Continuing our series of blog posts on Spanish nouns that can be either masculine or feminine depending on meaning we look at parte.
You can listen to the pronunciation of parte in the audio clip below:
You’re likely to be most familiar with parte as a feminine noun.
Una parte often means a part of something, as in a section or area of it:
Había pasado una parte de su vida en el extranjero.
She had spent part of her life abroad.
Esta es una de las partes más interesantes del viaje.
This is one of the most interesting parts of the trip.
¿De qué parte de Mallorca es usted?
Which part of Mallorca are you from?
¿Tiene usted familia por esta parte?
Do you have any family around these parts?
Someone’s parte (feminine) in something can also be their part in it, as in their role in it:
Yo reconozco la parte de mis abuelos en la disputa.
I recognize my grandparents’ part in the dispute.
Or someone’s parte (feminine) of something can be their share of it:
Había recibido su parte del botín.
She’d received her share of the spoils.
Hay que aceptar nuestra parte de responsabilidad.
We need to accept our share of the responsibility.
Una parte can also refer to a party or side in a contract, dispute or struggle:
un acuerdo que satisface a ambas partes
an agreement that is satisfactory to both parties or sides
You’ll come across parte (feminine) in lots of set expressions too:
Están en todas partes.
They’re everywhere.
Había leído eso en alguna parte.
I’d read that somewhere.
Dedicaban la mayor parte de su tiempo al trabajo voluntario.
They spent most of their time on voluntary work.
Por una parte, él había sido contratado como guía; por otra (parte)…
On the one hand, he had been taken on as a guide; on the other (hand)…
For more set expressions involving parte, please see dictionary entry.
Un parte (masculine) has fewer senses. It can mean a report or communication of some kind:
El parte meteorológico dice que va a llover.
The weather report says it’s going to rain.
Se le entregaron los partes escritos a mano.
He was given the handwritten reports.
Según los partes médicos las niñas evolucionan favorablemente.
According to their medical reports, the girls are making good progress.
In some areas of Latin America, un parte (masculine) can mean a ticket, as in a fine:
Recibí un parte por exceso de velocidad.
I got a speeding ticket.
Don’t forget to make any articles and adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify:
en distintas partes del mundo
in various parts of the world
No es probable que el hospital facilite un nuevo parte.
The hospital is unlikely to provide a new report.
To read about another noun that can be either masculine or feminine in Spanish depending on the sense, come back next week.
