Gender of "agua"?

Question

According to your dictionaries, and two of mine, agua is a feminine noun. However another I have book states it is masculine. And the locals here in Costa Rica say "el agua", but "agua fria", and "agua helada". Which is it? Thanks ,Fred

Answer 1

Agua is a feminine noun. Feminine nouns beginning with a stressed "a" sound - like agua, águila, and hache - take "el" instead of "la", but use "las" in the plural. This avoids the running together of the a in la and the a beginning the word to follow.

You've been misinformed :P - Felixlynx, Sep 7, 2011

No, I made a careless error, which I corrected. - Jeremias, Sep 7, 2011

Perfectamente bien contestado, Jeremías. Wonderful avatar. Saludos. - LuisCache, Sep 8, 2011

They also take "un" instead of "una", but use "unas" in the plural for the same reason. - LuisCache, Sep 8, 2011

Answer 2

"Agua" is feminine. The only time it is irregular, is when there is a singular article in front

People use "el/un agua" because "la/una agua" is so hard to say. The same goes for other feminine words that begin with a stressed "a".

You would say "las aguas", "unas aguas", and all adjectives are feminine.

Answer 3

This link should help you.

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