por que el sofa

Question

Why does sofa ending with an a, have el in the front and not la?

Answer 1

Porque "sofá" es una palabra masculina.

Answer 2

Because sofá is masculine.
The rule about a = feminine and o = masculine is only a general rule. It's a good one and works 95% of the time, but there are exceptions. La mano and el mapa are classic examples. When working on my vocabulary and memorizing nouns I always include the article because that will tell you if the word is masculine or feminine 99% of the time. Watch out for feminine nouns that begin with "A" such as "agua". It is a feminine word but in the singular you would say "el agua".

Better yet, article + adjective (e.g. el agua fría), then you'll never go wrong. - samdie, Nov 6, 2011

clarify: does this mean 'El agua' but 'Las aguas'? Or consistently 'Los aguas'? - mathslover, Nov 7, 2011

Answer 3

Articles are masculine or feminine not according to their ending, but according to the "that is just the way it is" rule. Like mentioned above, 95% of the time the ending indicates the gender. However, the ones that don't follow that rule have to be memorized. Don't think too deeply about it, just do it! (I had a hard time with this a few years ago, too.)

Answer 4

Because sofá is masculine.
The rule about a = feminine and o = masculine is only a general rule. It's a good one and works 95% of the time, but there are exceptions. La mano and el mapa are classic examples. When working on my vocabulary and memorizing nouns I always include the article because it will tell you if the word is masculine or feminine 99% of the time. Watch out for feminine nouns that begin with "A" such as "agua". It is a feminine word but in the singular you would say "el agua".

Answer 5

¿por que el sofá y no la sofá?