Continuing with our pairs of Spanish nouns whose meanings can be completely different depending on whether they are masculine (and end in -o in the singular and -os in the plural) or feminine (and end in -a in the singular and -as in the plural), we move on to cubierto and cubierta and their commonest meanings.
Starting with cubierto, you can listen to its pronunciation in the audio clip below:
Un cubierto with an –o (masculine) often has a strong connection with meals and how you eat them.
If you don’t like eating with your fingers, remember that un cubierto can mean an individual piece of cutlery (termed flatware in the United States) — whether it’s un cuchillo (a knife), un tenedor (a fork), una cuchara (a spoon) or something else — while los cubiertos means the cutlery/flatware:
Recogió sin prisa el plato y los cubiertos usados.
He unhurriedly picked up the used plate and cutlery.
Necesito un cubierto para la ensalada.
I need a utensil (or piece of cutlery) for the salad.
Un cubierto can also denote the items required for an individual place setting, whether referring to just the cutlery part of it or the plates, glasses, napkins etc too:
La cesta de picnic lleva platos, mantel y seis cubiertos.
The picnic hamper contains plates, a tablecloth and settings for six.
Concluida la cena, mis padres retiraron los cubiertos de la mesa.
Once the dinner was over, my parents cleared the table.
La celebración, que incluía una cena a 20 euros el cubierto, fue todo un éxito.
The celebration, which included a dinner at 20 euros a head, was a great success.
Especially in expressions, cubierto with an –o (masculine) can mean cover or shelter ‒ it is also used figuratively:
La violencia del aguacero no le permitió pensar en otra cosa que en ponerse a cubierto.
The heavy downpour meant she could think of nothing but getting under cover.
Demuestra que el progreso de la medicina no nos pone a cubierto de nuevos virus o bacterias.
It shows that developments in medicine don’t protect us or keep us safe from new viruses or bacteria.
Switching to cubierta (feminine), you can listen to how it sounds in the audio clip below:
You’re likely to find a cubierta on top of something, since una cubierta can be a cover or covering, as well as, by extension, a roof:
Las mesas tenían una cubierta plástica transparente encima del mantel.
The tables had a transparent plastic cover or covering over the tablecloth.
Había un dibujo de una calavera en la cubierta.
There was a picture of a skull on the cover.
But if taking a boat trip, you might well enjoy the sea breeze on la cubierta as it can mean the deck, whether on a yacht or an ocean liner:
Los pasajeros disfrutan de barbacoas en la cubierta del barco.
The passengers enjoy barbecues on the deck of the boat.
Moving to a potentially less relaxing form of travel (that is, by road), una cubierta (feminine) can also be a tyre or, in the States, tire:
unas cubiertas que se adaptan a la cantidad y tipo de nieve
tyres which adapt to the type and quantity of snow
Remember to make any articles and adjectives agree with the noun they modify:
cubiertos limpios
clean cutlery
una cubierta protectora
a protective cover
la venta de cubiertas nuevas y recauchutadas
the sale of new and remoulded tyres
DID YOU KNOW?
Cubierto is also the irregular past participle of the verb cubrir (to cover), and cubierto can also be used as an adjective meaning covered:
El humo del incendio había cubierto la capital.
Smoke from the fire had completely covered the capital.
Su escritorio estaba cubierto de carpetas y libros.
His desk was covered with folders and books.
To read about another pair of nouns whose meaning varies substantially depending on their gender and ending, come back next week.
