As a Spanish-language learner this is a question you’ve probably asked yourself often when having to assign an article to a noun. Articulos, articles in English, are small functional words that go before a noun to tell us if the noun we are referring to is general or specific. While we only have three articles in English, Spanish has nine articles. But don’t panic! Below, we’ve prepared a list of all nine Spanish articles to get you started.
Most of the time it’s fairly easy to discern when to use el and la in Spanish. El is the singular, masculine definite article, meaning “the” in Spanish. It is used to define masculine nouns, while la is the feminine version. But there are a few instances where el is used with feminine nouns, and vice versa. Because gender is such an integral part of learning Spanish your best bet as an English speaker is to acquire each new word with its respective article.
Definite or Indefinite?
As in English, articles in Spanish are either definido (definite), or indefinido (indefinite). We use definite articles in Spanish the same way as we do in English: to refer to a noun as something that is specifically known to the speaker and his or her audience. In English grammar, definite and “indefinite” refer to the articles the and a/an respectively. The is used to indicate a specific noun, while “a/an” is used for a general or non-specific noun.
When to Use El and La in Spanish?
In most cases, el in Spanish is used for masculine nouns and la is used for feminine nouns. Another rule supersedes this, and that is when the feminine noun is singular and starts with a stressed a- or ha- sound, like the words Agua, meaning water, or hambre, meaning hunger. The reason the definite article becomes el is mostly a matter of how it sounds to say la Agua and la hambre and the clunkiness of the “double-a” sounds repeating. It sounds more definitive to say el Agua and el hambre.
How to use the exception to the rules above?
We said all words ending in ia are feminine. Yet if you are referring to a person or occupation this is what happens: EL espía = The spy (if the spy is a man), LA espia = The spy (if the spy is a woman). It’s the person’s gender that will determine whether we use el or la. And because it is an occupation, we said that those that end in -a, tend to stay the same.
Reverting Back to the Feminine Article?
The thing to remember regarding when to use el and la in Spanish is that words that are feminine remain feminine. The reason why this matters is if the word becomes plural, the word goes back to using the feminine definite article. In this case, the definite article becomes las. It sounds fine to say las arcas since the “s” in las breaks up the “double a” sound.
Feminine Words Can Use the Masculine Indefinite Article?
Most grammarians consider it correct for feminine words to take the masculine indefinite article un instead of una under the same conditions where la is changed to el. It is for the same reason la is changed to el, to eliminate the “double-a” sound of the two words together. Although this is widely considered correct grammar, this usage is not universal. In everyday spoken language, this rule is irrelevant, due to elision, which is the omission of sounds, especially as words flow together.
Conclusion
The thing to remember regarding when to use el and la in Spanish is that words that are feminine remain feminine. Most grammarians consider it correct for feminine words to take the masculine indefinite article un instead of una under the same conditions where la is changed to el. Although this is widely considered correct grammar, this usage is not universal. In everyday spoken language, this rule is irrelevant, due to elision, which is the omission of sounds, especially as words flow together. IF you need more into about then What are you doing in French visit this page.