Spanish grammar · Beginner (A1)

Articles: el, la, los, las, un, una

The Spanish words for “the” and “a”, and how they change with the gender and number of the noun.

“The”: el, la, los, las

An “article” is a small word like “the” or “a” that goes before a noun. In Spanish, the article changes to match the noun: it is masculine or feminine, and singular (one) or plural (more than one).

So English “the” has four Spanish forms. Always learn a new noun together with its article: , .

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	(the book)	(the books)
Feminine	(the table)	(the tables)

El tren sale a las diez.The train leaves at ten.
Las llaves están en la mesa.The keys are on the table.

“A”, “some”: un, una, unos, unas

and mean “a” or “an”. In the plural, and mean “some” or “a few”.

is also the number one before a masculine noun: can mean “a coffee” or “one coffee”.

Gender	Singular	Plural
Masculine	(a friend)	(some friends)
Feminine	(a house)	(some houses)

Tengo una pregunta.I have a question.
Hay unos niños en el parque.There are some children in the park.

Two small contractions: al and del

When (to) or (of, from) comes before , the two words join together: + = , + = . This only happens with , never with , or .

Feminine nouns that start with a stressed a- sound take and in the singular, just to make them easier to say: , . They are still feminine: , .

Voy al supermercado.I'm going to the supermarket.
Es la casa del profesor.It's the teacher's house.
Vamos a la playa.We're going to the beach.
El agua está fría.The water is cold.

When Spanish uses “the” and English doesn't

Spanish uses the article more often than English. You need it when you talk about things in general, with days of the week (“on Monday”), and with titles like when you talk about someone.

Jobs after don't take or : (I'm a doctor).

Me gusta el chocolate.I like chocolate.
El lunes tengo clase.On Monday I have a class.
La señora García no está.Mrs García isn't here.
Mi hermana es enfermera.My sister is a nurse.