📖LearnModule 1 · Lesson 7 of 30Basic User · CEFR A1, first halfUnit 2 · ¿El o la? First nouns
Un and una — a and an, in two genders
Module 1 of the free Spanish course (CEFR A1, first half), lesson 7 of 30: Spanish "a / an" follows the same split: un libro for an el-word. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
la puerta
the door
lah PWEHR-tah
la bicicleta
the bicycle
lah bee-see-KLEH-tah
la manzana
the apple
lah mahn-SAH-nah
la pelota
the ball
lah peh-LOH-tah
la flor
the flower
lah FLOHR
el árbol
the tree
ehl AR-bohl
la estrella
the star
lah ehs-TREH-yah
el regalo
the present
ehl rreh-GAH-loh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
Hear the words
Each word is read twice — say it back in the gap. Computer-generated voice; credits on the course page.
La regla · The rule
Spanish "a / an" follows the same split: un libro for an el-word, una mesa for a la-word. If you know a word's el or la, its un or una comes free.
Y también · And also
Test yourself both directions: hear la puerta, produce una puerta; hear un regalo, produce el regalo. From now on every new noun arrives with both articles attached.
Ojo · Watch out
un/una and el/la belong to the same noun: una puerta because it is la puerta. The noun keeps its gender whatever article stands in front.
Do it now — on paper
Say all 8 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la puerta.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write two sentences of your own that get the watch-out line right, then the two practice pages of workbook lesson 7 in Module 1 are the written half of this page.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.