Masculine and feminine pairs (el hermano, la hermana)

Masculine and feminine pairs

Most Spanish nouns follow one pattern: -o for the masculine, -a for the feminine, with the article moving too.

  • el hermano / la hermana
  • el amigo / la amiga
  • el abuelo / la abuela

It is a tendency, not a law — el estudiante ends in -e and takes el. When the ending does not tell you, the article does.

I am the brother and you are the sister.
Yo soy el hermano y tú eres la hermana.
The grandfather is from Mexico and the grandmother is from Colombia.
El abuelo es de México y la abuela es de Colombia.

Naming someone, not describing them

Professions went bare last lesson. Here the article is back, because these sentences pick out a particular person.

The brother is the professor.
El hermano es el profesor.
He is the friend from Mexico.
Es el amigo de México.

pero and no

no also works between two nouns, to correct which one you mean.

The boy is from Mexico, but the girl is from Colombia.
El niño es de México, pero la niña es de Colombia.
You are the brother, not the friend.
Eres el hermano, no el amigo.
She is the sister, not the friend.
Es la hermana, no la amiga.

Contributors