the Latin alphabet. In general, each letter represents a single phoneme, but there are exceptions (see table).

2. ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

A a. La a: AlemaniaB b. La be: BélgicaC c. La ce: Canadá, SueciaCh ch. La che: ChinaD d. La de: IrlandaE e. La e: Estados UnidosF f. La efe: FranciaG g. La ge: Guatemala, NígerH h. La hache: HungríaI i. La i: Italia

J j. La jota: JapónK k. La ka: KeniaL l. La ele: LíbanoLl ll. La elle: SeychellesM m. La eme: MarruecosN n. La ene: NepalÑ ñ. La eñe: EspañaO o. La o: OmánP p. La pe: PoloniaQ q. La cu: Eslovaquia

R r. La ere, la erre: Perú, RumaníaS s. La ese: SiriaT t. La te: TurquíaU u. La u: UgandaV v. La uve: VietnamW w. La uve doble: TaiwánX x. La equis: LuxemburgoY y. La i griega: Yemen, UruguayZ z. La zeta: Suiza

In Latin America, certain letters have other names:

● B: be alta or be larga.● V: ve baja, ve corta or ve chiquita.● W: ve doble, doble ve or doble u.

Letter

b, v

c

ch

g

h

j

k

ll

q

Sound Examples

Pronounced as /b/.

Pronounced as /k/ before a, o, u.

Pronounced as /T/ before e, i*.

Pronounced as //.

Pronounced as /g/ before a, o, u and when spelt gu 1 e, i (u is not pronounced).When spelt gü 1 e, i the u is pronounced.

Pronounced as /x/ before e, i.

Not pronounced.

Pronounced as /x/.

Pronounced as /k/.

Pronounced as /ʎ/**.

Pronounced as /k/. Only two combinations are possible: que and qui (u is not pronounced).

bolígrafos, noviembre

gramática, comunicación, cultura

hacer, pronunciación

chalé, archivo

gafas, goma, guantes guerra, guineano antigüedades, lingüística

gente, Bélgica

hola, Hungría, ahora

viajar, jerséis, dibujo, jugar

kilo

silla, llave, amarillo

chaqueta, quiero

Note: The double consonants ☞ ch and ll do not exist as separate letters in the English alphabet (see 1.1.3. for pronunciation). Ñ or ñ is a letter that is only found in Spanish.

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2.2. Las letras mayúsculas / Capital letters Two types of letters exist in Spanish: capitals (A, B, C, D…) and lower-case (a, b, c, d…).In any given text, the vast majority of words are written in lower-case, but certain types of words must always begin with a capital. In some cases, whole words or sentences may be written in capitals for aesthetic reasons or simply to make the text stand out. For example: REBAJAS EN TODOS LOS JUGUETES.

Capital letters are used at the beginning of words in the following cases:

For the first letter of a text, or the first letter to follow a full stop. ●

After exclamation marks or question marks, when these marks are not followed by a comma or semi-colon: ●

¡Hola! Me llamo Carmen.With proper nouns (names of people, places, institutions and festivals): ● Marta Pérez, Madrid, La Paz, Instituto Cervantes, Navidad.For titles of books, newspapers, magazines and songs, etc.: ● Cien años de soledad, El País, Revista de Occidente, «Habaneras de Cádiz».For certain abbreviations: ● Sra.For certain important figures: ● el Rey, el Papa, el Presidente.

For academic subjects: ● Matemáticas.After a colon which comes after a greeting in a letter or which introduces a quotation. ●

Letter

r

w

x

y

z

Sound Examples

Pronounced weakly as /r/ between vowels, after b, c, d, f, g, c, p, t and at the end of a syllable.

Pronounced strongly as /rr/ in the initial position and after the consonants l, n, s. Between vowels rr is written.

Pronounced as /b/ in foreign words which have been incorporated into Spanish.

Pronounced as /u/ or as /gu/ in foreign words which have not yet been adapted to Spanish.

Pronounced as /ks/ or /gs/ between vowels or at the end of a syllable.

Pronounced as /s/ in the initial position of a word.

Pronounced as /x/ in certain words.

Pronounced as // in the initial position of a syllable.

Pronounced as /i/ in the final position of a syllable.

Pronounced as /T/*.

papelera, nombre, profesor

relaciona, alrededor, Enrique, Israel, pizarra

Kuwait

web

taxi, excursión

xilófono

México, Oaxaca, Texas

yo, mayo

soy, hay

pizarra, lápiz, Venezuela

** In many parts of Spain and Latin America, ll and y, when in the initial position of a syllable, are pronounced in a similar way. For example: llave / abe/, mayo /mao/.

* In the south of Spain, the Canaries and in Latin America c, followed by e or i, and z, followed by any vowel, are pronounced /s/. For example: cerilla /serilla/, cimiento /simiento/, caza /casa/.

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Letters in abbreviations formed using the initial components of a phrase or name are written with capital letters: DNI (Documento Nacional de Identidad).When letters consisting of two elements occur at the beginning of a word, only the first of these is written as a capital: Chile, Llobregat.

Note: Capital letters broadly have the same uses in Spanish as they do in English. However, there are some ☞ differences. In Spanish, the following groups of nouns all begin with lower-case letters: months, days of the week, nationalities, languages: enero, lunes, español, inglés. Another difference is that in titles of books, films and songs, usually only the initial letter of the first word is capitalised: Cien años de soledad.

2.3. La tilde / The written accentThe written accent indicates where the stress falls in certain words.

2.3.1. Reglas generales de acentuación / General rules for using the written accent

Words which are ● agudas carry a written accent on the final stressed syllable when this ends in a vowel, -n or -s: tabú, perdón, inglés. However, if an aguda word ends in an -s which comes after a consonant, no written accent is used: robots.Words which are ● llanas carry a written accent when they end in a consonant which is not -n or -s: árbol, azúcar, móvil. However, when a llana word ends in an -s preceded by another consonant, a written accent is used on the stressed syllable: cómics.Words which are ● esdrújulas and sobresdrújulas always carry a written accent: médico, dígaselo.

Question words and exclamations always carry a written accent, as do words written in capital letters: ¿Cómo te llamas?, ¡Qué bonito!, CÁDIZ.

2.3.2. Acentuación de los diptongos, triptongos e hiatos / Written accents on diphthongs, triphthongs and hiatuses

Words containing diphthongs follow the general rules for accent placement. When the written accent is used, it is placed on the open vowel of the diphthong (a, e, o): amáis, hacéis, canción. If the diphthong is formed by a combination of i with u, the written accent is placed on the second vowel: cuídalo.Triphthongs follow the general rules of accent placement. When the written accent is used, it is placed on the open vowel of the diphthong (a, e, o): averiguáis, limpiáis.Words with a hiatus follow the general rules of accent placement. In a hiatus formed with an open vowel (a, e, o) which is unstressed, the stressed closed vowel (i, u) will always carry a written accent: país, baúl, sabía, maíz.

2.3.3. La tilde diacrítica / The diacritic written accentSome words carry a diacritic written accent, called a tilde diacrítica, to distinguish them from other words which are written in the same way.

el Article:Le gusta el cine español.

él Personal pronoun:Me encantaría poder hablar con él.

tu Possesive adjective:¿Le doy a Pablo tu teléfono?

tú Personal pronoun:Me parece mal que pagues tú la cena.

de Preposition:Soy de Brasil.

dé Imperative form of the verb dar:Dé la luz, por favor.

mi Possessive adjective:El chico moreno es mi profesor.

mí Personal pronoun:¿Este regalo es para mí?

te Personal pronoun:Te llamo para pedirte un favor.

té Beverage or plant:¿Te apetece un té?

ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

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si Conditional conjunction:Si te apetece, podemos ir al cine.

sí

Adverb of affirmation: Sí, vale, de acuerdo.Personal pronoun: Hablaba mucho de sí mismo.

se Personal pronoun:Se lo dije.

sé

Present indicative form of the verb saber: No sé.Imperative form of the verb ser: Sé bueno.

que Conjunction:El sillón que me compré es muy cómodo.

qué Interrogative or exclamation:¿A qué te dedicas?

2.3.4. Acentuación de formas verbales con pronombres enclíticos / Written accents on enclitic pronouns (pronouns attached to verbs)

When a pronoun is added to an infinitive, a gerund or an imperative, making one word, the general rules of accent placement are followed: decírselo, estudiarlo, pidiéndoselas, cuéntamelo, hacedlos.

2.3.5. Acentuación de los adverbios en -mente / Written accents on adverbs ending in -mente

Adverbs ending in -mente do not follow the general rules of accent placement. They are written with a written accent when the adjective from which they are derived carries one: fácilmente, rápidamente, claramente, totalmente.

2.3.6. Acentuación de las palabras compuestas / Written accents on compound words

Compound words follow the general rules of accent placement: portalámparas, baloncesto. On the other hand, if the two component words are separated by a hyphen, they are accented as if they were two independent words: teórico-práctico, hispano-alemán.

2.4. La diéresis [¨] / The diaeresis [¨]The diaeresis is the two dots written above the letter u. When there is no diaeresis, the u is not pronounced: guerra, guisar. However, when the two dots are placed above the u, as in the syllables güe y güi, the u is pronounced: antigüedades, güisqui.

2.5. Los signos de puntuación / Punctuation marks2.5.1. El punto [.] / The full stop [.]The full stop is used to indicate the end of a section of text. Depending on its use, it has various names:

When it is used to separate one sentence from another, it is known as ● punto (y) seguido.When it is used to separate one paragraph from the next, it is known as ● punto (y) aparte.When it is used to indicate the end of a piece of text, it is called ● punto final.

The full stop is also used after nearly all abbreviations: etc. (etcétera), p. (página), Sr. (señor).

2.5.2. La coma [,] / The comma [,]The comma is used:

To separate elements in a list: ● Otros ritmos latinos muy conocidos son el bolero, la cumbia, la conga, el mambo o el vallenato. In front of the conjunctions ● y and ni when these are used to connect two clauses or when they are used to introduce a final item in a list: He comprado un jersey, una camisa, unos pantalones, y se los he regalado a mi hermano.

ORTOGRAFÍA / SPELLING

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To separate the name of the person we are addressing: ● Elena, ¿qué hora es?To indicate a pause within a sentence, often indicating the insertion of additional information: ● Jaime, el marido de mi hermana, es de Lanzarote.Before adversative, consecutive, causal and explicative clauses: ● Es ingeniero, pero ahora trabaja como agente comercial.After the connectives ● es decir, además, o sea, en fin, etc. And after adverbs such as efectivamente, finalmente, etc.: He quedado con Felipe dentro de tres días, es decir, el jueves próximo.

Note: In contrast to English, which uses a full stop, in Spanish the comma is used as the decimal separator: ☞ 2,5.

2.5.3. Los dos puntos [:] / The colon [:]The colon is used:

At the start of a list that has been introduced to the reader: ● En México existen tres especies de cocodrilos: el cocodrilo de río, el de pantano y el caimán. To introduce examples: ● Me gusta mucho la comida española: la tortilla de patatas, las tapas…

Note: In contrast to English, which uses a comma, in Spanish the colon is used after the greeting at the ☞ beginning of letters: Querida Marta: (Dear Marta,).

2.5.4. El punto y coma [;] / The semicolon [;]The semicolon is used:

In sentences that already contain commas: ● Madrid es la capital de España; París, la de Francia; y Londres, la del Reino Unido.In very long sentences, in front of connectives such as ● pero, sin embargo, por tanto, etc.: El famoso artista dio ayer un concierto al que asistieron multitud de personas; sin embargo, no se vendieron todas las entradas.

2.5.5. Los puntos suspensivos […] / Ellipsis […]An ellipsis, consisting of three dots, may be used:

To indicate that a list is incomplete: ● Hemos estado en Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Granada…To indicate a pause expressing doubt, surprise, fear, etc.: ● No sé… No estoy seguro.

2.5.6. Los paréntesis [( )] / Brackets [( )]Brackets may be used to indicate clarifications, explanations, interruptions, qualifications and additional facts which are inserted into the text: Los centros y aulas del Instituto Cervantes están situados en cuatro continentes (África, América, Asia y Europa).

2.5.7. El guión [-] / The hyphen [-]Hyphens have the following uses:

To indicate a broken word, for example, at the end of a line of text. ●

To join certain compound names: ● María Pérez-Andújar.To replace a preposition or conjunction: ● Quería un billete Madrid-Barcelona, por favor.

2.5.8. Los signos de interrogación [¿ ?] / The question mark [¿ ?]In Spanish, an ☞ opening question mark (¿) is placed at the beginning of a question, and a closing question mark (?) is placed at the end. It is not correct to use only one question mark, as is the case in many other languages: ¿Cómo te llamas?, ¿A qué te dedicas?

2.5.9. Los signos de exclamación [¡ !] / The exclamation mark [¡ !]In Spanish, an ☞ opening exclamation mark (¡) is placed at the beginning of an exclamation, and a closing exclamation mark (!) is placed at the end. It is not correct to use only one exclamation mark, as is the case in many other languages: ¡Hola!, ¡Qué bien!

Dieciséis16

2.5.10. La raya [–] / The dash [–]The dash is used:

To introduce explanations in the text, in the same way as brackets: ● La Paz –capital de Bolivia– es la capital más alta del mundo.In narrative texts to introduce the speech of the characters: – ● ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas viviendo en esta ciudad? –preguntó Marcos a su compañero.

Note that in English, the equivalent function is served by inverted commas: – ☞ ¿Cuánto tiempo llevas viviendo en esta ciudad? –preguntó Marcos a su compañero (“How long have you been living in this city?” Marcos asked his friend).

2.6. Abreviaturas, símbolos y siglas de uso frecuente / Common abbreviations, symbols and acronyms

@ arroba ej. ejemplo (también, p. ej., por ejemplo) pl., plza. plaza

A/A a la atención ESO Enseñanza Secundaria Obligatoria p.º paseo

AA. VV., aa. vv.

autores varios (también VV. AA., vv. aa.)

etc. etcétera PP Partido Popular

a. C., a. de C. antes de Cristo EE. UU. Estados UnidosPSOE Partido Socialista Obrero Español

admón. administración FM frecuencia modulada

apdo. apartado g gramo P. V. P. precio de venta al público

atte. atentamente h hora RAE Real Academia Española

av., avd., avda.

avenida IVA Impuesto sobre el Valor Añadido RENFE Red Nacional de los Ferrocarriles Españoles

c/, c. calle izdo., izda., izq. izquierdo, izquierda RR. HH. Recursos Humanos

°C grados Celsius kg kilogramo Rte. remite o remitente

cap. capítulo km kilómetro $ peso o dólar

c/c cuenta corriente l litro s segundo (de tiempo)

cént. céntimo (en plural, cts., céntimos) m metro S Sur

cm centímetro min minuto s. siglo (en plural, ss., siglos)

CC. OO. Comisiones Obreras mm milímetro S. A. sociedad anónima

C. P. código postal N Norte S. L. sociedad limitada

d. C., d. de C. después de Cristo NIENúmero de Identidad de Extranjero

s. n., s/n sin número

D., D.ª don, doña núm., n.º número S. P. servicio público

dcho., dcha. derecho, derecha O Oeste S. R. C. se ruega contestación

DNI Documento Nacional de Identidad ONCEOrganización Nacional de Ciegos de España

Sr., Sra. señor, señora

depto., dpto. departamento ONG organización no gubernamentaltel., teléf., tfno.

teléfono

Dr., Dra. doctor, doctora ONU Organización de las Naciones Unidas TV televisión

Dir., Dir.ª director, directora OTANOrganización del Tratado del Atlántico Norte

U., Ud., V., Vd. usted (en plural, Uds., ustedes)

€ euro p., pg., pág. página (en plural, pp. o págs., páginas)

UE Unión Europea

E Este P. D. posdata UGT Unión General de Trabajadores

When an abbreviation consists of just one letter, the plural is formed by adding the same letter: pp. (páginas). With longer abbreviations, -s or -es is added: págs. (páginas). An article which accompanies a plural acronym is also plural: las ONG. Unlike abbreviations, symbols and acronyms are written without full stop: kg, DNI.

Diecisiete 17

3.1. Los sustantivos / Nouns3.1.1. Definición / DefinitionNouns are words which are used to refer to persons, animals, things, ideas and feelings.

Common nouns refer to any person, animal, thing, idea or feeling: amigo, perro, escuela, alimentación, amor.Proper nouns are those which are used as names of people, rivers, cities, etc. The first letter of these nouns is a capital and they are not normally accompanied by an article: Elena, Brasil, Barcelona.Names of certain cities are accompanied by the article: La Paz, El Cairo… and the article can be used with certain countries: la India, la China, la Argentina…The names of rivers, seas, oceans and lakes, as a general rule, also take the article: el (mar) Caribe, el (río) Orinoco, el (lago) Titicaca, el (océano) Atlántico…

3.1.2. El género y el número / Gender and numberIn Spanish, the same noun may have four different endings: -o, -a, -os, -as: niño, niña, niños, niñas. These variations indicate the gender and number of the noun.

The gender and the number of the noun affect the gender and number of the words which accompany them: casas (feminine plural noun) → las (feminine plural article) casas blancas (feminine plural adjective).

3.1.2.1. El género / GenderNouns may have a masculine or feminine gender. Male humans and male animals have a masculine gender: niño, gato, toro; females and female animals have a feminine gender: chica, gata, vaca; all other nouns (things, places, concepts, etc.), even though they do not have a sex, also have either a masculine or feminine gender: libro (masculine), mesa (feminine).

Masculine nouns usually end in:

- ● o: el alumno, el libro, el corcho.- ● aje: el paisaje, el mensaje, el equipaje.- ● or: el ascensor, el ordenador, el director.- ● ema: el problema, el tema, el teorema.

Exceptions: la mano, la foto, la moto, la radio, la flor, la labor…

Feminine nouns usually end in:

- ● a: la alumna, la mochila, la goma.- ● ción, -sión and -zón: la canción, la televisión, la razón.- ● dad and -tad: la ciudad, la unidad, la amistad.- ● triz: la actriz, la cicatriz, la matriz.- ● ez: la fluidez, la madurez, la niñez.- ● tud: la actitud, la longitud, la virtud.- ● umbre: la costumbre, la muchedumbre.

Exceptions: el día, el corazón, el buzón, el (color) naranja, el (color) rosa…

3. GRAMÁTICA / GRAMMAR

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Nouns which refer to people or animals generally have both a masculine and feminine form: el alumno/la alumna, el profesor/la profesora, el jefe/la jefa, el actor/la actriz, el alcalde/la alcaldesa, el rey/la reina, el león/la leona, el gato/la gata.

Some nouns have the same ending whether they are masculine or feminine. Certain nouns always have a masculine article: el bebé (niño o niña), el lince macho, el lince hembra, whilst others always have a feminine article: la víctima (varón o mujer), la jirafa macho, la jirafa hembra.

For some nouns referring to people, the gender is not expressed by the noun’s ending, but rather by the gender of the word which accompanies the noun (articles and adjectives): un estudiante estupendo/una estudiante magnífica, el paciente nuevo/la paciente nueva, un taxista rápido/una taxista experta.

In other cases, gender is expressed by the use of a different word: la mujer/el hombre, el padre/la madre, el yerno/la nuera.

3.1.2.2. El número / NumberNumber is the grammatical aspect related to quantity. In Spanish, there are two categories for number: singular and plural. The singular form is used when referring to a single being, object or concept: niño, mesa, idea. The plural form is used when referring to more than one being, object or concept: dos niños, muchas mesas, estas ideas.

For each noun, the base word is singular. Generally, to form the plural, -s or -es is added to the base:

-S ● is added to a noun ending in a vowel: un niño → cinco niños, el bolígrafo → los bolígrafos.

Either - ● s or -es is added to a noun ending in -í or in -ú: un tabú → unos tabús/tabúes.A general rule is that ● -es is added to words ending in a consonant: mi profesor → mis profesores, el camión → los camiones, el país → los países.In nouns which end in ● z, the z changes to a c and -es is added: un lápiz → tres lápices, el pez → los peces, esta actriz → estas actrices.A general rule is that ● -s is added to nouns which don’t end in the following consonants: -l, -r, -n, -d, -j, -s, -x, -ch: este cómic → estos cómics, el entrecot → los entrecots.

Words which are llanas or esdrújulas and which end in -s or -x are special; these do not follow the general rules, rather the plural form is the same as the singular form: un sacapuntas → dos sacapuntas, el lunes → los lunes, el cumpleaños → los cumpleaños.

Certain words usually take the plural: los pantalones, las gafas, las tijeras.

Other words, like ☞ familia and gente, are always used in the singular, even though they refer to a plural entity. When these words are the subject of a sentence, the verb is singular: Toda mi familia vive en Madrid (My whole family live/lives in Madrid), En España la gente es muy simpática (In Spain, people are very friendly).

With quantifiers such as la mayoría de, la mayor parte de, the verb can have either a singular or a plural form: La mayoría de/la mayor parte de los cocodrilos vive/viven en América. However, when the verb is either ser or estar, it is usually written in the plural: La mayoría de/la mayor parte de los cocodrilos y reptiles son especies amenazadas.

3.2. Los artículos / Articles3.2.1. Definición / DefinitionIn Spanish, two kinds of article exist: indefinite and definite. Articles do not have any meaning by themselves, but they have a grammatical function when they are used with nouns.

Note: In Spanish, as a general rule, articles share the gender and the number of the nouns they accompany: ☞ un árbol (masculine singular), unos árboles (masculine plural), la playa (feminine singular), las playas (feminine plural).