El calor or la calor

Question

In the lesson, you say

"Calor" is more commonly feminine in southern Spain and some Latin American countries.

This means that in other parts of Spain (i.e. most of it) it is masculine.

The question in the quiz therefore asking if "mucha calor" is correct should therefore accept both answers, yes and no.

Likewise with other nouns which can be both feminine and masculine, what is the point of asking the yes/no question when both are possible? If we look at the "rules" then we have a 50:50 chance of being wrong no matter what we put. So please could you either change the questions, or remove this lesson.

Accepted Answer

Hola Barbara
Sorry for the delay in responding to your question.

Thank you for bringing this to our attention! The gender usage for the word "calor" indeed varies geographically, with "el calor" being more universally accepted while "la calor" is commonly used in southern Spain and some Latin American countries. This variation makes "calor" a unique case in the Spanish language, reflecting the rich diversity within the Spanish-speaking world.
Regarding your sentence," both "mucho calor" and "mucha calor" can be considered correct, depending on the regional linguistic preferences.
Therefore, when faced with a question about the correctness of this word with a feminine gender, the answer is yes (both genders are correct).
Saludos
Silvia