Another week, another pair of Spanish nouns to dig into. This week it is the turn of the masculine suelo and feminine suela, which mean very different things.
El suelo with an –o (masculine) is the commoner of the two. You can hear how it is pronounced here:
When it’s outside, el suelo can be the ground beneath your feet; inside a building it can be the floor:
Se sentó en el suelo, apoyado en la tapia.
He sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall.
Acababa de fregar el suelo.
He had just washed the floor.
El suelo can also mean soil, in the sense of both earth and land:
el tipo de suelo (arcilloso o arenoso)
the soil type (clayey or sandy)
Ya no hay bases extranjeras sobre suelo nacional.
There are no longer any foreign bases on national soil or territory.
Turning to the less common suela, you can hear how it’s pronounced here:
The everyday meaning of la suela with an –a (feminine) is sole, that part of your shoe that comes into contact with the ground:
Se limpió la suela de los zapatos en la esterilla de yute.
He wiped the soles of his shoes on the jute mat.
Quizá decidas comprarte unos zapatos de suela más gruesa.
You might decide to buy some shoes with a thicker sole.
Remember to make any articles and adjectives agree with the noun they modify:
un suelo pegajoso
a sticky floor
Son imprescindibles zapatos de suela dura.
Hard-soled shoes are essential.
To read about another pair of nouns whose meaning varies substantially depending on their gender and ending, come back next week.
