Why is 'agua' feminine if you say 'el agua'?

The word 'agua' is indeed feminine, although we use the masculine article 'el' with it to avoid something called cacophony, which basically means it sounds bad or uncomfortable if we use 'la'. This applies to feminine words that begin with a stressed /a/, so if you look at agua, you'll notice it begins with an /a/ sound and the emphasis falls on that syllable. Thus, instead of 'la agua', which can sound a bit of a mouthful, we say 'el agua' instead.
Similar words like this are el hada, the fairy, or el aula, the classroom.

Answered by Spanish tutor

6578 Views

See similar Spanish A Level tutors

Related Spanish A Level answers

All answers ▸

When do I use the subjunctive past?


How do I use and form the imperative tense?


La vida nuestra es cada vez más rápida, lo que es perjudicial para nuestra salud. Desarrolla el tema


I really don't understand the subjunctive, please help!


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences