Language/Galician/Grammar/Gender-and-Number
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Galician nouns and articles are very crucial to be acquainted with in order to construct grammatically correct sentences. In this lesson, you will learn about the gender and number of nouns in Galician, and how they affect articles.
Gender of Nouns
In Galician, all nouns have a gender, either feminine or masculine. Unlike in English, where some nouns are neutral, Galician nouns are either one or the other.
Feminine nouns usually end in -a while most masculine nouns end in -o, although there are some nouns that end in a consonant or other vowels.
Here are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| casa | kah-sah | house (feminine) |
| manzana | man-thah-nah | apple (feminine) |
| libro | lee-broh | book (masculine) |
| perro | peh-rrroh | dog (masculine) |
It is important to learn the gender of the nouns because it affects the articles that come before them.
Definite and Indefinite Articles
Like in English, Galician has both definite and indefinite articles. Let's look at them more closely.
Definite Article
The Galician definite article can be translated to "the" in English. The definite article agrees in gender and number with the noun that it modifies.
When the noun is feminine and singular, the definite article is "a". When the noun is masculine and singular, the definite article is "o". When the noun is plural, the definite article is "os" for masculine plural and "as" for feminine plural.
Here are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| a casa | ah kah-sah | the house (feminine singular) |
| a manzana | ah man-thah-nah | the apple (feminine singular) |
| o libro | oh lee-broh | the book (masculine singular) |
| os perros | ohss peh-rros | the dogs (masculine plural) |
Notice how the definite article changes according to the gender and number of the noun.
Indefinite Article
The indefinite article can be translated to "a/an" in English. Like the definite article, it also agrees in gender and number with the noun it modifies.
When the noun is feminine and singular, the indefinite article is "unha". When the noun is masculine and singular, the indefinite article is "un". When the noun is plural, the indefinite article is "uns" for masculine plural and "unhas" for feminine plural.
Here are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| unha casa | oon-yah kah-sah | a house (feminine singular) |
| unha manzana | oon-yah man-thah-nah | an apple (feminine singular) |
| un libro | oon lee-broh | a book (masculine singular) |
| uns perros | oon-ss peh-rros | some dogs (masculine plural) |
Number of Nouns
In Galician, nouns can be singular or plural. Singular nouns refer to one person, place, thing or idea while plural nouns refer to more than one.
The following are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| singular: unha galleta | oon-yah gah-yet-tah | a cookie | plural: dúas galletas | doo-ash gah-yet-tas | two cookies |
| singular: o rapaz | oh rah-pahth | the boy | plural: os rapaces | ohss rah-pah-thess | the boys |
Plural nouns usually end in -s, though there are some that don't follow this rule.
It's important to note that the number of the noun affects the article that comes before it.
Definite Article with Plural Nouns
When using the definite article with plural nouns, "os" is used for masculine plural nouns while "as" is used for feminine plural nouns.
Here are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| os libros | ohss lee-brohss | the books (masculine plural) |
| as galletas | ahss gah-yet-tahs | the cookies (feminine plural) |
Indefinite Article with Plural Nouns
When using the indefinite article with plural nouns, "uns" is used for masculine plural nouns while "unhas" is used for feminine plural nouns.
Here are some examples:
| Galician | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| uns libros | oonss lee-brohss | some books (masculine plural) |
| unhas galletas | oon-yahss gah-yet-tahs | some cookies (feminine plural) |
Conclusion
In this lesson, you learned about the gender and number of nouns in Galician, and how they affect articles. You also learned the Galician definite and indefinite articles and how they must agree with the gender and number of the nouns they modify.
Knowing the gender and number of nouns in Galician is an essential aspect of learning the language, as it affects the articles that come before them. Keep practicing and you will be able to master these concepts in no time!
Other Lessons
- Be Polite
- Irregular Verbs
- How to Use Be
- Adjective Agreement
- Subject Pronouns
- Possessive Case in Galician
- Definite and Indefinite Articles
- Object Pronouns
- Pronouns
- Adjectives
Sources
| ◀️ Definite and Indefinite Articles — Previous Lesson | Next Lesson — Family Members ▶️ |