RULE 3. Nouns which end in an accented vowel, or in a consonant,* take es in the plural; as Alholi, alholies, Arbol, árboles, Granary, granaries Imágen, imágenes, Image, images. Flower, flowers. alicates pincers angarillas f. hand-barrow bofes lungs Note a.-Nouns ending in ay or ey take es in the plural ; as, rey, reyes; ay, ayes. Nouns which do not increase in the Plurai. Cortaplumas, penknife; sacamuelas, toothdrawer; sacatrapos, corkscrew; brindis, a drinking toast; Lúnes, Monday; Mártes, Tuesday; Miércoles, Wednesday, Jueves, Thursday; Viernes, Friday. The following Nouns are used only in the Plural. Albricias f. a giftt pot-hanger matins manners nones llares f. maytines modales nonas f. Nouns which from the nature of their meaning are used in English in the singular only, do not in general admit the plural in Spanish; as, trigo, wheat; oro, gold, &c. *If the final consonant be a z, it must be changed into c; as, luz, luces, light, lights; nariz, narices, nuse noses; lápiz, lápices, pencil, pencils. The reward bestowed on a messenger of good news. OF THE GENDER OF NOUNS There are two methods of distinguishing the gen der in Spanish nouns; first by their meaning, and secondly by their termination. RULE 4. Nouns which signify males, or which denote dignities, professions, employments, &c. applicable to men, are masculine; and those which signify females, or the dignities, professions, &c. generally applied to women, are feminine; as, hombre, man; caballo, horse; emperador, emperor; monge, monk; sastre, tailor, &c. and muger, woman; gallina, hen; emperatris, empress; monja, nun; costurera, sempstress, &c. N.B. Haca, a pony, is always feminine. RULE 5. Nouns ending in e, i, or y, l, o, u, n, r, s, t, x, and z, are generally masculine; as, talle, shape; aleli, jilly-flower; clavel, pink; cuello, neck; espíritu, spirit; pan, bread; collar, collar; mes, month; cenit, zenith; relox, watch; barniz, varnish. RULE 6. Nouns ending in a, d, and ion, are generally feminine; as, ventana, window; salud, health; intencion, intention. Note a.-The names of the alphabetic characters, as well as of the figures of rhetoric, poetry, and grammar, (except metaplasmo, pionasmo, hyperbaton,) are feminine. Note b.-The names of sciences, arts, rivers, mountains, winds, and seasons, follow the rule of their termination: hence Dibuxo, Tajo, Helicon, Norte, Invierno, are masculine; and Teología, Escultura, Tamisa, Tramontana, Primavera, are feminine; except Etna, which is masculine. Note c.-Nouns, which are used in the plural only, are of the gender to which they would belong according to their termination, had they a singular number: thus, víveres, provisions, is masculine; and tenazas, tongs, is feminine, being the genders to which vivere and tenaza would be referred, had the said nouns a singular number: except efemérides, fasces, fauces, llares, preces, trebedes, which are feminine. Note d. The names of the musical notes which compose the octave are masculine; as el re, el mi, el la, el fa, &c. Note e.-Proper names of kingdoms, cities, towns, villages, &c. are generally of the same gender as the common name to which they belong: thus Toledo is feminine, although it ends in o, because ciudad, the common noun to which it is referred, is of that gender: but as there are some proper names which, contrary to this rule, are, when used alone, of the gender of their termination; and as the knowledge of these names cannot be obtained without considerable practice, I should recommend learners in particular to mention the common as well as the proper noun, by which means the gender will be universally fixed: thus, although we say el Ferrol and la España, when mentioned alone, we express them la ciudad de Ferrol, el reyno de España, when preceded by their common nouns. |