"El aula" for classroom????? Lesson 2.11
The dictionary lists "aula" as feminine for classroom. Yet the flashcard and recognition sections of Lesson 2.11 use "el aula." How can this be correct?
I do not know if this is the right place to ask this question or where to look for an answer, since I could not find any instructions on the Spanishdict site about posting messages.But if this is the wrong place and you do not know the answer, whatever you can do to forward my question to the appropriate party or guide me in the proper procedure will be most appreciated?
Many thanks
15 Answers
We used to have a separate section for Paralee's classes, but I haven't seen it lately.
Anyway, to answer your question..yes, aula is feminine and yes, it is el aula. There is a family of words in Spanish beginning with a or ha and having the stress on the first syllable that uses the masculine definite article for phonetic reasons (it is too hard to say la aula distinctly). The word agua is one one the most well known examples. It it el agua, but agua is feminine. The plural of the words use the feminine definite article since the phonetic problem no longer exists. It is las aulas and las aguas.
If you do a discussion search this topic is discussed from time to time.
Unfortunately there is a flashcard list with the following title right on the first page of the lists (sic):
La aula de clases
this should be "el aula".
Who is the queen in the realm of Flashcards? Command one of your minions to fix the error. If not, off to the guillotine. Chop off their fingers and they won't be making any more faulty lists.
In Mexico you'll find lot of people speaking like this:
l'aula
l'agua
l'águila
of course it's wrong but that the way it is.
I meant to add: as supposed to "el tercer aula" or la tercera aula?
And is it correct to say for example "la tercera aula" when writing or is it always the say as the spoken form?
Hello, is "la tercer aula" (the third classroom) therefore correct?
James,
After thinking it over, I'm sure you're right. Indeed, a Mexican would never say la agua, even though I thought I had heard it. Thank you for your comment; I get smarter as I go along...
--Eeek
!!!Hola Heidita!!!,
Gracias por su saludo. Encantado de verle otra vez seguramente. Quizás usted y Eddy me recuerdan debido a mi belleza. No puede ser a causa de mi español.
--Eeek
(I've been saying la agua for years and I've heard it in Mexico.)
I find that hard to believe. I suspect that what you have actually heard is similar to what another poster wrote in this thread. That is, the E in "el agua" is not pronounced distinctly, or at all, so the result sounds like l'agua. Because of the possible elision of the A's in words such as "la autoridad," you probably thought that the same had happened with "la agua," forming "l'agua," but that is not the case. It is also possible that the E is being elided with another word, as in "Dame el agua," which often comes out as "damelagua."
Again, I seriously doubt that there are native Spanish speakers who would say "la agua."
eeker!!! 
I, and I am sure, Eddy too, remember you well. Some of the members lost all their
points and all too. We all lost our PMs.
But we DO remember you!! Welcome back
!Hola Eddy! It's good to be back. I study this board a lot--it's extremely helpful, informative, and FUN--but I don't post a lot. I'll try to become more a part of the gang.
Just to let you know, after the outage there was no record of my account, so I had to start from scratch. I established a new account with the same name, pw, and photo with no duplication conflict, and found that all my earlier correspondence was gone. So now I'm an absolute Newbie again.
Muchas gracias por su saludo.
--Eeeker
The dictionary lists "aula" as feminine for classroom. Yet the flashcard and recognition sections of Lesson 2.11 use "el aula." How can this be correct?
I do not know if this is the right place to ask this question or where to look for an answer, since I could not find any instructions on the Spanishdict site about posting messages.But if this is the wrong place and you do not know the answer, whatever you can do to forward my question to the appropriate party or guide me in the proper procedure will be most appreciated?
Many thanks
Hi Big Guy
I think this is better placed under Vocabulary/Grammar to where I have moved it. Correction of texts is where you want something proofread.
A few days ago, the question was raised about how to pronounce the. The answer is that you pronounce thee before a vowel (as in the ocean or the apple), or tha otherwise (the pencil). The reason is to smooth the transition of the into the next word.
I was surprised to learn that in Spanish the actual article is changed for the same reason. (I've been saying la agua for years and I've heard it in Mexico.) I'm hoping that the parallel with English will help native Spanish speakers understand the pronunciation of English.
I'm so happy that SpanishDict is back! Now they won't have to adjust my
medication.
Hola Eeeker
Bienvenido de nuevo
Eddy
A few days ago, the question was raised about how to pronounce the. The answer is that you pronounce thee before a vowel (as in the ocean or the apple), or tha otherwise (the pencil). The reason is to smooth the transition of the into the next word.
I was surprised to learn that in Spanish the actual article is changed for the same reason. (I've been saying la agua for years and I've heard it in Mexico.) I'm hoping that the parallel with English will help native Spanish speakers understand the pronunciation of English.
I'm so happy that SpanishDict is back! Now they won't have to adjust my medication.
Unfortunately there is a flashcard list with the following title right on the first page of the lists (sic):
La aula de clases
this should be "el aula".
Also the gender of adjectives needs to agree with "aula." For example, if you wanted to say the small classroom you should say "el aula pequeña" or "las aulas pequeñas"
