Spanish 1.6. The Articles

The Articles in Spanish are either definite or indefinite. All nouns are either masculine or feminine. There are no neuter nouns in Spanish.

Indefinite Articles

The indefinite articles in Spanish are “un” (for singular masculine) and “una” (for singular feminine). These are equivalent to “a” or “an” in English.

unBefore a singular masculine noune.g., un hombre (a man)
unaBefore a singular feminine noune.g., una casa (a house)

The plural forms “unos” and “unas” are used to mean “some, e.g., “unos momentos” (some moments), “unas palabras” (some words).

Before a singular feminine noun that starts with “a” or “ha,” “un” is used instead of “una,” e.g., “un águila.” The plural is regular, thus we use “unas,” e.g., “unas águilas.”

Definite Articles

Below are the four definite articles (equivalent to “the” in English). We have four definite articles in Spanish because the definite article has to agree with the noun in both gender and number.

elBefore a singular masculine noune.g., el hombre (the man)
laBefore a singular feminine noune.g., la casa (the house)
losBefore a plural masculine noune.g., los hombres (the men)
lasBefore a plural feminine noune.g., las casas (the houses)

There are only two contractions in Spanish that involve the singular masculine definite article “el,” and, unlike in English, these contractions are not optional and must be applied:

1.a   + el = ale.g., “Yo voy al restaurante” (I go to the restaurant).
2.de + el = dele.g., “Yo vengo del café” (I come from the café).

Before a singular feminine noun that starts with “a” or “ha,” “el” is used instead of “la.” For instance, both nouns “agua” (water) and “águila” (eagle) are feminine. When singular, we use “el,” i.e., “el agua” (the water), “el águila” (the eagle). However, the plural is regular; thus, we use “las,” e.g., “las águilas” (the eagles).

Use of the Definite Article in Spanish versus English

There are cases in which Spanish uses the definite article when in English, we would omit it, such as:

1. Abstract concepts or speaking in a general sense, e.g., “La ciencia es importante(Science is important), “Los animales son inteligentes(Animals are intelligent).

2. Languages and nationalities, e.g., “el español” (Spanish), “los alemanes” (Germans). Exceptionally, we drop the definite article in Spanish when the language name is an object of a verb, e.g., “Yo hablo y enseño español” (I speak and teach Spanish), “Me gustaría aprender árabe” (I would like to learn Arabic), or after the preposition “en,” e.g., “escrito en italiano” (written in Italian).

3. Days of the week, e.g., “Yo trabajo el lunes” (I work on Monday), “Yo voy al gimnasio los jueves” (I go to the gym on Thursdays). An exception is when the day name comes after the verb “to be,” e.g., “Hoy es viernes” (Today is Friday).

4. Body parts and clothes are often preceded with the definite instead of the possessive pronoun if the possessor is the same as the subject of the sentence, e.g., “Levanta la mano” (Raise your hand), “Ponte los zapatos” (Put on your shoes).

5. Telling time, e.g., “Son las dos” (It’s two o’clock), “Nos encontramos a la una” (We meet at one o’clock).

6. Before a personal title, such as “señor” (Mr.), “señora” (Mrs.), “doctor” (doctor), “presidente(president), etc., e.g., “el presidente Kennedy,” “la señora Hernández,” “el doctor Davids.” An exception is when addressing the person directly, e.g., “Señor Adams, ¿cómo está?(Mr. Adams, how are you?).

7. Before each noun in the case of multiple nouns. For example, “el padre y la madre” (the father and mother), “los perros y los gatos” (the cats and dogs). Although you can use one definite article in English to refer to all nouns, the grammatically correct way in Spanish is to repeat the definite article for each noun.

In the following cases, we omit the definite article in Spanish:

1. Before the ordinal number describing a king or a queen. For example, “Luis catorce”(Luis the Fourteenth), “Isabel primera” (Elizabeth the First).

2. Although optional, it is common to omit the definite article before the seasons of the year. For example, “en verano” (in the summer), “en invierno” (in winter), “en otoño(in the fall).

Quiz: The Definite and Indefinite Articles in Spanish

Spanish: The Articles

1 / 30

1. the girls

 

SP: ___ chicas

2 / 30

2. some weapons

 

SP: ___ armasf

3 / 30

3. some moments

 

SP: ___ momentosm

4 / 30

4. Spanish is an easy language.

 

SP: ___ español es un idioma fácil.

5 / 30

5. an hour

 

SP: ___ horaf

6 / 30

6. Animals are intelligent.

 

SP: ___ animales son inteligentes.

7 / 30

7. the uncle

 

SP: ___ tío

8 / 30

8. the water

 

SP: ___ aguaf

9 / 30

9. in spring

 

SP: en ___ primavera

10 / 30

10. the house

 

SP: ___ casaf

11 / 30

11. I go to the gym on Thursdays.

 

SP: Voy al gimnasio ___ jueves.

12 / 30

12. the man

 

SP: ___ hombre

13 / 30

13. an uncle

 

SP: ___ tío

14 / 30

14. the hero

 

SP: ___ héroe

15 / 30

15. the studentsm

 

SP: ___ estudiantesm

16 / 30

16. a weapon

 

SP: ___ armaf

17 / 30

17. the father and mother

 

SP:  ___ padre y ___ madre

18 / 30

18. the sport

 

SP: ___ deportem

19 / 30

19. some words

 

SP: ___ palabrasf

20 / 30

20. the woman

 

SP: ___ mujer

21 / 30

21. the boys

 

SP: ___ chicos

22 / 30

22. an eagle

 

SP: ___ águilaf

23 / 30

23. Written in Italian

 

SP: escrito en ___ italiano

24 / 30

24. I would like to learn Arabic.

 

SP: Me gustaría aprender ___ árabe.

25 / 30

25. Today is Friday.

 

SP: Hoy es ___ viernes.

26 / 30

26. in summer

 

SP: en ___ verano

27 / 30

27. a sport

 

SP: ___ deportem

28 / 30

28. the café

 

SP: ___ cafém

29 / 30

29. the studentm

 

SP: ___ estudiantem

30 / 30

30. I arrive on Monday.

 

SP: Llego ___ lunes.

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