The definite article in English is the word "the." The primary
Spanish definite articles are el, la, los, and las.
This section is closely related to the section on nouns, and the
two categories should be studied together for a complete view of
the subject.
Forms
Spanish has four forms of the definite article, corresponding to
the singular and plural of masculine and feminine nouns. It also
has a neuter form that is used with adjectives.
Singular
masculine: el (cañon)
feminine: la (campaña)
neuter: lo (malo)
Plural
masculine: los (fusiles)
feminine: las (batallas)
Uses
The definite article translates the word "the."
Ahorro el dinero.(I save the money.)
Sé las respuestas.(I know the
answers.)
The articles are used with the gender and number of their
corresponding nouns, with one exception. When feminine singular
nouns begin with a stresseda or ha they take
the masculine definite article, but only in the singular.
el agua, las aguas(the water, the waters)
el arte, las artes(the art, the arts)
el hada, las hadas(the fairy, the
fairies)
It is used to refer to abstractions and generalities, unless
the idea of "some" or "any" is implied, in which case the article
is omitted.
Nos gusta la música merengue.(We like
merengue music.)
Los clásicos me interesan.(I am
interested in the classics.)
But...
No tengo tiempo.[I haven't (any)
time.]
It is used with names of meals and languages. It is also used
with titles, except when addressing someone directly or when using
don or forms of Santo.
Siempre tomo el desayuno a las nueve.(I
always eat breakfast at nine.)
El español es importantísimo.(Spanish is very important.)
La señora Alba viene.(Mrs. Alba is
coming.)
But...
Señor Blanco, ¿quiere usted
acompañarnos?(Mr. Blanco, would you like to come
with us?)
¿Has leído la poesía de San Juan de la
Cruz? (Have you read the poetry of San Juan de la
Cruz?
It is used with the names of languages, except after de
and en and after unmodified hablar.
El ruso es difícil.(Russian is
difficult.)
Hablan bien el japonés.[They speak
Japanese well. (Note the use ofbien.)]
But...
Hablo español.(I speak Spanish.)
El letrero es en alemán.(The sign is in
German.)
Voy a mi clase de árabe.(I'm going to my
Arabic class.)
It is used to refer to time. It is used with the hours of the
day, days of the week (except after ser), dates of the
month, and seasons.
Son las cinco de la tarde.(It is five o'clock
in the afternoon.)
Mi cumpleaños es el primero de marzo.(My birthday is the first of March.)
La primavera es una estación bonita.(Spring is a lovely month.)
Te llamo el lunes.(I'll call you on
Monday)
But...
Hoy es viernes.(Today is Friday.)
It often substitutes the possessive when referring to articles of
clothing or parts of the body.
Me puse el sombrero.(I put my hat
on.)
Me hice daño al pie.(I hurt my
foot.)
It is used with many place names, especially of countries, but
also of cities, states, and regions. It should be noted that this
use is slowly disappearing.
Vamos al Perú.(Let's go to
Peru.)
La Argentina es bonita.(Argentina is
lovely.)
El Cuzco es una ciudad antigua.(Cuzco is an
ancient city.)
The prepositions de and a contract with the
article el and form del and al,
respectively.
The definite article can also be used with de to mean
"the one" or "those of" in the following contexts:
¿Compraste el de la mujer rubia.(Did
you buy the one from the blond woman?)
¿Ayudaste a los del otro lado?(Did you
help those of the other side?)
The article can be used with que to mean "he, she, they,
etc. who..."
El que llega primero gana.(He who arrives
first wins.)
Los que hablan mucho dicen disparates.(Those
who speak a lot say a lot of nonsense.)
The definite article also combines with infinitives to be used
as nouns.
El chirriar de la puerta me espantó.(The squeaking of the door startled me.)
The neuter form precedes adjectives.
Esto es lo interesante.(This is the
interesting part.)