In the Spanish language nouns can be either masculine or feminine. I remember my schooldays in Spanish class and la maestra emphasizing the el or la, the un or una that precedes a noun.
Nouns ending in o are usually masculine el disco; while those that end in a are usually feminine la casa. We should learn each noun with its corresponding article, el libro, la mesa. un libro, una mesa. Then we wouldn’t have to wonder about its gender.
It can be amazing what happens when we change the form of a word from masculine to feminine and viceversa:
For example:
El punto is a dot, a full stop or period. Another meaning is: a “point” (an idea in a statement).
La punta however, is a different kind of “point”, such as, the sharp end of a pencil.
Sacar la punta is to sharpen a pencil. To do this, we often use el sacapuntas, the sharpener.
Using another example:
la puerta el puerto
La puerta means “door” or “gate”, whereas, el puerto is Spanish for “port”.
The capital city of Trinidad and Tobago is Port of Spain; Puerto España.
Many newcomers to the language say or write Puerto de España. However, there is no need for the “de” in between. It’s considered old fashioned.
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