Piece of Spanish Cake
heading

Definite and Indefinite Articles

General

Preface

We relate to nouns in two distinct forms:
a. The definite form: e.g. the house, the stick – making reference to a specific house or stick.
b. The indefinite form: e.g. a house, a stick – referring to any house or stick.

 

Construction of the Different Forms in English

a. The definite form:
The definite form is constructed by adding a definite article (THE) to the noun.

b. The indefinite form:
The indefinite form is constructed by adding an indefinite article (A or AN) to the noun. 


 

Construction of the Different Forms in Spanish

In Spanish, just like in English, there are definite and indefinite word forms. Unlike English, Spanish articles (definite and indefinite) are matched according to the nouns gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Therefore, there are four distinct definite articles (singular masculine/singular feminine/plural masculine/plural feminine), and four distinct indefinite articles.


 

The Spanish Articles

The Definite Articles

The definite articles in Spanish correspond to the nouns gender and number (singular/plural). The table below shows the four definite article possibilities:

 

 

Masculine

Feminine

Singular

EL

LA 

Plural

LOS

LAS 

 


 

The Indefinite Article

The indefinite articles in Spanish correspond to the nouns gender and number (singular/plural). The table below shows the four indefinite article possibilities:

 

 

 

 

Masculine

Feminine

Singular

UN UNA

Plural

UNOS UNAS

 

Examples

Unos zapatos

Some shoes

Los zapatos

The shoes

Un zapato

A shoe

Las camisas

The shirts

La camisa

The shirt

Una camisa

A shirt

Las lámparas

The lamps

La lámpara

The lamp

Una lámpara

A lamp

La bolsa

The bag

Unas bolsas

Some bags

Una bolsa

A bag

El hermano

The brother

Los hermanos

The brothers

Un hermano

A brother

Los vasos

The glasses

Unos vasos

Some glasses

Un vaso

A glass

Las pelotas

The balls

La pelota

The ball

Una pelota

A ball

Los amigos

The friends

El amigo

The friend

Un amigo

A friend

 
 
1184




We believe in providing you with the tools you need to succeed both within our program and in the “real world”. Other systems forego grammar while focusing solely on conversation skills. Instead, we created a grammar learning system that is rooted into relevant conversations and fun exercises and games. Our philosophy is to empower our learners with the tools to understand the logic of the language as well as knowing correct implementation and application. You’ll never find boring drills at Spanish Uno, but we believe in the capabilities of our learners and therefore never compromise on our standards of language education.