{"id":143309,"date":"2023-04-15T19:04:24","date_gmt":"2023-04-15T23:04:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/definite-and-indefinite-articles-in-spanish\/"},"modified":"2025-03-21T15:38:24","modified_gmt":"2025-03-21T19:38:24","slug":"definite-and-indefinite-articles-in-spanish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/definite-and-indefinite-articles-in-spanish\/","title":{"rendered":"Definite and Indefinite Articles in Spanish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Articles are small but extremely common words that come before specific and general nouns\u2014in English, they’re words like “the” and “an.”\u00a0Definite and indefinite articles in Spanish are words like\u00a0el, la, los,<\/em>\u00a0las, lo, un, una, unos<\/em> and unas.<\/em><\/p>\n

In this post, you’ll learn exactly what they are, how they work, when to use them and more. We also have a lesson on our YouTube channel<\/a> for extra practice:<\/p>\n

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[fluentu-toc]<\/p>\n

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Definite and Indefinite Articles in Spanish<\/h2>\n

Articles are words that refer to nouns. The English articles are “a,” “an,” “the” and “some.”<\/p>\n

“The” is a definite article because it refers to a specific object:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pass me the<\/strong> salt.<\/p>\n

The<\/strong> car is around the corner.<\/p>\n

“A,” “an” and “some” are indefinite articles because they refer to a general object rather than a specific object:<\/strong><\/p>\n

She has an<\/strong> older brother.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s some<\/strong> cheese in the refrigerator.<\/p>\n

In Spanish, the definite article has four forms: el, la, los<\/em>\u00a0and las<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When deciding which form to use, you must first identify the quantity and gender of your noun.<\/p>\n

For a run-down of Spanish gender, click here<\/a>. Likewise, here’s an overview of Spanish plurals<\/a>. If you’re already familiar with these two concepts, read on.<\/p>\n

Here are the definite articles in Spanish and examples of how they’re used:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
El <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>The
\n(Singular, Masculine)<\/td>		El<\/b> coche<\/i> (the car)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
La <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>The
\n(Singular, Feminine)<\/td>		La<\/b> muchacha<\/i> (the girl)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Los <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>The
\n(Plural, Masculine)<\/td>		Los<\/b> ojos<\/i> (the eyes)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Las <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>The
\n(Plural, Feminine)<\/td>		Las<\/b> letras<\/i> (the letters)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

Now, let\u2019s look at indefinite articles.<\/p>\n

The Spanish indefinite articles are un, una, unos\u00a0<\/em>and unas<\/em>.<\/strong> Just like the definite articles, each corresponds to a gender and a number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Spanish<\/th>English<\/th>Example<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Un <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>A\/an
\n(Singular, masculine)<\/td>		Un<\/b> perro<\/i> (a dog)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Una <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>A\/an
\n(Singular, feminine)<\/td>		Una<\/b> semana<\/i> (a week)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unos <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>Some
\n(Plural, masculine)<\/td>		Unos<\/b> estudiantes<\/i> (some students)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Unas <\/a>\n <\/i><\/td>Some
\n(Plural, feminine)<\/td>		Unas<\/b> mesas<\/i> (some chairs)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

When to Use Definite Articles in Spanish<\/h2>\n

1. To Talk About Likes and Dislikes<\/h3>\n

In English, when talking about our likes, loves and dislikes, we don\u2019t generally use articles (like in the sentences \u201cI like monster trucks” or \u201cI hate black olives.\u201d)<\/p>\n

But in Spanish, you must use definite articles (el, la, los, las)<\/em> when talking about these general likes and dislikes.<\/p>\n

Me gusta el<\/strong> arte<\/em>. (I like art.)<\/p>\n

Odio las<\/strong> pel\u00edculas de terror<\/em>. (I hate horror movies.)<\/p>\n

2. To Tell Time<\/h3>\n

Times in Spanish are all feminine, and you must always include the feminine definite article (la<\/em> or las)<\/em> when telling time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When learning to tell time in Spanish, there are two important phrases to remember:<\/p>\n

Son las…<\/em> (it\u2019s)<\/p>\n

A las… <\/em>(at)<\/p>\n

For example:<\/p>\n

Son las<\/em><\/strong> ocho de la ma\u00f1ana.<\/em> (It\u2019s 8:00 in the morning.)<\/p>\n

El concierto empieza a las<\/strong> diez y media.<\/em> (The concert begins at 10:30.)<\/p>\n

The only exception to son las <\/em>and a las<\/em> is when you\u2019re talking about the hour 1:00 because one is singular. So naturally, you’d use the singular feminine article la:<\/em><\/p>\n

Voy a llegar a la<\/strong> una y veinte<\/em>. (I\u2019ll arrive at 1:20.)<\/p>\n

\u00a1Ya es la<\/strong> una y cuarto!<\/em> (It\u2019s already a quarter past 1!)<\/p>\n

El partido termin\u00f3 a la<\/strong> una menos diez.<\/em> (The game ended at 10\u00a0to 1.)<\/p>\n

3. With Days of the Week<\/h3>\n

In English, we’re used to using prepositions before saying a day of the week. For example:<\/p>\n

I hope to see you on<\/strong> Thursday.<\/p>\n

She won\u2019t be here until<\/strong> Friday night.<\/p>\n

But in Spanish, when you want to talk about something happening on a specific day of the week, you must use a definite pronoun before the day.<\/p>\n

The days of the week are always masculine, so you’ll use either el<\/em> or los<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When talking about one specific day of the week, use el:<\/em><\/p>\n

Ir\u00e9 a Bogot\u00e1 el<\/strong> lunes que viene.<\/em>\u00a0(I will go to Bogota next Monday.)<\/p>\n

When talking about something habitual or that happens every week, use los:<\/em><\/p>\n

Voy al gimnasio todos los<\/strong> martes<\/em>. (I go to the gym every Tuesday.)<\/p>\n

Visito a mi abuela todos los<\/strong> mi\u00e9rcoles. <\/em>(I visit my grandmother every Wednesday.)<\/p>\n

4. To Talk About General Things<\/h3>\n

In English, we’re used to dropping the definite article (“the”) when talking about nouns in general. For example, if you think all dogs are cute (generally), you’d say “Dogs are cute.”<\/p>\n

But in Spanish, we keep the definite article.<\/p>\n

Take a look at these sentences as examples:<\/p>\n

Los<\/strong> perros son lindos.<\/em> (Dogs are cute.)<\/p>\n

La<\/strong> comida india es picante.<\/em> (Indian food is spicy.)<\/p>\n

Me gusta el<\/strong> caf\u00e9.\u00a0<\/em>(I like coffee.)<\/p>\n

5. With Reflexive Verbs<\/h3>\n

You’ll see this all the time with reflexive verbs\u2014actions that you do to yourself.<\/p>\n

For example, in English we say “I wash my<\/strong> hands,” but in Spanish, we say “I wash the<\/strong> hands”:<\/p>\n

Me lavo las<\/strong> manos.<\/em> (I wash my hands.)<\/p>\n

Me lavo el<\/strong> pelo.\u00a0<\/em>(I wash my hair.)<\/p>\n

Me duele la<\/strong> cabeza.\u00a0<\/em>(My head hurts.)<\/p>\n

Here’s a bit more challenging sentence that uses the reflexive verb irse<\/em> (to leave):<\/p>\n

Si t\u00fa te vas, se me ir\u00e1 todo el<\/strong> valor.\u00a0<\/em>(If you leave, all my courage will leave me.)<\/p>\n

This is a lyric from the song “Si T\u00fa Te Vas”<\/em><\/a> (If You Leave), a popular love song by Enrique Iglesias. Notice how he doesn’t literally say\u00a0my<\/em> courage\u2014he says\u00a0the<\/em> courage will leave me.<\/p>\n

You can listen to Spanish songs like this one on FluentU<\/a>, where the music video has interactive subtitles that help you spot instances of definite and indefinite articles in context.

FluentU<\/strong> takes authentic videos\u2014like music videos, movie trailers, news and inspiring talks\u2014and turns them into personalized language learning lessons.<\/p>\r\n

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You can try FluentU for free for 2 weeks. Check out the website or download the iOS app<\/a> or Android app.<\/a><\/p>\r\n

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