Gender of Nouns

• Gender of Nouns: Part I

In Spanish, all nouns are either masculine or feminine.
Masculine Feminine
el chico la chica

“El” and “la” both mean “the.”
These two words (el, la) are called “definite articles.”
Nouns that end in -o are usually masculine. Nouns that end in -a are usually feminine. Notice the word usually! There are exceptions to these two rules and you will soon be learning them.
One cannot predict the gender of a noun that stands for a non-living thing.
http://studyspanish.com/grammar/lessons/genoun1

• Gender of Nouns: Part II

Masculine nouns that end in a consonant often have a corresponding feminine form that ends in -a.
el profesor
la profesora

Some nouns that refer to people use the same form for both masculine and feminine. These nouns indicate gender by the article (el or la).
el estudiante
la estudiante

Nouns that end in -sión, -ción, -dad, -tad, -tud, -umbre are feminine.
la decisión
la habitación
la ciudad
la libertad
la gratitud
la certidumbre


Some nouns that end in -a are masculine.
el problema


Many nouns that end in -ma are masculine
el sistema


http://studyspanish.com/grammar/lessons/genoun2