Breakdown of Él es el niño y ella es la niña.
Questions & Answers about Él es el niño y ella es la niña.
Why do we say el niño but la niña if they both mean "the"?
In Spanish, nouns (words for people, places, or things) have a gender. Words ending in -o like niño (boy) are usually masculine, so they use the masculine word for "the", which is el. Words ending in -a like niña (girl) are usually feminine, so they use the feminine word for "the", which is la. Why does the first Él have an accent mark, but the second el doesn't?
The accent mark changes the meaning of the word! Él with an accent means "he", while el without an accent means "the" (for masculine nouns). Writing the accent mark is important so people know which one you mean. What does the squiggly line over the n in niño do?
That letter is called ñ (eñe), and it is a completely separate letter in the Spanish alphabet. It makes a "ny" sound, similar to the "ny" in the English word "canyon". So, niño is pronounced like "neen-yo". Why is the word es used twice here?
The word es means "is". In Spanish, the same verb form is used for both "he is" (él es) and "she is" (ella es). You don't need to change it based on the person's gender. Learn Él es el niño y ella es la niña and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free