# El señor García: articles with titles

> id: grammar.articles.with-titles · category: grammar · depth: standard · levels: A2 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** Talking about someone: article + title (el señor García, la doctora Rojas). Talking to them: no article (buenos días, señor García). Don/doña never take one.

When you talk about someone using a title, Spanish puts the article before the title: el señor García llamó, la doctora Rojas no está, el profesor Díaz. The title behaves like part of a normal noun phrase.

But when you talk to the person directly (address them), the article drops: buenos días, señor García; gracias, doctora; ¿cómo está, profesora? Mixing these up — *gracias, el doctor — is a giveaway error.

Don and doña are the exception: they never take the article, whether you're referring to or addressing the person — don Mario, doña Carmen, saludá a don Pedro (never *el don Mario).

## Examples
- La señora Quispe dejó un mensaje. — Mrs. Quispe left a message.
- Buenas tardes, señor Flores. — Good afternoon, Mr. Flores. *(Direct address: no article.)*
- El doctor Rojas opera hoy; buenas tardes, doctor Rojas. — Dr. Rojas operates today; good afternoon, Dr. Rojas.

Related: grammar.articles.definite-uses

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