When un/una disappears: soy ingeniero

Explanation

Spanish drops the indefinite article where English keeps 'a/an'. The classic case is an unmodified profession, nationality, or religion after ser: es médica, soy ingeniero, es boliviano, es católico. The article returns as soon as you add an adjective: es una médica excelente, es un ingeniero joven.

It also disappears after sin and con (sin coche, con paciencia, sin idea) and in many tener phrases about categories (tengo coche, no tengo hermanos, tienen casa propia).

And it never appears before otro, medio, cierto, tal, cien, mil: dame otro ('give me another', never *un otro — a French/English calque), media hora, cien personas, mil veces, tal cosa.

Examples

Related rules

• The indefinite article: un, una, unos, unas
• Where articles drop out