Articles
Spanish Grammar 1
Chapter 4 · Articles
📌 Articles — Los artículos
The article is the small word in front of a noun, and in Spanish it must agree with the noun in gender and number. You have already used el, la, los, las to show gender and plural; this chapter gives the full system: the definite articles ("the"), the indefinite articles ("a, some"), the two contractions al and del, one famous sound rule (el agua), the neuter lo, and, most useful of all, the cases where Spanish uses an article and English does not, and the other way round.
The forms
| masculine singular | feminine singular | masculine plural | feminine plural | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| definite (the) | el libro | la casa | los libros | las casas |
| indefinite (a, some) | un libro | una casa | unos libros | unas casas |
Definite or indefinite? Use el / la for something both people already know about, and un / una for something new:
| Use | Example |
|---|---|
| introducing something new | Hay un banco en la calle Mayor. (There is a bank on the high street.) |
| referring back to it | El banco está cerca. (The bank is near.) |
| unos / unas = some, a few, about | Compro unas manzanas. · Tardo unos veinte minutos. |
| unas with things that come in pairs | unas gafas, unas tijeras (a pair of glasses, a pair of scissors) |
| un / una can also mean "one" | un euro, una hora |
al and del
Two small words always merge with el:
| Rule | Example |
|---|---|
| a + el → al | Voy al mercado. (I go to the market.) |
| de + el → del | la casa del profesor (the teacher's house) |
| no contraction with la, los, las | Voy a la playa. · Vengo de los Estados Unidos. |
| no contraction with the pronoun él | Hablo de él. · Voy con él. |
El agua: a feminine noun with "el"
A feminine singular noun that begins with a stressed a- (or ha-) takes el instead of la. The reason is sound: la agua would run together and be hard to say. The noun stays feminine, which you can see from the adjective and from the plural.
| Singular | Plural | English |
|---|---|---|
| el agua fría | las aguas frías | cold water |
| el águila | las águilas | eagle |
| el hacha | las hachas | axe |
| el hada | las hadas | fairy |
| el alma | las almas | soul |
| el aula | las aulas | classroom (in a school) |
| el área | las áreas | area |
| el arma | las armas | weapon |
| el hambre | (no plural in use) | hunger |
Lo + adjective: the neuter article
The neuter article lo turns an adjective into an abstract noun, "the … thing" or "what is …". It never changes for gender or number.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| lo bueno · lo malo | the good thing, the bad thing |
| lo importante | the important thing |
| lo mejor · lo peor | the best thing, the worst thing |
| lo difícil | the difficult part |
| Lo bueno de Madrid es la comida. | The good thing about Madrid is the food. |
Where Spanish uses the article and English does not
| Case | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| general ideas and things | Me gustan los gatos. · El café es caro. · La vida es corta. | I like cats. Coffee is expensive. Life is short. |
| days of the week | Voy al gimnasio el lunes. · Trabajo los lunes. | on Monday · on Mondays |
| time and "every" | Son las tres. · todos los días | It is three o'clock. every day |
| price per unit | tres euros el kilo | three euros a kilo |
| titles when you talk about someone | El señor García está aquí. · La doctora Ruiz habla. | Mr García is here. Dr Ruiz is speaking. |
| parts of the body | Me lavo las manos. · Me duele la cabeza. | I wash my hands. My head hurts. |
| a language as the subject | El español es fácil. | Spanish is easy. |
Where Spanish leaves the article out
| Case | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| ser + profession, nationality, religion | Soy programador. · Es médica. · Somos escoceses. | I'm a programmer. She's a doctor. We're Scottish. |
| …but the article returns if you add a description | Es una médica muy buena. | She's a very good doctor. |
| a language after hablar, estudiar, aprender; after en and de | Hablo español. · en español · clase de español | I speak Spanish. in Spanish, a Spanish class |
| direct address with a title | Buenos días, señor García. | Good morning, Mr García. |
| after tener, llevar, buscar, sin for an unspecific thing | Tengo coche. · Busco piso. · sin coche | I have a car. I'm looking for a flat. without a car |
| with hambre, sed, frío, calor, miedo | Tengo hambre. · Tengo sed. | I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. |
| after otro, medio, cien, mil, and in ¡Qué …! | otro libro · medio kilo · cien euros · ¡Qué día! | another book, half a kilo, a hundred euros, What a day! |
🗣️ In Use — En situación
Read the exchanges aloud and notice which article each noun takes.
① There is… and the…
② El agua
③ A profession
📋 Quick Reference — Resumen
| Topic | Summary |
|---|---|
| definite | el, la, los, las |
| indefinite | un, una, unos, unas (unos / unas = some, about, a pair) |
| contractions | a + el = al, de + el = del; not with la, los, las or él |
| el agua | stressed a- or ha-: el in the singular; adjective stays feminine |
| lo | lo + adjective = the … thing: lo bueno, lo mejor |
| article used | general ideas, days, time, price per unit, titles, body parts |
| article left out | ser + profession; hablar + language; tener + hambre, sed; otro, medio, cien, mil |
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ejercicios
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Put in the definite article: ___ libro, ___ casa, ___ coches, ___ mesas.
Show answer
el libro · la casa · los coches · las mesas.
2. Put in the indefinite article: ___ problema, ___ ciudad, ___ gafas, ___ amigos.
Show answer
un problema · una ciudad · unas gafas (a pair) · unos amigos.
3. Combine: Voy a + el cine; la casa de + el profesor; Voy a + la playa.
Show answer
Voy al cine · la casa del profesor · Voy a la playa (no contraction with la).
4. Why do we say el agua but la avenida?
Show answer
agua begins with a stressed a- (A-gwa), so it takes el for the sound. avenida is stressed later (a-ve-NI-da), so it keeps la. agua is still feminine: el agua fría.
5. Say in Spanish: "The good thing about the city is the food."
Show answer
Lo bueno de la ciudad es la comida.
6. Say in Spanish: "I work on Mondays and I go to the gym on Tuesday."
Show answer
Trabajo los lunes y voy al gimnasio el martes. (los lunes = every Monday; el martes = this Tuesday.)
7. Add or remove the article if needed: Soy ___ ingeniera. · Hablo ___ español. · Tengo ___ hambre. · ___ señor Ruiz es profesor.
Show answer
Soy ingeniera (no article) · Hablo español (no article) · Tengo hambre (no article) · El señor Ruiz es profesor (article, because you talk about him).
8. Which is correct? Ella es una médica. or Ella es una médica muy buena. Explain.
Show answer
Both are possible, but plain Ella es médica is the normal way to give a profession. When you add a description (muy buena) the article comes back: Es una médica muy buena.
9. Say in Spanish: "I like cats" and "Life is short".
Show answer
Me gustan los gatos. · La vida es corta. (Spanish uses the definite article for general ideas.)
10. Give the plural of el águila and el hambre.
Show answer
las águilas (the plural is regular and uses las). el hambre has no plural in everyday use.