Al and del: the only two contractions

Explication

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.)

Exemples

Règles liées

• The definite article: el, la, los, las