Summary
Nouns, in Spanish "sustantivos" or "nombres", are the words we use to name people, animals, things, places, feelings or ideas: niño, perro, mesa, Madrid, alegría. They are one of the most important word classes, because they are almost always the core of the sentence's subject.
Spanish nouns have gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural), and usually come with determiners and adjectives. They are classified in several ways: common (perro) or proper (Madrid, written with a capital); concrete (silla) or abstract (amor); individual (abeja) or collective (enjambre); and countable (libro) or uncountable (agua).
Key points
- The noun names people, animals, things, places, ideas or feelings.
- It is usually the core of the sentence's subject.
- It has gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural).
- Common (perro) versus proper (Madrid, capitalised).
- Concrete (mesa) versus abstract (libertad).
- Individual (oveja) versus collective (rebaño).
- Countable (manzana) versus uncountable (arroz).