Artículo
From Latin articulus (joint, articulation)
The artículo (article) comes before the sustantivo (noun) to determine it, and it usually marks its género (gender) and número (number). The one exception is the artículo neutro (neuter article), which has neither gender nor number.
In English there are only two articles: "the" (definite) and "a/an" (indefinite). In Spanish there are several forms because the article must agree with the noun in gender and number.
Articles can also turn almost any word into a noun. Examples:
Examples
El carro ("the car"), la casa ("the house"), los niños ("the children"), las calles ("the streets"), lo bueno ("the good thing"), el sonreír ("smiling"), el mañana ("the future / tomorrow"), etc.
Artículos are classified as:
1. Artículo determinado or definido (Definite article)
Used for beings or things already known to the speakers. It is almost always required next to the noun. The definite articles are:
- Masculine singular: EL ("the")
- Masculine plural: LOS ("the")
- Feminine singular: LA ("the")
- Feminine plural: LAS ("the")
Examples
- Necesito la mesa grande.
("I need the big table.") - El sol de la tarde caía sobre la ciudad.
("The afternoon sun fell on the city.") - Los seres humanos son buenos.
("Human beings are good.") - El pan lo dejé sobre la mesa.
("I left the bread on the table.")
2. Artículo indeterminado or indefinido (Indefinite article)
Used for beings or things that are not yet known or are unspecified. The indefinite articles are:
- Masculine singular: UN ("a / an")
- Masculine plural: UNOS ("some")
- Feminine singular: UNA ("a / an")
- Feminine plural: UNAS ("some")
Examples
- Necesito una silla grande.
("I need a big chair.") - Dejé un pan sobre una hornilla.
("I left a loaf of bread on a stove burner.") - Se escucharon unos disparos.
("Some gunshots were heard.") - Afuera hay unas bicicletas.
("There are some bicycles outside.")
3. Artículo contracto (Contracted article)
Formed by joining de or a with the definite article el. The result is del ("of the") and al ("to the") — one of the few contractions in Spanish.1
Examples
- Me gusta la casa del electricista. ("... of the electrician.")
- Vamos a ir al parque mañana. ("... to the park.")
Note
If the article is part of a proper name, the contraction does not happen.
- Acaba de regresar de El Cairo.
("She just got back from Cairo.") - Voy a El Salvador.
("I'm going to El Salvador.") - Los conquistadores soñaban con llegar a El Dorado.
("The conquistadors dreamed of reaching El Dorado.")
4. Artículo neutro (Neuter article)
This article has no feminine or masculine form. It goes before an adjective and turns it into a noun. The neuter article is: LO.
Roughly, lo + adjective is the equivalent of English "the [adjective] thing" or "what is [adjective]".
Examples
- Lo raro.
("The strange thing.") - Lo difícil.
("The difficult part / what is difficult.") - Lo escandaloso.
("The scandalous thing.") - Lo bueno.
("The good thing.")
The neuter article can also pair with relative pronouns to form a single pronoun unit.
Examples
- Dijo sí lo cual me parece justo.
("He said yes, which seems fair to me.") - Trajo a la fiesta lo que le pidieron.
("He brought to the party what they asked of him.")
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A contraction is a word formed by joining two others and dropping part of one.