Articles

A1–A2Nouns and determiners 6 min

The articles agree with the noun: el, la, los, las mean “the”, and un, una, unos, unas mean “a” or “some”. Things in general take el or la, and a job after ser takes no article: Me gusta el café. Soy profesor.

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CheatsheetA1–A2

Point	Rule	Example	English
Definite	el / la / los / las	¿Dónde está el baño?	Where is the bathroom?
Indefinite	un / una / unos / unas	Tengo un hermano.	I have a brother.
Contractions	a el → al, de el → del	Voy al mercado.	I'm going to the market.
In general	things in general take the definite article	Me gustan los perros.	I like dogs.
Days	el lunes means “on Monday”	Te llamo el lunes.	I'll call you on Monday.
No article	a job after ser	Ana es profesora.	Ana is a teacher.
A2No article	an amount that is not counted	Compro pan.	I'm buying bread.
A2Stressed a	el before a feminine noun in stressed a	El agua está fría.	The water is cold.
A2Body	the article instead of a possessive	Me duele la cabeza.	My head hurts.
Trap	no un or una before a job	Mi padre es médico.	My father is a doctor.

Form: the articlesA1–A2

Article	Masculine	Feminine
Definite, singular	el libro	la casa
Definite, plural	los libros	las casas
Indefinite, singular	un libro	una casa
Indefinite, plural	unos libros	unas casas

a el → al and de el → del; the other articles never join. Salgo del trabajo y voy al parque. — I leave work and go to the park.
A2A feminine noun that starts with a stressed a takes el and un in the singular; its adjective stays feminine. El agua está fría. — The water is cold.
A2In the plural, the article is feminine again: el aula → las aulas.
A2Before a number, unos and unas mean “about”: Tengo unos veinte libros. — I have about twenty books.

Use: the definite articleA1–A2

Use	Example	English
A2Something both people know	Cierra la puerta, por favor.	Close the door, please.
Things in general	Me gustan los perros.	I like dogs.
Days of the week: “on”	Te llamo el lunes. / El museo cierra los lunes.	I'll call you on Monday. / The museum closes on Mondays.
The hour	La clase es a las nueve.	The class is at nine.
A2Body parts and clothes, instead of a possessive	Me lavo las manos.	I wash my hands.
A2A title when talking about someone	La señora Pérez no está.	Mrs Pérez isn't here.

Speaking to someone, the title takes no article: Buenos días, señora Pérez. — Good morning, Mrs Pérez.

Use: the indefinite article and no articleA1–A2

Use	Example	English
Something new in the conversation	Hay un banco en la esquina.	There's a bank on the corner.
One of many	Tengo una pregunta.	I have a question.
No article: a job or a nationality after ser	Mi padre es médico.	My father is a doctor.
A2No article: an amount that is not counted	Compro pan y huevos.	I'm buying bread and eggs.
No article: hay with no amount	No hay agua.	There's no water.
A2No article: a language after hablar	Hablo español e inglés.	I speak Spanish and English.

A2A job takes an article when an adjective describes it: Es un médico muy bueno. — He's a very good doctor.
hay takes un, una or no article, and está takes el or la: see Hay and Está.

Typical errorsA1–A2

✗	✓	Rule
Voy a el parque.	Voy al parque.	a el → al
Mi madre es una profesora.	Mi madre es profesora.	a job after ser takes no article
Me gusta café.	Me gusta el café.	things in general take the definite article
A2La agua está fría.	El agua está fría.	el before a feminine noun in stressed a
A2Me lavo mis manos.	Me lavo las manos.	body parts take the article
Te llamo en el lunes.	Te llamo el lunes.	a day takes el with no word for “on”

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