Gender for people
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Mi hace el mejor arroz con leche.
My grandmother makes the best rice pudding.
The rule
Many change their ending for men and women (amigo, amiga), while others stay the same and let the article do the work (el estudiante, la estudiante). A few nouns have fixed grammatical gender regardless of who they refer to. Knowing these patterns prevents common mistakes with occupations and descriptions of people.
The pattern
Many people nouns use -o for a man and -a for a woman: amigo/amiga, hijo/hija, abuelo/abuela. Many occupations ending in -or add -a for a woman: profesor/profesora, doctor/doctora.
Some people nouns have one form for everyone. Only the article changes: el estudiante, la estudiante; el artista, la artista; el periodista, la periodista; el joven, la joven.
A few nouns have fixed grammatical gender. Persona and víctima are always feminine: la persona, la víctima. This holds even when they refer to a man. Personaje is always masculine: el personaje, even when the character is female.
Examples
- Mi hermana es profesoraMy sister is a teacher
- Mi abuelo vive cercaMy grandfather lives nearby
- La doctora trabaja en el hospitalThe doctor works at the hospital
- El artista pintó este cuadroThe (male) artist painted this painting
- La artista también pintó un cuadroThe (female) artist also painted a painting
- La estudiante tiene una preguntaThe (female) student has a question
- Él es una persona muy amableHe is a very kind person
- La víctima llamó a la policíaThe victim called the police
Watch out
- El persona que llamó es mi hermano. La persona que llamó es mi hermano.Persona is always feminine, even when it refers to a man.
- La doctor trabaja aquí. La doctora trabaja aquí.Doctor changes to doctora for a woman.
- La estudianta llega tarde. La estudiante llega tarde.Estudiante keeps the same form for men and women; only the article changes.
- La personaje es importante. El personaje es importante.Personaje is always masculine, even for a female character.