Spanish word of the week: cometa

In another in our series of blog posts on Spanish nouns whose gender varies according to meaning we look at cometa.

You can listen to the pronunciation of cometa in the audio clip below:

You’re most likely to see un cometa (masculine) at night, since it is a comet, as in the celestial object with a bright tail:

El cometa Halley es visible desde la tierra cada 76 años.

Halley’s Comet is visible from earth every 76 years.

¿Es un cometa o un OVNI?

Is it a comet or a UFO?

On the other hand, you’re more likely to see una cometa (feminine) in the daytime, as it’s a kite – the sort you might like to fly on a breezy or even a still day and which often comes with a beribboned tail:

Los niños están volando una cometa en el parque.

The children are flying a kite in the park.

Llevamos la cometa a la playa.

We took the kite to the beach.

Remember to make any articles and adjectives agree in gender and number with the noun they modify:

Entre los objetos más bellos y notables del sistema solar se cuentan los cometas.

Comets are among the most beautiful and most striking objects in the solar system.

Su pasión secreta son las cometas, que ella misma diseña, construye y decora.

Her secret passion is kites, which she designs, builds and decorates herself.

IN SUMMARY

Even though it ends in -a, cometa is masculine when it refers to the objeto celestial (celestial object).

It’s feminine when it’s a toy you can fly.

Why not come back next week for another in our series of blog posts on Spanish nouns whose gender varies according to sense.