El águila es un ave rapaz.

to be

Breakdown of El águila es un ave rapaz.

• el águila: the eagle
• el ave rapaz: the bird of prey

Questions & Answers about El águila es un ave rapaz.

Why is it el águila if águila is a feminine noun?

Because águila is grammatically feminine, but in Spanish, some feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- sound use el instead of la in the singular to make pronunciation smoother.

So:

• el águila
• el agua
• el hambre

But the noun is still feminine. You can see that from other words that agree with it:

• el águila blanca
• el águila herida
• esta águila is usually avoided in careful standard Spanish; speakers normally restructure it, for example esta ave or esta águila imperial may be heard, but the article rule is the clearest sign.

In the plural, the normal feminine article returns:

• las águilas

So águila is feminine, even though it takes el in the singular.

Why does the sentence say un ave and not una ave?