el Amazonas the Amazon el Aconcagua Mt Aconcagua
el Titicaca Lake Titicaca el Atlántico the Atlantic
Note: Exceptions occur when the name is based on a feminine noun: la Sierra
Nevada.
Proper nouns relating to methods of transport are typically masculine (due
to an unmentioned masculine noun such as tren ‘train’, avión ‘plane’,
coche/carro[LA] ‘car’, barco‘boat/ship’):
el AVE (high- el Concord un Citroën el Santa
speed train) Rosa
Masculine also are paintings, wines, teams, colours, points of the compass,
days and months (due to unmentioned masculine nouns such as cuadro
‘painting’, vino ‘wine’, día ‘day’ etc.):
un Goya a painting by Goya el Rioja Rioja wine
el Betis Seville football team el verde green
el nordeste north east el miércoles Wednesday
Names of trees and shrubs (especially fruit-bearing ones) are normally
masculine:
el naranjo orange tree el castaño chestnut tree
Note: Conversely, some fruits are feminine: naranja, castaña, oliva/aceituna‘olive’,
but others are masculine like the tree: limonero/limón(lemon tree/fruit), aguacate
(avocado tree and fruit). The ‘fig’ reverses the norm, la higuerabeing the tree and
el higothe fruit.
Categories of nouns predictably feminine
These are rather more limited in number than their masculine counterparts.
The categories are: letters of the alphabet, islands, companies and roads
2.2.4
2.2.3.4
2.2.3.3
2.2.3.2
1111
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1011
1
12111
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
20111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
30111
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
40
41111
Gender
23
