Ultimate Guide To 4+1 Definite Articles In Spanish Grammar With Examples
Effortless Answers
Definite articles in Spanish are used when you’re talking about things that are known to you or your Spanish language partner.
There are 4 basic definite articles in Spanish:
1. El – masculine, singular (el libro – the book)
2. La – feminine, singular (la mesa – the table)
3. Los – masculine, plural (los libros – the books)
4. Las – feminine, plural (las mesas – the tables)
And there’ one more that we will explain later: ‘lo‘
Definite articles in Spanish are always referring to something specific, or – in contrast to indefinite articles in Spanish – something that has already been mentioned.
For example, if you say, “El perro está en el jardín,” (The dog is in the garden) you’re talking about a specific dog that both the speaker and listener know about.
Spring Spanish (of which I’m a co-founder of) made a fun and useful YouTube shorts about how to remember the correct usage of definite articles in Spanish.
This blog post is all about explaining definite articles in Spanish to you with lots and lots of examples.
Vamos! (Let’s go!)
1. What are the four definite articles in Spanish?
Just as we mentioned above, there are four basic definite articles in Spanish.
Here’s the summary of their different forms:
| Gender/Number | Article | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Masculine Singular | el | el coche (the car) |
| Feminine Singular | la | la casa (the house) |
| Masculine Plural | los | los coches (the cars) |
| Feminine Plural | las | las casas (the houses) |
Let’s say that you walk into a room at your friend’s house, you already know their place, you know their pets and know all about Spanish pet names, so you say:
- La gata está en la silla (The cat is in the chair)
Why did you say that? And why did you use one of the definite articles in Spanish?
It’s simple: because you are referring to a cat you already know.
But when to you use el, la, los and las?
Time to expand on each and every section!
El – masculine, singular
El is the masculine definite article in Spanish and is used with masculine nouns in Spanish.
Keep in mind that you have agree the definite articles in Spanish with the nouns gender and number, so el is only for masculine, singular Spanish nouns.
Check these examples:
| Spanish (Example) | English Translation |
|---|---|
| El perro está jugando en el parque. | (The dog is playing in the park.) |
| El coche es muy rápido. | (The car is very fast.) |
| El libro que leí fue interesante. | (The book I read was interesting.) |
| El profesor explicó la lección. | (The teacher explained the lesson.) |
And to see all of this in a real conversation, here goes:
María: El gato de Juan es muy divertido. (Juan’s cat is very funny.)
Luis: Sí, el gato siempre hace travesuras. (Yes, the cat always gets into mischief.)
María: ¿Has visto el video que subió? (Have you seen the video he uploaded?)
Luis: Sí, ¡el video es increíblemente gracioso! (Yes, the video is incredibly funny!)
La – feminine, singular
La is the feminine singular form of definite articles in Spanish. You should only use la with feminine singular nouns in Spanish.
Like with these ones:
| Spanish (Example) | English Translation |
|---|---|
| La casa está en la colina. | (The house is on the hill.) |
| La chica lleva un vestido rojo. | (The girl is wearing a red dress.) |
| La película fue muy emocionante. | (The movie was very exciting.) |
| La profesora asignó tarea nueva. | (The teacher assigned new homework.) |
Look for the feminine definite article in Spanish in this conversation:
Ana: La comida de ese restaurante es deliciosa. (The food from that restaurant is delicious.)
Carlos: Sí, la última vez que fui, comí pasta. (Yes, the last time I went, I had pasta.)
Ana: ¿Te gustaría ir de nuevo este fin de semana? (Would you like to go again this weekend?)
Carlos: Claro, ¡la cena sería genial! (Sure, dinner would be great!)
Los – masculine, plural
Time to go plural!
Los is the plural for for el. You would use loswith plural masculine nouns in Spanish, like in these examples brought to you by Effortless Conversations…
| Spanish (Example) | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Los niños están jugando en el parque. | (The children are playing in the park.) |
| Los libros están en la mesa. | (The books are on the table.) |
| Los coches nuevos son muy caros. | (The new cars are very expensive.) |
| Los profesores dieron una conferencia. | (The teachers gave a lecture.) |
And here with a real Spanish dialouges:
Pedro: Los amigos de Laura vienen a la fiesta. (Laura’s friends are coming to the party.)
Sofía: Genial, los conozco y son muy divertidos. (Great, I know them and they are very fun.)
Pedro: ¿Tienes suficiente comida para todos? (Do you have enough food for everyone?)
Sofía: Sí, he preparado los aperitivos y las bebidas. (Yes, I prepared the snacks and drinks.)
Las – feminine, plural
And finally, las is the feminine and plural version of definite articles in Spanish.
If you’ve reached this point, you can already guess: las is used with feminine plural nouns in Spanish:
| Spanish (Example) | English Translation |
|---|---|
| Las flores en el jardín son hermosas. | (The flowers in the garden are beautiful.) |
| Las chicas están estudiando para el examen. | (The girls are studying for the exam.) |
| Las casas en esta calle son antiguas. | (The houses on this street are old.) |
| Las vacaciones de verano son muy esperadas. | (The summer vacations are highly anticipated.) |
We highlighted the feminine plural definite article in this Spanish conversation:
Clara: Las galletas que horneé están listas. (The cookies I baked are ready.)
Javier: ¡Perfecto! Las galletas son mi debilidad. (Perfect! Cookies are my weakness.)
Clara: ¿Quieres probarlas ahora? (Do you want to try them now?)
Javier: Sí, me encantaría! (Yes, I would love to!)
2. When to use Spanish definite articles?
Now, there are some – to be precise 8 – cases where you MUST use definite articles in Spanish.
Let’s explore these 8 cases and see examples for them!
Use definite articles for specific reference
When referring to a specific noun that is known to both the speaker and listener:
- El coche rojo es mío. (The red car is mine.)
Use definite articles in Spanish for general statements
When talking about a whole category or class of objects:
- Los perros son animales leales. (Dogs are loyal animals.)
Use the definite article for unique items in Spanish
When referring to something that is unique or one-of-a-kind:
- La luna brilla en el cielo. (The moon shines in the sky.)
Use articles in Spanish for body parts
When referring to body parts in Spanish in a general sense:
- Me duele la cabeza. (My head hurts.)
Days of the week require definite articles in Spanish
When mentioning the days of the week in Spanish:
- Los lunes son difíciles. (Mondays are tough.)
Spanish articles are for titles in formal contexts
When using titles with names, mainly in formal contexts when you’re doing some business Spanish:
- La doctora Pérez es muy amable. (Doctor Pérez is very kind.)
Include articles in Spanish for geographical names
When referring to certain geographical locations (rivers, mountains, seas):
- El Amazonas es un río importante. (The Amazon is an important river.)
Use articles in Spanish grammar for time expressions
When expressing time or specific dates:
- La Navidad es en diciembre. (Christmas is in December.)
By the way, do you know the most important Spanish holidays? No? Then check them out!
3. Lo in Spanish: a curious case
In the introduction, we mentioned that there are actually 4+1 Spanish definite articles.
And we only listed four here… So, what’s the catch?
Well, there is… lo.
Lo in Spanish is quite a unique definite article that doesn’t fit neatly into the el/la/los/las pattern. But just as with them, lo also fits into different categories:
- Neuter article: ‘Lo’ is used to refer to abstract concepts, ideas, or qualities.
Example: Lo importante es participar. (The important thing is to participate.) - With adjectives: ‘Lo’ + adjective creates a noun meaning “the … thing” or “that which is …”.
Example: Lo bueno de viajar es conocer nuevas culturas. (The good thing about traveling is getting to know new cultures.) - In superlative expressions: Used to form superlatives with adjectives.
Example: Este es lo más interesante que he leído. (This is the most interesting thing I’ve read.) - As a direct object pronoun in Spanish: Represents a neutral or previously mentioned concept.
Example: No lo entiendo. (I don’t understand it.) - In certain fixed expressions:
Example: Por lo visto, no vendrá. (Apparently, he won’t come.)
Still too blurry?
Then let us help you out with a short convo about how to learn Spanish fast?
Ana: ¿Qué es lo más difícil de aprender español? (What’s the most difficult thing about learning Spanish?)
Carlos: Para mí, lo complicado es recordar todos los tiempos verbales. (For me, the complicated thing is remembering all the verb tenses.)
Ana: Lo entiendo. A veces lo mejor es practicar mucho. (I understand that. Sometimes the best thing is to practice a lot.)
Carlos: Tienes razón. Por lo menos, estamos mejorando poco a poco. (You’re right. At least we’re improving little by little.)
4. Omit articles el, la, los, las in 8 cases
Just as with the indefinite articles in Spanish, there are some cases where you can omit el, la, los, las.
Time to check them one-by-one:
- With uncountable nouns in Spanish in a general sense:
Example: Necesito agua. (I need water.) - In certain prepositional phrases:
Example: Voy a casa. (I’m going home.) - With professions or occupations when not referring to a specific person:
Example: Es profesor. (He is a teacher.) - In many Spanish proverbs and Spanish sayings:
Example: Perro ladrador, poco mordedor. (Barking dogs seldom bite.) - With some country names:
Example: Viajé a España el año pasado. (I traveled to Spain last year.) - In newspaper headlines:
Example: Presidente anuncia nuevas medidas económicas. (President announces new economic measures.) - When using possessive adjectives:
Example: Mi libro está sobre la mesa. (My book is on the table.) - With names of languages after certain verbs:
Example: Hablo inglés y español. (I speak English and Spanish.)
Is this confusing? Do you find it hard?
…
5. Practice definite articles in Spanish
Practice definite articles in Spanish with our pre-made flashcards!
If you want to practice more, just click the button below, and request the full practice worksheet:
6. Learn how to use an article in Spanish with Conversation Based Chunking
If you don’t want to get into the same situation as Ana and Carlos from the previous conversation, then Conversation Based Chunking is for you!
This method focuses on natural language learning without the hassle of Spanish grammar. Instead, it focuses on the lexical chunks that Spanish uses, and that your mother tongue also has.
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