Most Spanish nouns ending in -ud are feminine

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Learn about Spanish nouns ending in -ud

In Spanish there are lots of nouns with the ending -ud. Most of these nouns are feminine and refer to abstract things.

Here are some examples:

Estás teniendo una actitud muy negativa.You're having a very negative attitude.

Mi marido tiene una virtud: ser extremadamente generoso.My husband has a virtue: being extremely generous.

No veía a mi amiga entre la multitud.I couldn't spot my friend among the crowd.

La salud es más importante que el dinero.Health is more important than money.

Ayer mandé la solicitud para ese trabajo.Yesterday I sent the application form for that job.

Debemos dibujar el mapa con mucha exactitud.We must draw the map with a lot of precision (exactitude).

 

Plural form of -ud Spanish nouns

The plural of all these nouns is formed by adding -es:

la actitud → las actitudes

la solicitud → las solicitudes

la virtud → las virtudes

 

Agreement

Remember that if these feminine nouns have adjectives, then the adjectives need to agree and use their feminine form too:

Una solicitud complicada
A complicated application form

Una buena virtud
A good virtue

Una actitud positiva

A positive attitude

 

Exceptions

Some exceptions to this rule are:

el ataúd - los ataúdes
coffin, coffins

el laúd - los laúdes
lute, lutes

el alud - los aludes
avalanche, avalanches

These are all masculine.

 

See also Gender of Spanish nouns ending in -umbre, -ión, -dad, -tad, -itis and -sis and their plural

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Examples and resources

La salud es más importante que el dinero.Health is more important than money.
No veía a mi amiga entre la multitud.I couldn't spot my friend among the crowd.
Mi marido tiene una virtud: ser extremadamente generoso.My husband has a virtue: being extremely generous.
Estás teniendo una actitud muy negativa.You're having a very negative attitude.
Ayer mandé la solicitud para ese trabajo.Yesterday I sent the application form for that job.
Debemos dibujar el mapa con mucha exactitud.We must draw the map with a lot of precision (exactitude).
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