Gender and number of nouns ending in a consonant in Spanish (except -z)

Nouns ending in a consonant in Spanish

Spanish nouns that end in a consonant and refer to inanimate objects are generally masculine, although there are some exceptions. Look at these examples:

El árbol.The tree.

El sol.The sun.

El amor.Love.

La estación.The station.

La flor.The flower.

Remember that you cannot predict the gender of inanimate objects, it needs to be memorised.

Whatever the gender, they all form their plural by adding -es. 

Read and listen to these examples:

El clavel. Los claveles.The carnation. The carnations.

El portal. Los portales.The hallway. The hallways.

La coliflor. Las coliflores.The cauliflower. The cauliflowers.

El hogar. Los hogares.The home. The homes.

La ley. Las leyes.The law. The laws.

Note that some singular words have a written accent [ ' ] and this accent may disappear in the plural form, following the rules for accentuation in Spanish.

See specific rules for nouns ending in -z in Spanish:

See also:

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Examples and resources

El árbol.The tree.
El sol.The sun.
El portal. Los portales.The hallway. The hallways.
El clavel. Los claveles.The carnation. The carnations.
La estación.The station.
La flor.The flower.
El amor.Love.
La coliflor. Las coliflores.The cauliflower. The cauliflowers.
El hogar. Los hogares.The home. The homes.
La ley. Las leyes.The law. The laws.
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