Common nouns terminating in an, on, or, add an a to form the feminine; as lion, leon; lioness, leona; shepherd, pastor; shepherdess, pastora.
CASE.
There are two cases, the Nominative and the Objective. The Nominative case expresses the subject of the verb; as, The man gives, El hombre da. The Objective case is either direct or indirect. It is direct when it is the immediate object of the action of the verb; as, The man gives alms, El hombre da limosna. It is indirect (called also complement) when it is the term, or end of the action expressed by the verb; as, The man gives alms to the poor, El hombre da limosna á los pobres. When the object direct of an active verb is the noun of a rational being, or a proper noun, or thing personified, it must be preceded by the preposition á; as, The brother loves his sister, El hermano ama á su hermana. The brother loves his money, El hermano ama su dinero.
AUGMENTATIVE AND DIMINUTIVE NOUNS.
Augmentative nouns are those that increase the extent of their signification by adding on, ote, or azo, to the masculine nouns, and ona, ota, or aza, to the feminine, suppressing their last letter, should it be a, e, or o; as, a boy, un muchacho; a big boy, un muchachon; a girl, una muchacha; a big girl, una muchachona. The termination azo frequently signifies the blow, or injury caused by the object to which it is added; as, whip, látigo; a very large whip, un latigazo; a stroke with a whip, un latigazo.
Diminutive nouns are formed by adding ito, illo, ico, or uelo for the masculine, and ita, illa, ica, or uela for the feminine, to the noun, which suppresses its last letter if it be a or e; as, a boy, un muchacho; a little boy, un muchachito, un muchachillo, un muchachuelo; a girl, una muchacha; a little girl, una muchachita, una muchachilla, una muchachuela.
N. B.—The terminations, ito, ita, &c., added to christian names, or those that express relationship, indicate love, affection, and regard towards the object; thus, hermanita, dear sister; Juanito, esteemed John, &c.
ADJECTIVES.
Adjectives ending in o are masculine, and change it into a to form the feminine; as, fine, fino, fina. Those ending in any other letter are common to both genders; as, prudent, prudente; useful, útil.