Cheatsheet: Nouns and determiners

Nouns and determiners

Gender

Point	Rule	Example	English
Masculine	most nouns in -o	el libro	the book
Feminine	most nouns in -a	la casa	the house
Other endings	-e or a consonant: learn the article with the noun	el café / la noche	the coffee / the night
People	-o → -a	la niña / la amiga	the girl / the (female) friend
A2People in -or	the feminine adds -a	profesor → profesora	(female) teacher
A2One form for both	-ista, -nte: the article shows the sex	el estudiante / la estudiante	the (male) student / the (female) student
A2Feminine endings	-ción, -sión, -dad, -tad, -tud	la canción / la ciudad	the song / the city
A2Masculine endings	-aje, -or, and -ma in many nouns	el viaje / el problema	the trip / the problem
Agreement	articles and adjectives follow the noun	una casa blanca	a white house
A2Trap	día is masculine although it ends in -a	Buenos días.	Good morning.
A2Trap	mano is feminine although it ends in -o	Tengo las manos frías.	My hands are cold.

Plurals

Point	Rule	Example	English
Vowel	+ s	casa → casas	houses
Consonant	+ es	ciudad → ciudades	cities
A2-z	z → ces	lápiz → lápices	pencils
Agreement	article and adjective go plural too	las casas blancas	the white houses
A2Unstressed -s	no change	el lunes → los lunes	Mondays
A2Written accent	the stress stays: the accent comes or goes	canción → canciones / joven → jóvenes	songs / young people
A2Plural only	one object with a plural name	Mis pantalones son nuevos.	My trousers are new.
A2Trap	-z becomes -c: lápices, veces	Tengo dos lápices.	I have two pencils.
A2Trap	gente is singular	La gente es amable.	People are friendly.

Articles

Point	Rule	Example	English
Definite	el / la / los / las	¿Dónde está el baño?	Where is the bathroom?
Indefinite	un / una / unos / unas	Tengo un hermano.	I have a brother.
Contractions	a el → al, de el → del	Voy al mercado.	I'm going to the market.
In general	things in general take the definite article	Me gustan los perros.	I like dogs.
Days	el lunes means “on Monday”	Te llamo el lunes.	I'll call you on Monday.
No article	a job after ser	Ana es profesora.	Ana is a teacher.
A2No article	an amount that is not counted	Compro pan.	I'm buying bread.
A2Stressed a	el before a feminine noun in stressed a	El agua está fría.	The water is cold.
A2Body	the article instead of a possessive	Me duele la cabeza.	My head hurts.
Trap	no un or una before a job	Mi padre es médico.	My father is a doctor.

This, That, That Over There

Point	Rule	Example	English
Near me	este / esta / estos / estas	Este libro es nuevo.	This book is new.
Near you	ese / esa / esos / esas	¿Cuánto cuesta esa mochila?	How much is that backpack?
Far from us both	aquel / aquella / aquellos / aquellas	Aquella casa es de mi abuela.	That house over there is my grandmother's.
Agreement	gender and number of the noun	Me gustan estos zapatos.	I like these shoes.
Alone	for a known noun, with no written accent	No quiero este libro; quiero ese.	I don't want this book; I want that one.
Neuter	esto, eso: a thing with no name yet	¿Qué es esto?	What is this?
A2What was said	eso for what someone just said	Eso es verdad.	That's true.
A2Time	the present period: este año	Esta semana tengo exámenes.	I have exams this week.
Trap	before a noun, este, never esto	Quiero este pastel.	I want this cake.
Trap	introducing a person: este / esta	Este es mi hermano.	This is my brother.

Possessives

Point	Rule	Example	English
Before the noun	mi / tu / su / nuestro / su	Mi casa es pequeña.	My house is small.
Before the noun	vosotros: vuestro	¿Es vuestra casa?	Is it your house?
Agreement	the number of the thing owned; nuestro also its gender	Nuestros hijos viven en Quito.	Our children live in Quito.
Owner as a noun	de + owner	la casa de Ana	Ana's house
A2After ser	mío / tuyo / suyo / nuestro / suyo	Esta mochila es mía.	This backpack is mine.
A2Alone	the article and the long form	Mi casa es grande, y la tuya es bonita.	My house is big, and yours is pretty.
B1After the noun	one of several	Marta es una amiga mía.	Marta is a friend of mine.
B1A clear owner	de él, de ella, de usted instead of su	Llevé la maleta de ella.	I carried her suitcase.
Trap	su is his, her, its, their, and your for usted	Ana vive con su hermano.	Ana lives with her brother.
Trap	mis before a plural noun	Mis padres son de Cuba.	My parents are from Cuba.

Quantifiers

Point	Rule	Example	English
mucho	a lot of; agrees with the noun	mucha agua / muchos libros	a lot of water / a lot of books
poco	little, few: not enough	Tengo poco tiempo.	I have little time.
un poco de	a little: there is some	¿Quieres un poco de agua?	Would you like a little water?
A2todo	the whole or every one	Trabajo todos los días.	I work every day.
After a verb	mucho and poco never change	Mi hijo come mucho.	My son eats a lot.
bastante	enough, quite a lot; plural -s	Hay bastantes sillas.	There are enough chairs.
A2demasiado	more than is good	Hay demasiado ruido.	There's too much noise.
B1cada	never changes; singular noun	Voy al gimnasio cada semana.	I go to the gym every week.
A2Trap	otro never takes un	Quiero otro café.	I want another coffee.
Trap	gente is feminine singular	Hay mucha gente.	There are a lot of people.

Indefinites: algo, nadie, ningún

Point	Rule	Example	English
Short answers	Nada / Nadie / Nunca answer a question alone	¿Qué quieres? — Nada.	What do you want? — Nothing.
B1Things	algo ≠ nada	¿Quieres algo?	Do you want something?
B1People	alguien ≠ nadie	¿Hay alguien en casa?	Is anyone at home?
B1With a noun	algún / alguna ≠ ningún / ninguna	¿Tienes alguna pregunta?	Do you have any questions?
B1Before the verb	the negative word alone, with no no	Nadie sabe la respuesta.	Nobody knows the answer.
B1Short forms	algún, ningún before a masculine singular noun	No tengo ningún problema.	I have no problem.
B1People as objects	a alguien, a nadie	No conozco a nadie aquí.	I don't know anyone here.
B1One of a group	alguno de / ninguno de + plural noun	Ninguno de mis amigos habla ruso.	None of my friends speaks Russian.
Trap	nada after the verb keeps no before it	No tengo nada.	I have nothing.
B1Trap	ninguno is singular	No tengo ningún hermano.	I don't have any brothers.

Variety

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