A question about the first lesson.

Question

In the first lesson about the irregular verb "ir", I got this question. The noun "mar" is a masc noun according to the suggestion above. But this word was written "la mar" in the example sentence, not "el mar". Please explain what makes more sense.

Is it possible for you to link to the specific lesson so that we can see where "mar" was use in that way? - Jadey7, Jan 4, 2012

This is the example that I meant: El lunes, voy al parque para jugar deportes. El viernes, voy al mar para pescar. It's in 1.7th lesson. - relucientia, Jan 4, 2012

Answer 1

In the first lesson about the irregular verb "ir", I got this question. The noun "mar" is a masc noun according to the suggestion above. But this word was written "la mar" in the example sentence, not "el mar". Please explain what makes more sense.

Hi relucientia, y ¡bienvenida al foro!

I'm not sure what example sentence you are talking about, since all the examples I saw in that Lesson used "el mar" the sea; or "al mar" to the sea ("al" being a combined form of "a" and "el"). So it seems that the lesson is consistent, at least as far as I can tell.

However, you may see or hear "la mar." Mar is an ambiguous noun - both masculine and feminine according to it's use. I've looked and there is no clear determination as to when to use "el mar" and when to use "la mar." Your best bet is to stick with "el mar" unless you happen to be with a group of people (such as Argentinians) who like to use "la mar." And if you see "la mar" in print, don't worry about it. It's poetic .

Thank you for the explanation first. the example that I meant was "El lunes, voy al parque para jugar deportes. El viernes, voy al mar para pescar." and Spanish dictionary says "mar" is a masculine noun, so I was confused. ~^^ - relucientia, Jan 4, 2012

You're welcome. Do you understand now that "la" and "al" are not the same? - ajaks, Jan 4, 2012

Very good answer,ajaks - cogumela, Jan 4, 2012

Gracias, cogumela :) - ajaks, Jan 4, 2012

Yes I got it, thanks to your answer. - relucientia, Jan 5, 2012