# Al and del: the only two contractions

> id: grammar.articles.contractions-al-del · category: grammar · depth: standard · levels: A1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** A + el = al, de + el = del — mandatory: voy al banco, vengo del trabajo. Never with la/los/las or with proper names containing El.

Spanish has exactly two contractions, and both are obligatory. A + el merges into al, and de + el merges into del: voy al banco, vengo del trabajo, la oficina del jefe. Writing them out (*a el banco, *de el trabajo) is always wrong.

They happen only with the masculine singular article el. The other articles never contract: a la playa, de los clientes, a las nueve, de las afueras.

One exception: no contraction when El is part of a proper name, because there El is a capitalized word, not the article — el equipo de El Alto, vengo de El Salvador. (And a + él, the pronoun with an accent, never contracts either: se lo di a él.)

## Examples
- Vamos al centro. — We're going downtown.
- Es el dueño del edificio. — He's the owner of the building.
- Salí del trabajo y fui directo al gimnasio. — I left work and went straight to the gym.

Related: grammar.articles.definite-forms

License: CC BY-SA 4.0 — Spanish Rules Library — spanishruleslibrary.com