Every noun is “el” or “la”
CEFR A1 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
“Ser” or “estar”: two verbs for one “to be”Choosing between “ser” and “estar” in everyday sentences: who you are and what you are…Adjectives agree, and they come afterMaking the adjective match the noun in gender and number, and putting it in its usual…You do not say “yo” every timeLeaving out the subject pronoun when the verb ending already says who it is, and putting…“El café”, “los lunes”, “el español”Putting “el”, “la”, “los” or “las” where English puts nothing: with things in general…“Tú” or “usted”: one English “you”, two Spanish onesChoosing between “tú” and “usted”, and using the verb form that goes with each: “usted”…“Me gusta”: the sentence turns roundBuilding sentences with “gustar”, “encantar”, “doler”, “interesar” and “faltar”: the…The rule, in three lines
Every Spanish noun is masculine (el) or feminine (la), including the ones that are not alive. Most nouns in -o are masculine and most in -a are feminine, but the ending is a hint and not a law: el día, el mapa, el problema, la mano, la foto. Nouns in -ción, -sión, -dad and -tad are always feminine.
The usual slip. Trusting -o and -a blindly, and learning the noun without its article. La problema and el mano both come from that.
Why it catches you out. English nouns have no gender at all, so there is nothing in your language to hang this on and no way to work it out from meaning — a table is not more feminine than a book. The fix is mechanical: learn “la mano”, never “mano”. The article is the half that carries the information you cannot guess.