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### Turning words into nouns with **el**

You have seen **el** turn an infinitive into a noun (*el lento caminar*). It does the same with other words: question words, **sí**, colors. The new noun is masculine.

| word | as a noun |
|---|---|
| por qué | **el porqué** (the reason why) |
| qué, cómo, cuándo, dónde | **el qué**, **el cómo**, **el cuándo**, **el dónde** |
| sí | **el sí** (the yes) |
| azul | **el azul** (the blue) |

**El porqué** is one word with an accent, and it has a plural, **los porqués**.

{{item:1254660}}

Plural:

{{item:1254662}}

Three question words used as nouns:

{{item:1254663}}

### The emphatic **un**: **¡Hace un frío!**

**Frío**, **calor**, **hambre**, **sed** and **miedo** usually go without **un**: *Hace frío*, *Tengo hambre*. Add **un** with an adjective, or leave an exclamation hanging, and it becomes emphatic: *it's so cold!*

| plain | emphatic |
|---|---|
| Hace frío. | Hace **un** frío horrible. |
| Tengo hambre. | Tengo **un** hambre horrible. |
| Me da miedo. | Me da **un** miedo terrible. |

Plain, then emphatic:

{{item:1254667}}

No adjective: the exclamation does the work:

{{item:1254668}}

With an adjective, **miedo** works the same way:

{{item:1254669}}

### Common mistake

- *Hace un frío.* as a plain statement sounds unfinished: **Hace frío**, or **Hace un frío horrible**.

The article that makes nouns; the emphatic un (el porqué, ¡hace un frío!)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
the why, the reason why	el porqué
Nobody understands the reason for his decision.	Nadie entiende el porqué de su decisión.
She didn't explain the reason to me.	No me explicó el porqué.
The reasons for the crisis are complicated.	Los porqués de la crisis son complicados.
We know the what, but not the when or the where.	Sabemos el qué, pero no el cuándo ni el dónde.
What matters is not the what, but the how.	Lo importante no es el qué, sino el cómo.
I love the blue of the sea.	Me encanta el azul del mar.
The bank has said yes to us.	El banco nos ha dado el sí.
Today it is cold, but yesterday it was horribly cold.	Hoy hace frío, pero ayer hacía un frío horrible.
It was so hot!	¡Hacía un calor!
Driving at night scares me terribly.	Me da un miedo terrible conducir de noche.
I am horribly hungry.	Tengo un hambre horrible.
After the match I had a tremendous thirst.	Después del partido tenía una sed tremenda.
The sunshine was gorgeous and we went to the beach.	Hacía un sol precioso y fuimos a la playa.

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