A grammatical pill

[Norma Rosa]

Here is an error I have noticed in the “a conversar” thread.
Not all nouns ending in a are feminine; for the most part they are, but there is a handful of them which are not. Here are some of them, add yours.

el d?a,
el programa
el dilema
el mapa
el tema
el problema

 

[Chirimoya]

el esquema
el clima
el cura
el papa
el pap?
el enigma
el idioma
el planeta

(something to do with words of Greek origin?)

Then there are nouns ending with a that are still feminine but take "el" in the singular form
el agua
el ?rea
el alma

 

[jrhartley]

and feminine words ending in an o

la mano
la radio

why have a rule then have exceptions does it matter whether a hand is masculine or feminine

 

[Norma Rosa]

Then there are nouns ending with a that are still feminine but take "el" in the singular form
el agua
el ?rea
el alma

Right, but it only happens if that first a is stressed. That is so in order to avoid the resulting cacophony. Those of you learning Spanish, you can test if the word is masculine or feminine by using the plural form: Las aguas, las ?reas, las almas.

There are others that take both genders:
el artista, la artista
el dentista, la dentista

 

[Norma Rosa]

jrhartley:

It is not the hand, per se, that has a gender; it is the term that has a grammatical gender.

 

[Norma Rosa]

Masculine words ending in "a"

Here is the list, so far. More additions?

el d?a,
el programa
el dilema
el mapa
el tema
el problema

el esquema
el clima
el cura
el papa
el pap?
el enigma
el idioma
el planeta

el crucigrama
el panorama
el pentagrama
el cometa

 

[jrhartley]

el tranvia

 

[Africaida]

Awesome thread Norma. Thanks !!!

As a French speaker, because we do have gender too, I tend to make mistakes where it is the inverse in my language. If I don't make the mistake because I know the word, it just doesn't sound right (la sangre for example ).

I don't know how English speakers do it.

 

[jrhartley]

here are some bisexual words
capital
colera
corte
consonante
cura
frente
guarda
guardia
gu?a
justicia
ma?ana
moral
orden
parte
pendiente
pez
polic?a
trompeta
vista
vocal

 

[Chirimoya]

There are others that take both genders:
el artista, la artista
el dentista, la dentista

What about "modelo", "arquitecto" or "presidente"?

 

[Norma Rosa]

Awesome thread Norma. Thanks !!!

As a French speaker, because we do have gender too, I tend to make mistakes where it is the inverse in my language. If I don't make the mistake because I know the word, it just doesn't sound right (la sangre for example ).

I don't know how English speakers do it.

Tell me about it! When I began studying French I thought I was not going to encounter a problem in that area. Little did I know.

What about "modelo", "arquitecto" or "presidente"?

el modelo/la modelo, el arquitecto /la arquitecta, el presidente/la presidenta

("La presidente" is also used.)

 

[AJL6767]

Regarding la Mano- I guess the o or a would be important depending upon who or where someone is touching you..hahaha. In the case of Hipolito they just say " llego papa " That may be because they have not figured out whether he is masc. or fem.

 

[PICHARDO]

El Mar
La Marea...

 

[Chirimoya]

el modelo/la modelo, el arquitecto /la arquitecta, el presidente/la presidenta

("La presidente" is also used.)

I know a female architect who describes herself as "arquitecto", so like presidente/presidenta it seems to be optional.

 

[Norma Rosa]

I know a female architect who describes herself as "arquitecto", so like presidente/presidenta it seems to be optional.

Yes, still hunging on to the old ways. But the Spanish language has been trying to be politically correct for some time now and certain nouns that were only masculine, are being used nowadays in the feminine form.

 

[Ezequiel]

el esquema
el clima
el cura
el papa
el pap?
el enigma
el idioma
el planeta

(something to do with words of Greek origin?)

Then there are nouns ending with a that are still feminine but take "el" in the singular form
el agua
el ?rea
el alma

"Papa" has two meanings.

El Papa Juan Pablo II = Pope John Paul II. {Masculine}

Carlos puso La Papa en el horno = Charles placed the potato in the oven. {Feminine}

 

[Norma Rosa]

I know a female architect who describes herself as "arquitecto", so like presidente/presidenta it seems to be optional.

Are you sitting down?
el alguacil / la alguacila (sheriff)

We used to say la alguacil.

 

[Norma Rosa]

Masculine words ending in "a"

Updated list.

el d?a,
el programa
el dilema
el mapa
el tema
el problema

el esquema
el clima
el cura (priest)
el Papa (the Pope)
el pap?
el enigma
el idioma
el planeta

el crucigrama
el panorama
el pentagrama
el cometa (comet:Body in the Solar System)

el tranv?a
el guardia
el p?ncreas
el fonema
el diafragma
el cardiograma
el telegrama
el teorema
el edema

Although some of those nouns above derive from the Greek language, most medical terms derived from Greek words ending in wma (oma) are masculine:
angioma, anquilostoma, coma, glaucoma, hibridoma, mioma, ribosoma, sarcoma, s?ntoma, teobroma, trachoma

 

[Norma Rosa]

El Mar
La Marea...

Mar is of ambiguous gender: el mar, la mar

(Unless is MAR, the Dominican poster. That one is feminine, right?)

 

[como vegano]

Awesome thread Norma. Thanks !!!

As a French speaker, because we do have gender too, I tend to make mistakes where it is the inverse in my language. If I don't make the mistake because I know the word, it just doesn't sound right (la sangre for example ).

I don't know how English speakers do it.

Most of us don't do it very well, to be sure.