Definite and Indefinite Article in Spanish

Spanish Grammar Articles

Well what have we learned so far? We have learned quite a bit actually. This summary is going to focus on the definite and indefinite article in Spanish. As we read in the past couple lessons, there are different sets of articles. In fact, there are four different articles for the definite in Spanish.

The four definite articles in Spanish are "la, el, las, and los". They stand for the singular and plural, feminine and masculine versions. "El" and "los" are masculine singular and plural. "La" and "las" are feminine singular and plural.

You use the definitive article in accordance with the gender and number. This is true of other languages as well. If you had just one single masculine object, you would use the article "el". If you had a plural of feminine objects, you would use the article "las". Do you start to see the pattern? If you would like more information click the picture of the box on this page.

The indefinite article in Spanish is used a little less commonly than the definite. You can think of the English words "a" and "an" as the Spanish indefinites. The two words used in the Spanish language are "una" and "un". They are the singular form. The plural form of these is "unas" and "unos". Remember to always match your number and gender when using articles. It would sound really silly if they did not match properly.

You do not want to use the indefinite form before any noun that comes after the verb "ser" and is unmodified. You also do not want to use it when talking with the word "qué" (when in use with exclamation marks). As for the definite article, you do not want to use that on any type of phrase that doesn't follow a logical pattern. Everyday sayings and expressions are an example of this. Things that you would not see in a grammar textbook for example. Also, do not use the definite article when referring to ordinal numbers. Such as a king of a country, followed by the sixth, seventh, ninth, and so on. Adjectives Agreement>>