Words for People and Objects

Words Genders and Relationships

Familiarise yourself with the Spanish word genders. In Spanish, words are either masculine or feminine. A general rule is that words ending in ‘o’ are masculine (el libro - the book), and words ending in ‘a’ are feminine (la mesa - the table).
Understand that gender also impacts the adjectives you use. Adjectives will reflect the masculine or feminine form of the noun they describe (el libro interesante - the interesting book, la mesa interesante - the interesting table).
Be aware of exceptions like el día (the day), which although ending with ‘a’ is a masculine noun.

Learn vocabulary for different professions in both their masculine and feminine forms (el profesor - the teacher (male), la profesora - the teacher (female)).
Remember that objects can have human attributes in Spanish. This is common when referring to body parts or personal possessions (La mano - the hand, always referred to as ‘her’ or ‘she’ in Spanish).

Learn regular and irregular Plural forms. In Spanish, generally, nouns and adjectives form plural by adding ‘-s’ if it ends with a vowel or ‘-es’ if it ends with a consonant.

Practice possessive pronouns as they also reflect gender and numbers. E.g. my book could be “mi libro” or “mis libros” while my table could be “mi mesa” or “mis mesas”.
Familiarise yourself with object pronouns, both direct and indirect. These change according to gender and number. For instance, “I see him (male)/it (object)” would translate to “Lo veo” while “I see her/them” could be “La veo” or “Las veo”.
In Spanish, there are many words for people that do not change their form whether they are masculine or feminine. For example: “la víctima” can refer to a male or female victim, and “la persona” can mean a male or female person.

Finally, practise makes perfect! Regularly drill these grammar points with flashcards or worksheets to help them become second nature.