Basic Gender Agreement with Nouns

Level 2

Choose el/la/els/les or un/una/uns/unes to match the noun.

How It Works

The article marks the gender and number of the noun phrase. Learn a noun with its article: el problema is masculine despite -a, while la mà is feminine. An adjective joins the same agreement pattern.

Gender belongs to the noun, not to the final letter alone. El problema and el mapa are masculine despite ending in -a, while la mà is feminine. Learn the article together with a new noun, then carry that gender to its adjective.

An elided article can hide the distinction: l'arbre alt is masculine and l'aigua freda is feminine. Plural forms make the agreement visible again. A noun describing a person may have distinct forms, such as professor/professora, but the system also includes nouns with one form whose article marks the intended gender. Do not assume all -e words behave alike.

Examples (3)

  1. El problema és difícil.

    The problem is difficult.

  2. L'aigua és freda.

    The water is cold.

  3. La mà esquerra em fa mal.

    My left hand hurts.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Basic Gender Agreement with NounsLevel 2

Learn This First

Match article and adjective to the noun. Avoid assuming that final -a always marks feminine gender.

Words in This Pattern