Just as maleness or femaleness is an inherent characteristic of human beings and most animals, so is gender an inherent characteristic of nouns in Spanish. With only a few exceptions, mostly those of occupations such as dentista, the gender of nouns doesn't change with the context, and a noun's gender determines the form of many adjectives that describe it. 
Although Spanish nouns are classified as either feminine or masculine, remember that there can be feminine nouns that describe things we think of as masculine, and vice versa. For example, el elefante refers to an elephant whether it's male or female. For some people, it might be easier to think of them as simply two classifications rather than giving them a sexual identity. Unlike German and some other Indo-European languages, Spanish has no neuter nouns. (There are a few neuter pronouns, such as lo and ello, which are used under limited circumstances, however.) 

The basic rule is that masculine nouns go with masculine adjectives and articles, and feminine nouns go with feminine adjectives and articles. (In English, the articles are "a," "an" and "the." Also note that in Spanish many adjectives don't have separate masculine and feminine forms.) And if you use a pronoun to refer to a masculine noun, you use a masculine pronoun; feminine pronouns refer to feminine nouns. 

Nouns and adjectives that end in -o (or -os for plural adjectives) generally are masculine, and nouns and adjectives that end in -a (or -as for plural adjectives) generally are feminine, although there are exceptions. For example, cada día means "each day." Día ("day") is a masculine noun; cada ("each") can be either feminine or masculine. 

Since you can't always tell by looking at a noun or knowing its meaning whether it's masculine or feminine, most dictionaries use notations (f or m) to indicate the gender. And it's also common in vocabulary lists, such as many of them at this site, to precede words with an el for masculine words and a la for feminine words. (El and la both mean "the.") 

Here is a chart that shows some of the ways a noun's gender affects the usage of other words. Some of the examples may be more understandable once you study adjectives, articles and pronouns. You can hear the Spanish words pronounced in the streaming audio file. 
  Masculine Feminine 
the man: el hombre the woman: la mujer 
a man: un hombre a woman: una mujer 
the man: los hombres the women: las mujeres 
the fat man: el hombre gordo the fat woman: la mujer gorda 
some men: unos hombres some women: unas mujeres 
He (the man) is fat: Él es gordo. She (the woman) is fat: Ella es gorda. 


If you have two or more nouns that are being described by a single adjective, and they are of mixed genders, the masculine adjective is used.

Example: El carro es caro, the car is expensive. La bicicleta es cara, the bicycle is expensive. El carro y la bicicleta son caros, the car and the bicycle are expensive.

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)

AND "NUMBER" JUST REFERS TO MAKING NOUNS AND ADJECTIVES (AND ARTICLES TOO!) PLURAL:

In English, as you already know, we usually make nouns plural by adding "-s" to the end of the word, unless it ends in "-y," in which case the "-y" is dropped and replaced by an "-ies." (Hyphens indicate word endings, not that a hyphen is used.) In Spanish, it is almost as simple, and Spanish has few of the numerous and unpredictable exceptions that English has. 
The basic rule: The rule that you follow most of the time is roughly the same as the rule in English: If a word ends in a consonant, add -es. If it ends in an unaccented vowel, simply add an -s. In Spanish, y is treated as a consonant for purposes of pluralization. 


Examples: un árbol (one tree), dos árboles (two trees); el actor (the actors), los actores (the actors); el hotel (the hotel), los hoteles (the hotels); un taco (a taco), dos tacos (two tacos); un perro (a dog), tres perros (three dogs); un rey (a king), cuatro reyes (four kings). 
Orthographic changes: Some words follow the general rule in terms of pronunciation, but a change in either a letter or an accent mark is needed. In plurals of words that end in -z, the -z changes to -ces for the plural. And if the addition of -es would change which syllable gets the accent, an accent is either dropped or added. 


Examples: el juez (the judge), los jueces (the judges); una vez (once), dos veces (twice); el inglés (the Englishman), los ingleses (the Englishmen); la canción (the song), las canciones (the songs); el examen (the exam), los exámenes, the exams. 
Words ending in stressed vowels: Words that end in a stressed -é form the plural simply by adding -s. Words that end in other stressed vowels have an -es added. There are four common exceptions: el papá (the father), los papás (the fathers); una mamá (a mother), dos mamás (two mothers); el dominó (the domino), los dominós (the dominoes); and un sofá (a sofa), tres sofás (three sofas). 
Examples: el rubí (the ruby), los rubíes (the rubies); el hindú (the Hindu), los hindúes (the Hindus); el café (the coffee), los cafés (the coffees). 
Finally, the exceptions: The above rules cover probably 99 percent of the nouns you will use. Most of them are words that are identical in the singular and plural — e.g., la crisis (the crisis), las crisis (the crises) — and new words of foreign origin, which often follow the pluralization rules of the originating language — e.g., el applet Java (the Java applet), los applets Java (the Java applets). As a beginner, the main exceptions you need to know are the days of the week, Monday through Friday, which are the same in singular and plural — los lunes (Mondays), los martes (Tuesdays), and so on. For a more thorough treatment of the exceptions, see a longer lesson on plurals. 

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)

EXPRESSING LIKES AND DISLIKES

Gustar can be a confusing verb for English speakers learning Spanish. That's not because gustar, which often is used to translate English sentences using the verb "to like," is particularly unusual. To Spanish speakers it is just another verb. But it is used differently than the English verb it often stands for. 
If you're a beginner, chances are most of the Spanish sentences you've been using as examples are ones that follow roughly the same word order as we use in English, with the verb following the subject. But Spanish also frequently places the subject after the verb, and that is usually true with gustar. Here are some examples of gustar in action: 


	

		
Me gusta el coche.
		
I like the car.

	

		
Nos gustan los coches.
		
We like the cars.

	

		
Le gustan las camionetas.
		
He likes the pickups.



As you can see, the sentences aren't quite what you might expect. Instead of following the form "person who likes + verb + the object liked," they follow the form "indirect-object pronoun representing the person who likes + verb + the object liked." 

As shown in this lesson, the indirect-object pronouns are me, te, le, nos, os and les. 

If this seems confusing, here's an approach that might help: Instead of thinking of gustar as meaning "to like," it is both more accurate and makes more sense in the sentence structure to think of it as meaning "to be pleasing." When we say, "I like the car," the meaning is much the same as saying, "the car is pleasing to me." In plural form, it becomes "the cars are pleasing to me," with a plural verb. Note, then, the differences in the common and literal translations below: 


	

		
Spanish
		
Usual translation
		
Literal translation


	

		
Me gusta el coche.
		
I like the car.
		
The car is pleasing to me.


	

		
Nos gustan los coches.
		
We like the cars.
		
The cars are pleasing to us.

	

		
Le gustan las camionetas.
		
She likes the pickups.
		
The pickups are pleasing to her.



When the pronoun le or les is used, as in the third example, the context might not always make clear who is the person doing the liking. In that case, you can add the prepositional phrase "a + the person liking" as shown below at the beginning of the sentence (or less commonly at the end of the sentence). Note that the indirect-object pronoun cannot be omitted; the prepositional phrase clarifies the indirect-object pronoun rather than replacing it. 




Gustar isn't the only Spanish verb used this way. As you become familiar with Spanish, you will come across at least a dozen other verbs that are used in the same manner. A few sentences using such verbs are shown below to help familiarize you with the concept:


	

		
A Carlos le gusta el coche.
		
Carlos likes the car.

	

		
A María le gustan las camionetas.
		
María likes the pickups.

	

		
¿A ustedes les gusta el coche?
		
Do you like the car?

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)



	

		
Spanish
		
Common translation
		
Literal translation

	

		
Me encantan las fresas.
		
I love strawberries.
		
The strawberries are very pleasing to me.

	

		
Le faltan dos dólares.
		
He is two dollars short.
		
Two dollars are lacking to him.

	

		
Me duele la cabeza.
		
My head aches.
		
The head is causing me pain.

	

		
A ella le interesan los deportes.
		
She is interested in sports.
		
Sports interest her.

POSSESSIVE ADJECTIVES, THEIR FORM AND USE
 
Possessive adjectives are used to show ownership. 

mi libro
my book

tu pluma
your pen


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are five possessive adjectives. 

mi
tu
su

nuestro
vuestro 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Three possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su) have only two forms, singular and plural. 

mi
mis

tu
tus

su
sus 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Possessive adjectives agree with the nouns they modify. That is, they agree with the thing possessed, not the possessor. 

mi libro
my book

mis libros
my books

tu pluma
your pen

tus plumas
your pens 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mi, tu and su do not have masculine and feminine forms. They stay the same, regardless of the gender of the nouns they modify. 

mi amigo
mi amiga

tus hermanos
tus hermanas

su libro
sus plumas 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mi means "my" ; tu means "your." 

Mi casa es tu casa.
My house is your house. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Su, like tu, can mean "your." The difference between your (tu) and your (su) lies in the degree of formality the speaker wishes to convey. 

Mi casa es tu casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "tú") 

Mi casa es su casa.
(speaking to someone you would address as "usted") 
Note: The two words "tu" and "tú" are pronounced the same. Tú (with the written accent) is the subject pronoun meaning "you" (informal). Tu (without the written accent) is the possessive adjective meaning "your" (informal). 


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Su has four meanings: his, her, their and your (formal). 

María busca a su hermana.
María is looking for her sister.

Juan busca a su hermana.
Juan is looking for his sister.

Ellos buscan a su hermana.
They are looking for their sister.

Su madre busca a su hermana.
Your mother is looking for your sister. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If the meaning of su is not clear from the context of the sentence, a prepositional phrase is used in place of su. 

María busca a la hermana de él.
María looks for his sister.

El hombre busca las llaves de ella.
The man looks for her keys.

María busca el cuaderno de Juan.
María looks for Juan's notebook.

El hombre busca las llaves de Samanta.
The man looks for Samanta's keys. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two possessive adjectives (nuestro and vuestro) have four forms. 

nuestro
nuestra
nuestros
nuestras

vuestro
vuestra
vuestros
vuestras


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Nuestro means "our." 

nuestro hermano
our brother

nuestra hermana
our sister

nuestros hermanos
our brothers

nuestras hermanas
our sisters 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vuestro means "your" (familiar, plural). Like vosotros, vuestro is primarily used in Spain. 

vuestro libro
your book

vuestra pluma
your pen

vuestros libros
your books

vuestras plumas
your pens 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are all of the possessive adjectives: 

mi(s)
my

tu(s)
your (fam. sing.)

su(s)
his, her, your (formal), their

nuestro(-a, -os, -as)
our

vuestro(-a, -os, -as)
your (fam. pl.) 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Note that these possessive adjectives are not used with articles of clothing or body parts. Rather, the definite article is used. 

Me gusta el vestido nuevo.
I like my new dress

Me duele el brazo.
My arm hurts. 

(courtesy: www.studyspanish.com)


WHAT ARE COGNATES?

The word "cognate" is used to signify a word that looks and means pretty much the same thing in two languages.  Our book gives us "liberal" for example, which means exactly what it looks like.  Other "true" cognates include agresivo, contento, furioso, artista, atleta, oficina, computadora, and so on.

For SPA 101, you just need to be familiar with those that are presented in our Chapter Two.  But for fun, (for those of you who, like me, stay up nights wondering about the use and history of words, here is a list of "false cognates", that is, Spanish words that LOOK like English words, but that actually mean something quite different than what you think they might):


Actual: This adjective (or its corresponding adverb, actualmente) indicates that something is current,
at the present time. Thus the day's hot topic might be referred to
as
un tema actual. If you wish to say something is actual (as opposed
to imaginary), use real (which also can mean "royal") or verdadero.


Aplicar: Yes, this word does mean apply, as in applying
an ointment or a theory. But if you're applying for a job, use solicitar.
Similarly, an application for a job or something else you would apply for
is a solicitud.



Asistir: Means to attend or to be present.
Asisto
a la oficina cada día, I go to the office daily. To say "to
assist," use ayudar, to help.


Atender: Means to serve or to take care of,
to
attend to. If you're talking about attending a meeting or a
class, use asistir.




Basamento: You won't run across this word often, but it's
the base of a column, sometimes called a plinth. If you want
to visit a basement, go down to el sótano.


Billón: 1,000,000,000,000. That's the same
as a trillion in American English, but a billion in traditional British
English. In other words, billón is a cognate in London but
a false cognate in New York.

Bizarro: Somebody's who's this way is brave, not necessarily strange.  The English word "bizarre" is conveyed better by extraño or estrafalario.

Boda: If you go to a wedding or wedding reception, this is what you're going to.  A body (as of a person or animal) is most often cuerpo or tronco.




Campo: Means a field or the country (in
the sense of living in the country, not the city). If you're going camping,
you'll probably be staying at a campamiento or even a camping.

Carpeta: Although this can refer to a type of table cover, it doesn't have anything to do with carpets. It most often means a file folder (including the virtual kind) or a briefcase. "Carpet" is most often alfombra.

Complexión: This refers not to your skin, but to one's physiological build (a well-built man is un hombre de complexión fuerte). To speak of skin complexion, use tez or cutis.


Compromiso: Meaning a promise, obligation,
or commitment, it does not usually convey the sense that one have
given up something to reach an agreement. There is no good noun equivalent
of "compromise" that would be understood that way out of context, although
the verb transigir conveys the sense of giving in to, yielding to,
or tolerating another person.




Constiparse, constipación: In verb form, it means
to catch a cold, while una constipación is one of the
words that means a cold. Someone who is constipated is estreñido.



Contestar: It's a very common verb meaning to answer. To contest something, use contender.



Corresponder: Yes, it does mean to correspond, but
only in the sense of to match. If you're talking about corresponding
with someone, use a form of escribir con or mantener correspondencia.


Decepción, decepcionar: Means disappointment
or to deceive. To deceive someone is to engañar a alguién.
Something deceptive is engañoso.


Delito: There's seldom much delightful about a crime. (Delito usually
refers to a minor crime, as contrasted with a serious crime or crimen.)
The feeling of delight can be a deleite, while the object that causes
it an encanto or delicia (note that the latter word often
has a sexual connotation).


Desgracia: In Spanish, this is little more than a mistake or misfortune.  Something shameful is una vergüenza or una deshonra.



Despertar: This verb is usually used in the reflexive form,
meaning to wake up (me despierto a las siete, I wake up at
seven). if you're desperate, there's a true cognate you can use: desesperado.


Disgusto: Derived from the prefix dis- (meaning
"not") and the root word gusto (meaning "pleasure"), this word refers
simply to displeasure or misfortune. If you need to use a
much stronger term akin to "disgust," use asco or repugnación.


Destituido: Someone who has been removed from office is destituido. Someone without money is indigente or desamparado.



Embarazada: It might be embarrassing to be pregnant,
but it isn't necessarily. Someone who feels embarrassed tiene vergüenza
or se siente avergonzado.


Emocionante: Used to decribe something that's thrilling
or emotionally moving. To say "emotional," the cognate emocional
will often do fine.



En absoluto: This phrase means the opposite of what you think it might, meaning not at all or absolutely not. To say "absolutely," use the true cognate totalmente or completamente.


Éxito: It's a hit or a success. If you're
looking for the way out, look for una salida.


Fábrica: That's a place where the fabricate items,
namely a factory. Words for "cloth" include tejido and tela.


Fútbol: Unless in a context that indicates otherwise,
this means soccer. If you want to refer the the popular U.S. spectator
sport, use fútbol americano.




Fútil: This refers to something trivial or insignificant. If your efforts are futile, use ineficaz, vano or inútil.


Insulación: This isn't even a word in Spanish (although you may hear it in Spanglish). If
you want to say "insulation," use aislamiento.





Introducir: This isn't truly a false cognate, for it can
be translated as, among other things, to introduce in the sense
of to bring in, to begin, to put, or to place.
For example, se introdujo la ley en 1998, the law was introduced
(put in effect)  in 1998. But it's not the verb to use to introduce
someone. Use presentar.


Largo: When referring to size, it means long. If it's
big, it's also grande.


Minorista: Means retail (adjective) or retailer.
A "minority" is una minoría


Molestar: The verb doesn't have sexual connotations in Spanish,
and it didn't originally in English either. It means simply to bother
or
to annoy. For the sexual meaning of "to molest" in English, use abusar
sexualmente or some phrase that says more precisely what you mean.

Once: If you can count past ten, you know that once is the word for eleven. If something happens once, it happans una vez.


Preservativo: You might find yourself embarrassed if you
go to a store and ask for one of these, because you'll end up with a condom.
If you want a preservative, as for a conservante.



Pretender: The Spanish verb doesn't have anything to do with faking it, only to try.  To pretend, use fingir or simular.


Rapista: This is an uncommon word for a barber (peluquero  or even the cognate barbero is more common), being derived from the verb rapar, to cut close or to shave. Someone who attacks sexually is a violador.





Realizar, realizacón: The verb can be used flexibly
to indicate something becoming real or becoming completed:
Se realizó el rascacielos, the skyscraper was built. To realize
as a mental event can be translated using darse cuenta ("to realize"), comprender ("to understand")
or saber ("to know"), among other possibilities, depending on the context.


Recordar:	 Means to remember or to remind.
The verb to use when recording something depends on what you're recording.
Possibilities include anotar or tomar nota for writing something down,
or grabar for making an audio or video recording.

Ropa: Clothing, not rope.  Rope is cuerda or soga.


Revolver: As its form suggests, this is a verb, in this case
meaning to turn over, to revolve, or otherwise to cause
disorder. The Spanish word for "revolver" is close, however: revólver.


Sano: Someone who is sano is healthy. Someone who is sane is en su juicio or "in his right mind."



Sensible: Usually means sensitive or capable of feeling.
A sensible person or idea can be referred to as sensato or razonable.


Sensiblemente: Usually means "perceptibly" or "appreciably," sometimes "painfully." A good synonym for "sensibly" is sesudamente.

Sopa: Soup, not soap.  Soap is jabón.


Suceso: Merely an event or happening, sometimes
a crime. A success is un éxito.


Tuna: Order this at a desert restaurant and you'll get edible cactus. The fish is atún.


A final note: Especially in the United States, Spanish doesn't exist in a vacuum. In the United States,
you may hear some speakers, especially those who frequently speak Spanglish, use some of these false cognates when speaking Spanish.  A few of these usages may be creeping into the language elsewhere, although they would still be considered substandard.

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)

DAYS OF THE WEEK

In Spanish-speaking countries, the week begins on Monday. 

lunes
Monday

martes
Tuesday

miércoles
Wednesday

jueves
Thursday

viernes
Friday

sábado
Saturday

domingo
Sunday 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice that the days of the week are not capitalized. 

lunes
martes
miércoles
jueves
viernes
sábado
domingo 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The days of the week are all masculine. 

el lunes
el martes
el miércoles
el jueves
el viernes
el sábado
el domingo 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When used with the days of the week, the definite article has the special meaning "on." 

No trabajo el lunes.
I don't work on Monday.

No trabajo los martes.
I don't work on Tuesdays.

Hay una fiesta el miércoles.
There is a party on Wednesday.

Hay muchas fiestas los viernes.
There are many parties on Fridays. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Days of the week ending in -s do not change form in the plural. Only the article changes. 

el lunes
los lunes

el martes
los martes

el miércoles
los miércoles

el jueves
los jueves

el viernes
los viernes

el sábado
los sábados

el domingo
los domingos 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Use the verb ser to express the day. You will soon learn more about this verb. For now, simply realize that the word "es" is a conjugation of that verb, and is the correct verb in this use. 

¿Qué día es hoy?
What day is today?

Hoy es lunes.
Today is Monday. 

Mañana es martes.
Tomorrow is Tuesday. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notice that the following actions do not occur in the present, but rather in the near future. 

Salimos el lunes.
We leave on Monday.

Mañana es domingo.
Tomorrow is Sunday. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Spanish, the present tense of the indicative is sometimes used to express the near future. English does this too. 

Salimos el lunes.
We (will) leave on Monday.

Mañana es domingo.
Tomorrow (will be) is Sunday. 

(courtesy: spanish.about.com)

HOW DO YOU SAY "TO HAVE TO DO SOMETHING" IN SPANISH?

Tener que + infinitive is one way to express obligation or necessity. This expression can be translated as "someone has to do something." Tener is conjugated according to the subject of the sentence. 

Tengo que comer las verduras.
I have to eat the vegetables.

Ángel tiene que leer el periódico.
Ángel has to read the newspaper.

Ellos tienen que comprar una revista.
They have to buy a magazine. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hay que + infinitive is used to express the idea of "one must do something" or, "it is necessary to do something." It is a more general expression and since there is no subject, the verb form hay is always used. 

Hay que tomar un taxi.
It is necessary to take a taxi.

Hay que estudiar mucho.
One must study a lot. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

These examples illustrate the contrasting uses of these two expressions: 

María tiene un examen el lunes. Ella tiene que estudiar.
María has a test on Monday. She has to study.

No es fácil aprender el español. Hay que practicar mucho.
It isn't easy to learn Spanish. It is necessary to practice a lot. 

(courtesy: www.studyspanish.com)


WHAT IF I WANT TO SAY THAT I'M "GOING TO DO SOMETHING"?

In Spanish, many useful expressions are formed by combining two verbs. When this occurs, the first verb is conjugated, while the second verb remains in the infinitive form. 

ir, viajar

Yo voy a viajar a España.
I am going to travel to Spain.



acabar, comer

Tú acabas de comer.
You have just eaten.



poder, nadar

Juan puede nadar.
Juan can swim.



volver, leer

María vuelve a leer el libro.
María reads the book again. 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One such expression combines the verb ir (conjugated) with an infinitive. The preposition "a" is always used. The formula is: 

ir a + infinitive = to be going to do something (in the near future) 
Voy a llevar a mi hermana a su casa.
I am going to take my sister to her house.

Vas a invitar a muchas muchachas.
You are going to invite lots of girls.

Cristina va a conversar con mi mamá.
Christina is going to talk with my mom.

Eduardo va a leer el libro.
Edward is going to read the book.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remember from the previous lesson how to conjugate the verb ir: 

voy
vas
va

vamos
vais

van 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Here are some useful words and expressions for pinpointing exactly when you are going to do something. 

hoy
today

mañana
tomorrow

más tarde
later

esta tarde
this afternoon

la semana que viene
next week

el mes que viene
next month

el año que viene
next year

esta noche
tonight

mañana por la mañana
tomorrow morning

mañana por la tarde
tomorrow afternoon

mañana por la noche
tomorrow night