hospitales
ohs-pee-TAH-lays
📝 In Action
Todos los hospitales públicos ofrecen atención gratuita.
A2All the public hospitals offer free care.
Necesitan construir más hospitales en las zonas rurales.
B1They need to build more hospitals in rural areas.
Visitamos dos hospitales diferentes para encontrar al paciente.
A1We visited two different hospitals to find the patient.
💡 Grammar Points
Making Plurals
This word is the plural form of 'hospital'. In Spanish, when a singular noun ends in a consonant (like 'l' in 'hospital'), you add '-es' to make it plural.
Gender Agreement
Since 'hospital' is a masculine noun, 'hospitales' requires masculine articles and adjectives: use los (the) and esos (those), and remember to add an 's' to any describing words: los hospitales modernos (the modern hospitals).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Incorrect Article
Mistake: "Las hospitales"
Correction: Los hospitales. Remember 'hospital' is masculine, even though it ends in an 'l'.
⭐ Usage Tips
Pronunciation Tip
The stress falls on the syllable 'TAH' (hos-pi-TAH-les). Spanish pronunciation is very consistent, so always stress the second-to-last syllable when a word ends in a vowel, 'n', or 's'.
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: hospitales
Question 1 of 2
Which Spanish article is used correctly with 'hospitales'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 'hospital' masculine, even though it ends in 'l'?
Most Spanish nouns ending in 'l' are masculine, and 'hospital' follows this pattern. Remember this word as part of the group of masculine nouns that don't follow the common 'o' ending rule (like *el hotel* or *el papel*).
Does 'hospitales' ever mean 'hospitality'?
No. 'Hospitales' only means 'hospitals' (the buildings). The word for 'hospitality' is the related noun *hospitalidad*.