Why do some words ending in "á" have the el article in front of them?

Question

For example: El Sofá

Answer 1

The accent ( ' ) shows you where to stress the word. The article has nothing to do with it. If you are wondering why it is masculine ending in -a, you better be aware that there are hundreds of masculine words in Spanish ending in a. Ending in -a is by no means guarantee that the word will be feminine. Statistically you’ll get it right often, but you’ll make many mistakes. On the other hand, words ending in -o are nearly always masculine (about 10 exceptions or less).

Could you list those 10 exception to the "-o is masculine rule?" - --Mariana--, May 6, 2011

I know some: mano foto radio moto modelo miembro (last two can be both m & f) - Deanski, May 6, 2011

Deanski: foto is not one of them. Because it's originally "fotografía" , foto is only an abbreviation. - culé, May 6, 2011

Answer 2

Welcome to the forum.

Yes, the gender of nouns can be really confusing, especially with the exceptions to the "a = feminine" and "o = masculine" rule.

Here’s a link to a great article in the Reference section on the gender of nouns. You should feel a little clearer after you read this. Also, Here's a list of some of the exceptions to the "rule," for example "la mano" and "el dia."

Answer 3

As I discovered just two days ago, some words that end in "a" begin with "a" --- and saying "la agua" or "la alma" just doesn't work. Of course, English is more weird, it doesn't matter what letter (consonant or vowel) a noun begins with, you use "an" if a word between "an" and the noun begins with a consonant, even if the noun begins with a vowel. (e.g., an alternative instruction, a nasty abrasion) 8-p

and exceptions like an hour - 0074b507, May 6, 2011

"Hour" is not an exception to the rule. The rule says you use "an" when the next vowel begins with a vowel sound, and "hour", "heir", "honour"... fall into that category. - lazarus1907, Sep 1, 2011

Similarly, "unique", "union"... begin with a (semi)consonant sound even though the first letter is a vowel, so you say " - lazarus1907, Sep 1, 2011

Answer 4

The worst words are those like orden that have different definitions when used as masculine or feminine.

Answer 5

Could you list those 10 exception to the "-o is masculine rule?"

Well, it might not be exactly 10. In any case, they are not real exceptions, because there is not really a rule here, but these are the ones I can think of (with a reason):

mano (this is the most puzzling one, so to say)

libido

nao

polio

loto (=lotería)

moto (=motocicleta)

radio (=radiodifusión)

demo (foreign short for demonstration)

felatio

macro (also masculine).

Is felatio a misspelling - or was there an early Latin form with just one "l"? - Lector_Constante, May 6, 2011