{"id":143400,"date":"2023-06-26T11:34:52","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T15:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/learn\/spanish-contractions\/"},"modified":"2025-01-22T00:23:02","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T05:23:02","slug":"spanish-contractions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fluentu.com\/blog\/spanish\/spanish-contractions\/","title":{"rendered":"How and When to Use Spanish Contractions “Al” and “Del”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spanish contractions\u2014two words combined into one\u2014help make the language sound more fluid and natural.\u00a0They’re an important part of Spanish grammar<\/a> that every language learner should get familiar with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There are only two Spanish contractions\u2014al<\/em> <\/strong>and del<\/em><\/strong>\u2014and using them is an integral part of speaking correct Spanish.\u00a0The grammar rules behind Spanish contractions are simple to learn, but the hardest part is remembering to actually use them in your daily Spanish speech.<\/a><\/p>\n

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

What Are the Spanish Contractions?<\/h2>\n

The Spanish language has two contractions formed with the definite article<\/a> el<\/em> (the, used for masculine nouns<\/a>): al <\/em><\/strong>and del<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Al<\/em><\/strong> is a contraction of the two Spanish words a<\/em> and el<\/em>, and can mean many things, such as \u201cat the\u201d or \u201cto the.\u201d<\/p>\n

Del<\/em><\/strong> is a contraction of the words de<\/em> and el<\/em>. It can mean \u201cfrom the\u201d and \u201cof the,\u201d among other things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t
a<\/em> + el<\/em><\/strong><\/td> al<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
de<\/em> + el<\/em><\/strong><\/td> del<\/strong><\/em> <\/a>\n <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n

In English, contractions are optional. In Spanish, this isn\u2019t the case. If you have the words a<\/em> and el<\/em> or de<\/em> and el<\/em> next to each other, you \u00admust<\/em> contract them <\/strong>(except when el<\/em> is part of a proper noun, as explained later on).<\/p>\n

Saying voy a ir a el<\/strong> parque<\/em> (I am going to the park), for example, is grammatically incorrect<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Note that contractions only<\/strong> happen with the article el<\/em>. You’ll never see a contraction with the other articles: la, los<\/em> and las<\/em>.<\/p>\n

When to Use Al<\/em><\/h2>\n

In the following sections, we’ll go over some of the most common scenarios when a <\/em>and el<\/em> are used together as al<\/em> in a sentence.<\/p>\n

To describe motion toward a place<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the English preposition \u201cto,\u201d use a<\/em> to describe somebody moving towards a place. When that place happens to begin with the article el<\/em>, you get al<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ella va al<\/strong> cine todos los viernes.
\n<\/em>She goes to the movie theater every Friday.<\/p>\n

To describe location<\/strong><\/p>\n

Use a<\/em> like the English \u201cat\u201d to describe a location.<\/p>\n

Te espero al<\/strong> final de la cola.
\n<\/em>I\u2019ll wait for you at the end of the line.<\/p>\n

To describe the end of a period of time<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like the English \u201cto\u201d or \u201cuntil,\u201d use a<\/em> to describe when a period of time ends. Again, if your ending point happens to begin with el<\/em>, use the contraction al<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Ella va a estar aqu\u00ed del lunes que viene al<\/strong> viernes siguiente.
\n<\/em>She\u2019s going to be here from next Monday until the following Friday.<\/p>\n

To introduce an indirect object, after certain verbs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Certain verbs in Spanish<\/a>\u00a0require an a<\/em> after them. After the a<\/em> comes the indirect object of the sentence. If the indirect object starts with el<\/em>, you\u2019ll form the contraction al<\/em>. One example of such a verb is acercarse a <\/em>(to approach).<\/p>\n

Me acerco al<\/strong> coche.<\/em>
\nI approach the car.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> There are many other usages of a<\/em>\u2014such as in time expressions<\/a> and before infinitive verbs<\/a>\u2014but since those never match up with the preposition el<\/em>, they\u2019re not relevant to this article. If you want to know more about when to use a<\/em>, SpanishDict provides a pretty thorough rundown.<\/a><\/p>\n

When to Use Del<\/em><\/h2>\n

Del <\/em>is used whenever the preposition de<\/em> is followed by el <\/em><\/strong>(again, except for when el<\/em> is part of a proper noun). The following are some common examples of when de<\/em> and el<\/em> appear together in Spanish sentences.<\/p>\n

To describe possession or ownership<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Spanish, there’s no equivalent to the English possessive \u2019s<\/strong>. Instead, to express possession, write the object, followed by de<\/em>, followed by the owner.<\/p>\n

La camiseta del<\/strong> chico
\n<\/em>The boy\u2019s shirt<\/p>\n

To describe origin<\/strong><\/p>\n

When talking about where you or somebody else is from, use de<\/em>. In some cases, this will require you to use the contraction del<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Soy del<\/strong> norte de Espa\u00f1a.
\n<\/em>I\u2019m from the north of Spain.<\/p>\n

To talk about the beginning of a period of time<\/strong><\/p>\n

As stated previously, a<\/em> demarcates the end of a period of time. On the flip side, de<\/em> can express the beginning of a period of time.<\/p>\n

Me voy de vacaciones del<\/strong> 1 al 15 de marzo.
\n<\/em>I’m going on vacation from March 1st to 15th.<\/p>\n

To introduce an indirect object, after certain verbs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Like with a<\/em>, the preposition de <\/em>is sometimes an integral part of verbs. One example is the verb acordarse de<\/em> (to remember).<\/p>\n

\u00bfTe acuerdas del<\/strong> chico que conocimos en la feria?
\n<\/em>Do you remember the boy who\u00a0we met at the fair?<\/p>\n

Again, there are many uses of de<\/em><\/a> that aren’t covered here because they rarely or never turn into del<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

When Not to Form a\u00a0Contraction<\/h2>\n

As previously mentioned, there’s an important exception when a<\/em> and de<\/em> don’t form a contraction with el<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t form a contraction if the el<\/em> is part of a proper noun<\/strong>, such as a city name or\u00a0book<\/a> title.\u00a0Many cities and towns in the Spanish-speaking world\u2014and even some countries\u2014start with articles. Take, for example, the Argentinian<\/a> town El Chalten.<\/p>\n

Vamos a ir al Chalten<\/span><\/em>.
\nVamos a ir a El <\/strong>Chalten.<\/em>
\nWe\u2019re going to go to El<\/strong> Chalten.<\/p>\n

The same happens with book<\/a> and movie titles<\/a> that start with el<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Jorge Luis Borges es el autor del “otro.”
\n<\/span><\/em>Jorge Luis Borges es el autor de “El<\/strong> otro.”<\/em>
\nJorge Luis Borges is the author of “The<\/strong> Other.”<\/p>\n

Also, don’t form a contraction when you\u2019re dealing with the pronoun \u00e9l<\/em><\/strong> rather than el<\/em>. These two little words might look similar, but that accent mark<\/a> makes all the difference.<\/p>\n

While el<\/em> (the) is a definite article used with masculine nouns, \u00e9l<\/em> (with an accent mark) is a pronoun<\/a> for masculine-gendered people or nouns, like the English words \u201che,\u201d \u201chim\u201d or \u201cit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Le d\u00ed el regalo al<\/span>.
\n<\/em>Le d\u00ed el regalo a \u00e9l.<\/strong><\/strong><\/em>
\nI gave the gift to him<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Me lleg\u00f3 un correo del<\/span> esta ma\u00f1ana.<\/span><\/em>
\nMe lleg\u00f3 un correo de \u00e9l esta ma\u00f1ana.<\/em> <\/strong>
\nI got an email from him<\/strong> this morning.<\/p>\n

To get more familiar with Spanish contractions, try to expose yourself to them as they\u2019re used in actual conversations. A good method is by listening to Spanish audio clips or watching Spanish videos. One resource for this is the language learning program FluentU<\/a>.

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

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

P.S. Click here to take advantage of our current sale! (Expires at the end of this month)<\/a><\/i>\r\n<\/p>\r\n \r\n\r\n \"FluentU\r\n

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Al <\/em>is used whenever the preposition a<\/em> is followed by the masculine singular definite article el <\/em><\/strong>(except for when el<\/em> is part of a proper noun<\/a>).<\/p>\n