There are certain topics that make non-native Spanish speakers pull their hair out when learning Spanish.

There are some rules to follow but there are also many exceptions to those rules. There are also ways of talking, sentences or words that simply don’t make sense in other languages but in Spanish they do.

In previous posts, we talked about the use of the verb To Be (Ser & Estar) and about False cognates. Today, we are talking about “Gender in Spanish”. This is one of the topics people struggle the most when learning Spanish, mainly those whose mother tongue doesn’t come from a romance language (i.e. French, Italian, Portuguese).

Learn Gender in Spanish: Spanish Gender Rules

If you are an English speaker you might think that “gender” refers to people in their feminine or masculine form. Which, to a certain extent, it’s true… However, in Spanish, we also use “gender” for nouns, articles and adjectives.

In Spanish, words like “the”, “car”, “house”, “tree”, “lunch”, “black” or “tall” can be feminine or masculine.

While in English, gender is not important unless you are speaking about a living object (i.e. a person or an animal),  in Spanish, all nouns (person, place, thing or idea) have a gender.

At first, it might be difficult but after a while it becomes natural and we can even say that you know by intuition what’s the right gender of each word.

What is it important to learn the gender of the nouns in Spanish?

Simple.

The gender of the noun is important because the adjective and articles must match the noun in terms of the gender.

If you don’t pair the words correctly, it’s not a big deal. It sounds weird for native Spanish speakers but they will still understand you.

But since we want you to speak Spanish properly we are here to give you some tips. Keep in mind, though, that it takes more than reading an article to have a couple of Spanish classes. If you truly want to master your spanish language you need to start but making some mistakes, learn from them and practice, practice, practice.

How to know when a noun is feminine or masculine?

Everything in Spanish is either male or female. Our language is charged with gender power!

The most common structure for nouns in Spanish is:

(article) + noun + (adjective)

So, let’s follow this stricture. Let’s talk about Spanish article gender rules first.

1. Articles

In English, there are three articles:

Definite article “The”

• Feminine
• Masculine
• Singular
• Plural

Definite articles “a”, “an”

• Feminine
• Masculine
• Singular
• Plural (“some” is not considering an article but it is used as such)

In Spanish, we have a total of eight articles. Yes, eight!

That’s because we change the articles according to both gender (feminine and masculine) and number (singular and plural)

Definite articles “The”

• Masculine, singular: “el”
  “El niño”. The kid
• Feminine, singular: “la”
  “La niña”. The kid
• Masculine, plural: “los”
  “Los niños”. The kids
• Feminine, plural: “las”
  “Las niñas”, The kids

Indefinite articles “a”, “an”, “some”

• Masculine, singular: “un”
  “Un niño”.  A kid
• Feminine, singular: “una”
  “Una niña” A kid
• Masculine, plural: “unos”
  “Unos niños”. Some kids
• Feminine, plural: “unas”
  “Unas niñas”. Some kids

2. Nouns

Who is to decide whether “lámpara” (lamp) is masculine or feminine? – It’s feminine by the way

What determines a “libro” (book) to be a masculine noun? And what makes “cuchara” (spoon) a feminine noun?

Thankfully, there are some rules to follow to help you remember whether a noun is masculine or feminine.

Masculine Nouns

Rule No. 1

Nouns ending in “o”, “os”

Examples

• “El libro” (The book)
• “Un pájaro” (A bird)
• “Los vasos” (The glasses)

Rule No. 2

Nouns ending in “ma”, mas”

Examples

• “Los problemas” (The problems)
• “El aroma” (The fragance)
• “El clima” (The weather)

Rule No.3

Nouns which refers to males

Examples

• “El padre” (The father)
• Los reyes (The kings)
• “El hijo” (The son)

Rule No.4

Nouns ending in “r”, “res”

Examples

• “Los motores”  (The motors)
• “Un calentador” (A heater)
• “El comedor” (The dining room)

Rule No.5

Nouns ending in “aje”, “ajes”

Examples

• “El viaje” (The trip)
• “El equipaje” ( The luggage)
• “Los porcentajes” (The percentages)

Rule No.6

Days of the week

Examples

• “El lunes” (Monday)
• “El martes”  (Tuesday
• “El miércoles” (Wednesday)
• “El jueves” (Thursday)
• “Los viernes”(Fridays)
• “El sábado” (Saturday)
• “Los domingos” (Sundays)

Notes: – In English, the days of the week don’t use articles. In Spanish they do
– In Spanish, months of the year don’t use articles

Rule No.7

Compass directions

Examples

• “El norte” (North)
• “El sur” (South)
• “El oriente” (East)
• “El occidente” (West)

Rule No.8

A group with mixed genders is always* masculine

Examples

• “Los estudiantes” (The students)
• “Los padres” (The parents)
• “Unos colegas” (Some colleagues)

Rule No.9

Languages

Examples

• “El español” (The Spanish language)
• “El inglés” (The English language)
• “El italiano” (The Italian language)

Tip:
People use the word “LONERS” to help remember when a noun is masculine. Words that end with any of the letters in LONERS are usually masculine.

Some examples include:

L → El papel (paper)
O → El oso (bear)
N → El atún (tuna)
E → El hambre (hunger)
R → El calor (hot weather)
S → El bus (bus)

Feminine Nouns

Rule No. 1

Nouns ending in “a”, “as”

Examples

• “La guitarra” (The guitar)
• “Una camisa” (A shirt)
• “Las camas” (The beds)

Rule No. 2

Nouns ending in “ión”, “ión”

Examples

• “La religión” (The religion)
• “La comunicación” (The communication)
• “La pasión” (The passion)

Rule No. 3

Nouns ending in “dad”, “tad”

Examples

• “Una ciudad” (A city)
• “La verdad” (The truth)
• “La libertad” (The freedom)

Rule No. 4

Nouns ending in “umbre”

Examples

“Una costumbre” (A tradition)
“La cumbre” (The summit)
“La incertidumbre” (The uncertainty)

Rule No. 5

Nouns ending in “z”

Examples

“La paz” (Peace)
“La nariz” (The nose)
“La actriz” (The actress)

Rule No. 6

Letters of the alphabet

Examples

La “a” (The “a”)
La “b” (The “b”)
La “c” (The “c”)

Rule No. 7

Nouns which refer to females

Examples

“La madre” (The mother)
“La reina” (The queen)
“La princesa” (The princess)

Exceptions to the rule

Here comes the fun!

All languages have rules, and all rules have exceptions. The Spanish language is no different.

Exceptions are just that, exceptions. We don’t need to understand them or find the logic behind them, we just need to learn them.

To make your life easier we have prepared a list of the most common exceptions to the rules listed above.

Exceptions to the feminine rules

“El día” (The day)
“El mapa” (The map)
“El Sofá” (The couch)
“El agua” (The water)
“El artista” (The artist)
“El cura” (The priest)
“El planeta” (The planet)

Exceptions to the masculine rules

“La mano” (The hand)
“La radio” (The radio)
“La moto” (The motorbike)
“La modelo” (The model)
“La piloto” (The pilot)
“La foto” (The photo)

3. Adjectives

As a reminder, an adjective is what we use to describe a noun.

In English, adjectives are similar to articles and nouns with regards to gender; they simply don’t have a gender.

“Red”, “short”, “big” are used in the same form for all nouns regardless of the gender -if any- and regardless of the number (singular or plural).

In Spanish, knowing the gender of the noun is crucial because it defines the article and the adjective you need to use.

Adjectives in Spanish also change slightly their form -their ending- depending on the gender. Adjectives can be masculine, feminine, and neutral

• Masculine: Typically the ending of the adjective changes to “o”
• Feminine: Typically the ending of the adjective changes to “a”
• Neutral: Typically the word never changes regardless of the gender

Let’s see some examples:

That’s all for today!

We hope this article has been useful to you. Remember that the key to mastering any language is practice!

If you want to improve your current level of Spanish do not hesitate to contact us. Join our school in Bogota or our online program.

Learning a new language is not always easy.

But we promise learning Spanish is a lot of fun!

One of the most difficult topics for Spanish language learners is the use of the verb “To be”, which in Spanish is divided into two verbs: “Ser” and “Estar”.

“To be” (ser) or “To be” (estar)… that’s the question.

Don’t pull your hair out when deciding whether to use “ser” or “estar”.

We know it can be tricky since the distinction between those two doesn’t exist in other languages.

Therefore, we have prepared some tips and tricks for you to learn how to use properly this verb.

Let’s start with the basics!

What’s the difference between “Ser” and “Estar”?

Putting it in a simple way:

• “Ser” is used when describing permanent things, while
• “Estar” when describing temporary things.

Confusing?

Don’t worry! In general, people understand what you want to say by the context. But it’s better when you feel confident speaking a new language, isn’t it?

So, we are here to help you speak Spanish properly.

Now, let’s go to the tips and tricks!

When do you use “Ser” and when do you use “Estar”?

The verb “Ser”

“Ser” describes a permanent state of what some people called “the essence of things”. It is generally used to describe people’s traits and to describe object characteristics.

What does it mean?

The things that make something what it is and things that are unlikely to change.

“Ser” is used for the following situations:

Time & Date:

• ¿Qué hora es? (What time is it?)
• Mañana es miércoles. (Tomorrow is Wednesday)
• Mi cumpleaños es el 5 de Julio. (My birthday is on the 5th July)

Place of origin and Nationality

• Yo soy de Bogotá. (I’m from Bogotá)
• Mis padres son Colombianos. (My parents are Colombians)

Occupation

• María es profesora de francés. (María is a French teacher)

Religious or political affiliation

• Yo soy Cristiano, ella es Budista. (I’m Christian, she’s Buddhist)

The material something is made of

• Esas son botellas de plástico. (Those are plastic bottles)

Possession

• El carro es mío, la bicicleta es tuya. (The car is yours, the bike is yours)

Relationship of one person to another

• Andrés es mi hermano. (Andrés is my brother)

Where an event is taking place

• La reunión es en la oficina de Carolina. (The meeting is at Carolina’s office)

Physical and personality traits

• Camila es muy linda y además es súper chévere. (Carolina es so pretty and she’s also very nice)

When we use Passive voice

Cien años de Soledad fue escrito por Gabriel García Márquez. (One Hundred Years of Solitude was written by Gabriel García Márquez)

The verb “Estar”

In contrast,

“estar” describes a non-permanent state or condition; something that is likely to change.

“Estar” is used for the following situations:

Geographic or physical location (except when speaking about events)

• – ¿Dónde estás? – Hoy estoy en Cali pero mañana voy a Barranquilla. (Where are you? I’m in Cali today but tomorrow I’m going to Barranquilla)
• Las llaves están sobre la mesa. (The keys are on the table)

State or condition (like emotions)

• Estoy super triste hoy (I’m so sad today)
• Estoy muy cansado porque he trabajado todo el día. (I’m very tired because I have been working all day)

When describing something in the moment

• La fiesta está buenísima! (The party is so cool!)
• La sopa está caliente! (The soup is hot!)

To describe how food tastes

• Este helado está delicioso. (This ice cream is delicious)

Many idiomatic expressions

• ¡La casa está patas arriba! (The house is a mess!)
• ¡Ponme atención, parece que estás en la luna! (Pay attention to me, you’re miles away!)

Progressive tenses (-ing)

• ¿Qué haces? – Estoy almorzando. (What are you doing? – I’m having lunch)
• Me encontré a Pedro ayer cuando estaba corriendo. (I met Pedro yesterday while I was running)

Easy, right?

So, what’s the tricky part?

Well, the tricky part comes when you can use either “ser” or “estar” in the same sentence; both are correct but they mean something totally different.

How’s that?…

For example, according to the rules mentioned above, if you say:

“Yo estoy de Colombia” -> It’s NOT correct.
“Yo soy de Colombia” -> It’s correct

(I’m from Colombia)

Or,

“Soy tomando café”. It’s NOT correct.
“Estoy tomando café”. It’s correct

(I’m drinking coffee)

But, there are some sentences in which you can use either “Ser” or “Estar” and both are correct. It depends on the context and depends on what you want to say.

For example:
Eres muy linda! -> It’s correct
Estás muy linda! -> It’s correct

(You are beautiful)

What? How is that possible?

The first one “Eres muy linda” can be used when someone is saying to a girl that she is pretty (all the time), It’s a physical trait.

The second one “estás muy linda” can be used when someone is saying to a girl that she is (particularly) pretty on a certain day, or with certain clothes.

Sometimes people use a complement in a sentence, something like “estás muy linda hoy con ese vestido” (You’re so pretty today with that dress”. But sometimes native Spanish speakers don’t use the complement of the sentence because it is understood by the context.

Other examples:

La comida de este restaurante es deliciosa. -> It’s correct
La comida de este restaurante está deliciosa. -> It’s correct

(The food at this restaurant is delicious)

It all depends on what you want to say. If you think the food in the restaurant is “always” or “generally” delicious you would say “La comida de este restaurante es deliciosa”.

Or if you want to emphasize that on a particular day the food in the restaurant is delicious, you would say “La comida de este restaurante está deliciosa”.

These are simple examples. Even though they have different meanings it’s not a big deal if you use one or the other.

But there are some scenarios where, if you pick the wrong verb, things can get lost in translation.

“Ser” aburrido (to be boring) vs. “estar” aburrido (to be bored)

If you want to describe someone’s personality:
Sofía is aburrida (Sofía is boring)

If you want to describe someone’s mood:
Sofía está aburrida (Sofía is bored)

1. “Ser” listo (to be clever) vs. “estar” listo (to be ready)

• If you want to say someone is smart or intelligent. Being smart is part of his or her personality:
  Daniela es lista (Daniela is clever)
• But is totally different if you want to describe someone’s state:
  Daniela está lista (Daniela is ready)

2. “Ser” bueno (to be a good person) vs. “estar” bueno (to be hot/good looking)

• If you want to say someone is a good person
  El chico de mi edificio es muy bueno (The guy from my building is such a good guy)
• But is totally different if you want to describe his appearance:
  El chico de mi edificio está muy bueno (The guy from my building is so hot)

Don’t be afraid of making mistakes, it’s part of the learning process. Keep practicing; the more you practice, the easier it will be for you to choose the right verb.

You can practice with different Apps, for example, ‘Verbo’. It’s an App to practice conjugations and uses of verbs at different levels. It is quite clear and it has exercises from A1 to C2, with different uses such as reflexive verbs and combined grammatical tenses according to the level.

And you can try our General Spanish classes. Here an exercise from one of our teachers:

Let us know your answer in the comments!

Hope you have enjoyed this article. Don’t forget to follow our Social Media and to read our weekly blog posts!

After reading our previous post “Places you didn’t know they speak Spanish” you might have wondered if all Spanish speakers (more than 500 million people) understand each other.

Also, if you want to learn Spanish in Colombia you might wonder whether you would be able to communicate with others when traveling to Spain.

The simple answer to both questions is yes!

We all understand each other and if you learn Spanish in Colombia you will be able to communicate with any other Spanish Speaker.

However, keep in mind that the language varies greatly from one country to another.

It reaches so many different peoples and cultures; which makes each country and region have its own dialects, accents and expressions.

A linguist called Albert Marckwardt called this process the “colonial lag”. It means that the current state of a language spoken in new colonies did not evolve in the same way as the language in its country of origin. This could explain why the words and phrases people use in Colombia are different from those used in Spain.

If you want to know how the Spanish language has evolved read our post “The Spanish language: history, evolution and influences”

Before entering into the differences it is important to note that “Spanish from Colombia” normally refers to the standard dialect spoken in Bogota. And, “Spanish from Spain” normally refers to “Castilian Spanish”.

Since the dialects spoken in the various regions of Colombia and Spain are quite diverse, those terms are more geographical than linguistic relevance.

Having said this, let’s now move to the differences!

Top 5 differences between Spanish from Colombia and Spanish Spain

1. Pronunciation

One of the greatest differences you might hear is regarding the pronunciation of the ‘z’ and ‘c’.

In Spain, ‘z’ is pronounced like ‘th’ in English. While in Colombia, ‘z’ is always pronounced like ‘s’.

The same goes for a “c” when it comes before an “e” or an “i”.

In Spain, the sound of the letter ‘c’ changes to the sound in English ‘th’. While in Colombia it is also pronounced like “s”.

Here are two examples:

La taza es azul (the cup is blue)

In Spain you would hear “la ta-tha es a-thul”;

while in Colombia you would hear “la ta-sa es a-sul”

INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (IPA)

‘Cinco cervezas’ (five beers)

In Spain, you would hear “thin-co ther-ve-thas”;

while in Colombia you would hear “sin-co ser-ve-sas”.

INTERNATIONAL PHONETIC ALPHABET (IPA)

2. Tú vs. Usted (you – singular)

Both ‘usted’ and ‘tú’ are the Spanish equivalents of the pronoun “you” that can be used to replace the name of the person we are speaking to.

Normally, ‘usted’ is taught as the formal version and “tú” as the informal version.

“Usted” is usually a more respectful way of talking to someone, such as a new acquaintance, an older person, or someone you consider to be of higher rank.

‘Tú’ is used when talking to friends, family, and others with a closer relationship.

However, the use in Colombia and Spain is different:

In Spain, “tú” is used most of the time. It is rarely the case when people use “usted”. For most people, “usted” is comparable with “sir” or “ma’am’’, which is considered to be old-fashioned.

Between friends or family members they never use “usted”. It is only used for example when they ask something in the street to an older woman or man or when working in customer service.

In Colombia “usted” is frequently used.

People do distinguish when talking to family members or close friends, and when talking to elders, people they just meet or people considered to be of higher rank.

In some regions of Colombia, it is common to hear people referring as “usted” even when they are close friends and family members.

Also, when two men are talking, they normally refer to each other as “usted” even if they are close friends. While when two women are talking, or when men are talking to women they usually use “tú”

3. Vosotros vs. ustedes (you – plural)

“Vosotros” (masculine) or “vosotras” (feminine) is the plural form of “you”.

Spain is the only Spanish speaking country where this pronoun is used. This is one of the key differences between the two languages.

In Spain, they use “vosotros/vosotras” in most of the cases when addressing a group of people.

“Ustedes” is only used when they really want to show formality.

In Colombia, “vosotros/vosotras” simply doesn’t exist. Therefore, we use “ustedes” in both formal and informal situations.

Here some examples:

If you want to say “You all are my best friends”

• In Spain they would say “Vosotros sois mis mejores amigos” or “vosotras sois mis mejores amigas”.
• In Colombia we would say “Ustedes son mis mejores amigos” or “ustedes son mis mejores amigas”.

If you want to say “Do you want to go out?”

• In Spain they would say “¿Tenéis ganas de salir?”
• In Colombia we would say “¿Tienen ganas de salir?

4. Use of the past tense

This is probably one of the less noticeable differences between both languages.

In Spain, it is common to talk about a completed action using the present perfect tense. While in Colombia it is more common to use the simple past.

Here some examples:

What did you do today? Today I went to work

• In Spain, they would say: Qué has hecho hoy? Hoy he ido al trabajo
• In Colombia, we would say: Qué hiciste hoy? Hoy fui al trabajo

What did you do today? Today I stayed home

• In Spain, they would say: Qué has hecho hoy? Hoy me he quedado en casa
• In Colombia, we would say: Qué hiciste hoy? Hoy me quedé en casa

5. Vocabulary

This is probably the main and biggest difference between Colombian Spanish and Spain Spanish.

It’s actually the main difference between all the Spanish-speaking countries.

The difference in Spanish languages or dialects is similar to the differences between English speakers from the US, UK or Australia.

For example, Americans would say “fall” while the British would say “autumn”. They both understand what the other word means but they just don’t use it.

The same goes for Spanish speakers. We may use different vocabulary, have different accents or expressions, but we ultimately understand each other.

Here are a few examples of different words meaning the same in Colombia and Spain.

Besides these 5 differences, the Spanish language is practically the same all over the world thanks to the RAE (The Royal Academy of the Spanish Language). This is the official institution in charge of promoting linguistic unity and to ensure the stability of the Spanish language within all territories where Spanish is spoken.

Therefore, someone who speaks good Spanish would have no issues communicating with other Spanish speakers. The main differences would be with regard to the country or region’s accent and vocabulary.