There are words that have an ambiguous gender, that is, they can be considered masculine or feminine, therefore they can carry the article “el” or “la”. For this reason, have you ever wondered: how do you say the sea or the sea? Luckily this time the answer is: both ways are correct.
Perhaps it is more common to say “the sea” when we read in a Geography book and “the sea” when we read it in a poem. Although both ways are correct we say: the Mediterranean Sea or the Caspian Sea, it would never occur to us to say: the Mediterranean Sea or the Caspian Sea.
However, in a poem it is very common to read: She ran towards the sea or On the sea the sun shone.
The Royal Spanish Academy accepts both the feminine and the masculine, although by usage the feminine is assigned to all those expressions that are related to people linked to the sea, such as sailors, fishermen, swimmers, etc.
We will see several examples of the use of the masculine and feminine so that you do not have any doubts about how to say the sea or the sea.
What do you need to say the sea or the sea?
- Lots of reading books, magazines, newspapers
- Pencil and paper
Instructions to say the sea or the sea
- The sea and the sea, both expressions are correct and accepted by the Royal Spanish Academy. But they are not used interchangeably but in some cases the masculine is used and in others the feminine.
- If we only refer to the common noun “sea” we can say “the sea” or “the sea” but if we add an adjective, or the word is within a certain context we must opt for the masculine or feminine.
- When we add a qualifying adjective we are already assigning it a gender, for example:
- That day the ship was at sea. In this case it is feminine, the adjective “ high” clearly denotes it.
- The sailors put out to sea at dawn.
- The swimmers were never afraid, so they entered the sea despite being lying down.
- Restless sea, calm sea… the beauty of the sea has no limits.
- The sun floods the mirror of the sea with light while the birds break the stillness of the sky at dawn.
- The man looked for in the immensity of the sea the answers that he could not find on earth.
- We can consider the sea masculine when we say:
- I looked in the geography book and couldn’t find that strangely named sea .
- The Mediterranean Sea is one of the seas located in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Every time I go to the sea. I enjoy the best dishes from my favorite restaurant.
- The wind was whipping the sails of my boat while the waves of the sea attacked us strongly.
- The sea is rough, it is not the best time to go sailing.
Tips for saying the sea or the sea
- Read a lot to see the differences in the use of the word sea with feminine or masculine articles and adjectives.
- It promotes reading in children and adolescents so that doubts about spelling are reduced to a minimum.