el ala - if it's feminine, why not la ala?

Question

If we use las alas, then why not la ala? Does this have to do with the difficulty in sounding it out?

What about el dia? There is no difficulty sounding that out. - werickson, Oct 16, 2011

Answer 1

What about el dia? There is no difficulty sounding that out.

Then what about el dia?

Día is masculine.

El día.

Los días.

But that makes sense because both singular and plural are both masculine. It's the crossovers that I get confused with. - katydew, Oct 17, 2011

Answer 2

Don't be surprised if you see the rule violated often. After all, Spanish speakers don't always use perfect grammar any more than English speakers do.

Look at this wiki article:

El ala es una mano abierta cubierta por membrana (patagio), el vuelo es lento y de gran maniobrabilidad (a diferencia de las aves).

But in the picture adjacent to that sentence:

Answer 3

Example el aguila se lastimo la ala.

Answer 4

Yes it's the same as el agua which is also feminine, however, in the plural it's las aguas. I believe it might have something to do with cacophony, where the two a's mix with each other.

Thank you. Is there a list on SD of these unusual creatures? - katydew, Oct 16, 2011

Then what about el dia? - werickson, Oct 16, 2011

Answer 5

Ala puede ser femenino o masculino depende a lo q te quieres referir

Answer 6

El agua.

Yes, you are correct in your suspicion that it has to do with sounding it out.

La ala would sound like "lala.'

We say las alas because the "s" in "las" removes this problem.

Thanks for the added link. - katydew, Oct 16, 2011