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Why MuchOS TuristAS?

Hi there!
I'm confused :confused:

over something that is probably very simple, but...
I have always been taught that when using 'mucho,' it has to agree in gender and in number with the nouns it is describing...

So why do you use the masc. form of mucho when describing what seems to be a feminine word, 'turistAS?'

Is it just a weird exception or...?
Thanks xx

Reply 1

Anna Schoon

Original post by sthompson897

Hi there!
I'm confused :confused:

Not an exception at all; turista is a masculine word when it is used for tourists in general, and only feminine if it is referring to a specific female tourist. So muchos turistas is just "lots of tourists". If you said muchas turistas you would be saying that all the tourists were women! The words dentista, artista, atleta, astronauta, comentarista (amongst others)work in the same way.

There are lots of words in Spanish which end in -a which are masculine, so make sure you know these:

el aroma — aroma
el Canadá — Canada
el clima — climate
el cólera — cholera (but la cólera, anger)
el cometa — comet (but la cometa, kite)
el cura — priest (but la cura, cure)
el día — day
el diagrama — diagram
el dilema — dilemma
el diploma — diploma
el drama — drama
el enigma — enigma
el esquema — outline, diagram
el guardia — policeman or male guard (but la guardia, vigilance)
el guía — male guide (but la guía, guidebook or female guide)
el idioma — language
el idiota — male idiot (but la idiota, female idiot)
el indígena — indigenous male (but la indígena, indigenous female)
el mañana — near future (but la mañana, tomorrow or morning)
el mapa — map
el morfema — morpheme
el panorama — panorama, outlook
el papa — the pope (but la papa, potato)
el planeta — planet
el plasma — plasma
el poema — poem
el policía — policeman (but la policía, police force or policewoman)
el problema — problem
el programa — program
el quechua — Quechua language
el reuma, el reúma — rheumatism
el síntoma — symptom, sign
el sistema — system
el sofá — sofa
el tanga — G-string
el telegrama — telegram
el tema — theme, subject
el teorema — theorem
el tequila — tequila (short for el licor de Tequila)
el tranvía — streetcar

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