The definite article: el, la, los, las

Explication

The definite article ('the') has four forms that agree with the noun in gender and number: el (masculine singular), la (feminine singular), los (masculine/mixed plural), las (feminine plural): el libro, la casa, los libros, las casas.

The article is effectively the gender flag of the whole noun phrase, so it's worth learning each noun with its article. Unlike English, it repeats before every noun in a list: el pan y la leche, los lunes y los martes.

Two mechanical wrinkles have their own rules: a and de contract with el to al and del, and feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a-/ha- take el in the singular for sound (el agua) while staying feminine.

Exemples

Règles liées

• When Spanish uses el/la and English doesn't
• Al and del: the only two contractions
• El agua, el águila: el before feminine nouns