arca de Noé

See also: Arca de Noé

Spanish

Proper noun

arca de Noé f

1. Noah's ark

Usage notes

• Feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like arca de Noé take the singular definite article el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el arca de Noé. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al arca de Noé, del arca de Noé.

These nouns also usually take the indefinite article un that is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una is also permitted): un arca de Noé or una arca de Noé. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) must be used: la mejor arca de Noé, una buena arca de Noé.

• If an adjective follows the noun, it must agree with the noun's gender regardless of the article used: el arca de Noé única, un(a) arca de Noé buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (las, unas etc.) are always used.

Further reading

• “arca de Noé”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10