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A Spanish Grammar Lesson

The Definite Article #2

On this page you see a woman, feminine, dressed in pink with a pink apron.  The apron is pink to represent the standard color for the feminine gender, and the word apron begins with the letter “a” to depict the ending of feminine words.  She says, “Feminine women wear pink aprons to show you that feminine words end in the letter “a.”  She is singing several “la” syllables to remind you that the feminine definite article “the” is expressed as “la” in Spanish. Study this picture to know these two feminine characteristics.

Feminine – “La” precedes feminine nouns.  Notice the feminine letter “a” endings in the sample words below.

la banana                      la tortilla                      la veranda

            All Spanish nouns do not end in a letter “o” or a letter “a,” but most of them do.  The blue and pink colors will be used for masculine and feminine whether or not the noun ends in these letters.

            When you learn enough Spanish words to have a fairly extensive vocabulary you will begin to use the definite articles “el” and “la” in sentences. This principle should be taught before you begin to learn Spanish vocabulary, so you will be aware of it as you study and say masculine and feminine words.  You will notice that the color of the nouns you will be learning will be either blue or pink in the review lists.  This will indicate whether the noun is masculine or feminine.  It will be indicated when you should practice using “el” and “la” in the study process.