Spanish language Q&A Forum

Would you explain why it is el hacha afilada, but it is una ave bonita, please.  Both have feminine modifiers.  I’m becoming more confused as I go.  

Here’s an explanation that I found elsewhere:

“Feminine nouns that begin with a stressed "a-" or "ha-" sound in Spanish use the definite article "el" in the singular."

The example given is:
"Who's incredibly attractive; a real night owl.  Sí, pero indica que no es un ave de paso.”

The above example uses un, not una.

Doesn't it depend on what the speaker wants to express, whether a subjunctive or indicative of sonar would be used here? Wouldn't "Cuando suena" (indicative) also be a valid way to put it, if the speaker thinks about the event as actually happening?

Because if so, I wouldn't know which answer to pick in the quiz, because they were presented as alternatives.

Thank you!

I had to use process of elimination to get the right answer - I couldn't see anywhere it references positively that you sometimes have to change the verb ending to que to go from se acerca to acérquese?

Do you have something to help with that?

Thank you!