Here we will explore and explain the use of the definite article; el, la, los and las, along with a and de.

1. The definite article: el, la, los and las

In English, there is only one definite article: (the) In Spanish, you have to choose between four definite articles: él, la, los and las. Which one you choose depends on the noun which follows it.

In Spanish, all nouns including words for things are either masculine or feminine – this is called the gender. And just as in English they can also be either singular or plural. You must bear this in mind when deciding which Spanish word to use for the.

Él is used before masculine singular nouns

• él nino (the boy)
• él periódico (the newspaper)

La is used before feminine singular nouns

• la niña (the girl)
• la revista (the magazine)

To help you speak and write correct Spanish, always learn the article or the gender together with the noun when learning vocabulary. A good dictionary will also give you this information.

Los and las are used before plural nouns. Los is used with masculine plural nouns, and las is used with feminine plural nouns.

• los niños (the boys)
• las niñas (the girls)
• los periódicos (the newspapers)
• las revistas (the magazines)

Note that you use el instead of la immediately before a feminine singular word beginning with a or ha when the stress falls on the beginning of the word. This is because la sounds wrong before the a sound. But if you add an adjective in from of the noun, you use la instead, since the two a sounds do not come next to each other.

• el agua helada (the icy water)
• el hacha afilada (the sharp axe)
• la misma agua (the same water)
• la mejor hacha (the best axe)

2. a and de with the definite article

If a is followed by el, the two words become al.

• al cine (to the cinema)
• al empleado (to the employee)
• al hospital (to the hospital)
• Vio al camarero (He saw the waiter.

If de is followed by el, the two words become del.

• del departamento (of/from the department)
• del autor (of/from the author)
• del presidente (of/from the president)

3. Using the definite article

el, la, los and las are often used in Spanish in the same way as (the) is used in English. However, there are some cases where the article is used in Spanish but not in English.

The definite article is used in Spanish:

• when talking about people, animals and things in a general way:
  • Me gustan los animales. (I like animals)
  • Están subiendo los precios. (Prices are going up)
  • Me gusta el chocolate. (I like chocolate)
  • No me gusta el café. (I don´t like coffee)
  • El azúcar es dulce. (Sugar is sweet)
• when talking about absract qualities, for example, time, hope, darkness, violence
  • El tiempo es oro. (Time is money)
  • Admiro la sinceridad en la gente. (I admire honest in people)

Note that the definite article is not used in certain set phrases consisting of tener and a noun or after certain prepositions.

• Tener hambre (to be hungry) – literally:to have hunger
• Sin duda (no doubt) – literally:without doubt
• Con cuidado (carefully) – literally:with care

• when talking about colours
  • El azul es mi color favorito. (Blue is my favourite colour.
• when talking about parts of the body – you do not use my, your, his and so on as you would in English.
  • Tiene los ojos verdes. (He has green eyes)
  • No puedo mover las piernas. (I can’t move my legs)

Notice that possession is often shown by a personal pronoun in Spanish.

• La cabeza me da vueltas. (My head is spinning)
• Lávate las manos. (Wash your hands)

when using someone’s title – for example, Doctor, Mr – but talking about someone rather than to them.

• El doctor Vidal no está. (Doctor Vidal is not here)
• El señor Pelayo vie aquí. (Mr Pelayo lives here)

when talking about institutions, such as school or church

• en el colegio (at school)
• en la universidad (at university)
• en la iglesia (at church)
• en el hospital (in hospital)
• en la cárcel (in prison)

when talking about meals, games or sports

• La cena es a las nueve. (Dinner is at nine o’clock)
• Me gusta el tenis. (I like tennis)
• No me gusta el ajedrez. (I don´t like chess)

when talking about days of the week and dates, where we use the preposition (on) in English.

• Te veo el lunes. (I´ll see you on Monday)
• Los lunes tenemos muchos deberes. (We have a lot of homework on Mondays)
• Nać el 17 de marzo. (I was born on 17 March.

when talking about the time

• Es la una. (It’s one o’clock)
• Son las tres. (it’s three o’clock)
• Son las cuatro y media. (It’s half past four)

when talking about prices and rates

• Cuenta dos euros el kilo. (It costs two euros a kilo)
• 20 euros la hora. (20 euros an hour)

with an adjective on its own to specify which one or ones

• A él le gustan estas cortinas pero yo voy a comprar las rojas. (He likes these curtains but I’m going to buy the red ones.

The adjective must agree with the noun it refers to.

Resumen

1. Before masculine singular nouns use el.
2. Before feminine singular nouns use la.
3. Before feminine singular nouns starting with stressed a or ha use el.
4. Before masculine plural nouns use los.
5. Before feminine plural nouns use las.
6. a + el use al.
7. de + el use del.
8. There are some important cases when you would use a definite article in Spanish when you wouldn’t in English; for example, when you talk about:
   • things in a general way
   • abstract qualities
   • colours
   • parts of the body
   • someone with a title in front of their name
   • instructions
   • meals, games or sports
   • the time, days of the week and dates (using the preposition on in English
   • prices and rates
   • with an adjective on its own to mean (the red one), (the thick ones) and so on