There are four types of nouns in Spanish. After you learn about them, you can practice number and gender here:
Common and proper Nouns
Common nouns refer to objects with similar characteristics: libros (books), animales (animals), gatos (cats), perros (dogs,) gente (people), ciudadanos (citizens), etc. Proper nouns, on the other hand, particularize an object or a person: Luis, Juan, Londres, Japón, París, María, Raúl, Inglaterra, Australia.
There is a characteristic that will help you distinguish common nouns from proper nouns. Notice how common nouns are usually accompanied by an article, whereas proper nouns stand alone:
1. La niña nada muy bien. (The girl swims very well.)
2. El coche está roto. (The car is broken.)
3. El perro es negro. (The dog is black.)
4. Luis es joven. (Luis is young.)
5. Lima es la capital de Perú. (Lima is the capital of Peru.)
6. París es una ciudad hermosa. (Paris is a beautiful city).
As you can see, proper nouns are always written with a capital letter: Juan, Marcos, París, Lima, Perú, Bangkok. Although this is a general rule, keep in mind that there are a few proper nouns that are accompanied by an article. These include cities (Los Angeles, Las Palmas, La Coruña) and countries (La India, Los Países Bajos, Los Estados Unidos). Also, all rivers, mountains and seas must have an article: el río Mehkong, el Océano Pacífico, los Pirineos, el Everest, etc.
Abstract and concrete nouns
Abstract nouns express intangible actions or qualities that exist but can not be touched or seen:
Concrete nouns, on the other hand, refer to things that exist, have existed, or will exist in a material sense:
- hermano (brother)
- libro (book)
- car (coche) - ciudad (city)
Some nouns may be used either in a concrete or in an abstract sense, or may change from abstract to concrete when used in plural. For example:
- La construcción de esta casa duró seis meses. (abstract)
(The building of this house took 6 months.)
- Las construcciones antiguas son muy numerosas en esta ciudad. (concrete)
(Old buildings are great in number in this city.)
Countable and mass nouns
Countable nouns refer to things that can be counted: libros, aviones, coches, ferrocarriles, etc. If a noun refers to something indivisible it is known as a mass noun. Most of the time these nouns have no plural in a grammatical sense:
- aire (air)
- éter (ether)
- agua (water)
Be aware that nouns can be either countable or mass depending on the meaning of the sentence:
Countable: Veo un pollo en el gallinero. (I see a chicken on the house.)
Mass: Como pollo todos los dias. (I eat chicken every day.)
Collective or individual nouns:
Normally nouns refer only to one thing (individual nouns), but collective nouns refer to things regarded as a group and therefore grammatically singular:
- El ejército venció al enemigo. (The army defeated the enemy.)
- Ahí hay una bandada de gaviotas. (There is a flock of seagulls over there.)
- El gobierno aumentó los impuestos. (The government raised taxes.)
- La gente de Bangkok es muy amable. (The people of Bangkok are very kind.)
Click here to practice the gender of Spanish nouns.
