Spanish Reference Grammar - Nouns, articles, adjectives and adverbs

The definite article

The definite article is the word 'the' in English. In Spanish, the definite article is 'el' if the noun is masculine and 'la' if the noun is feminine. In the plural they become 'los' and 'las'.

Uses of the definite article

Sometimes the definite article is used in Spanish when not in English.  

For example, 'I like coffee' is 'me gusta el café'. 

Also, if you talk about Mr Garcia, he is 'el señor García', but if you talk to him he is 'Señor García'. This is true of all titles when used with proper names.

The indefinite article

The indefinite article in English is 'a', 'an' or 'some'.

In Spanish, the indefinite article is 'un' if the noun is masculine and 'una' if the noun is feminine.

To translate 'some', use 'unos' before a masculine plural noun and 'unas' before a feminine plural noun. However, as in English, the indefinite article can be omitted when 'some' is implied. For example:

'Tengo amigos.' - 'I have (some) friends.'

Examples of definite and indefinite articles

Here are some examples of definite and indefinite articles - masculine and feminine, singular and plural.

Contracted forms of articles

In Spanish, you cannot use 'a' together with the definite article 'el'. Instead, the two words contract to form 'al' (a + el) meaning 'to the'.

For example:

'Voy al banco.' - 'I go to the bank.'

Similarly, you cannot use 'de' together with the definite article 'el'. Instead, the two words contract to form 'del' ( de + el) meaning 'of the'.

For example:

'El libro del chico.' - 'The boy's book.'

There are no apostrophes in Spanish. If you wrote 'la aldea' ('the village'), you would not change la to l'. When it is spoken, the two letter ‘a’s run into each other and it sounds like one word.

If you want to indicate possession - for example 'John’s book' - you have to say 'el libro de Juan'.

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