Spanish Articles and Agreement
¿“El coche” or “Un coche”?
Unlike English, nouns are accompanied by an article most of the time in Spanish.
Artículos determinados (Definite Articles)
We use these articles for things we’ve already mentioned or to refer to specific things. These all translate to “the” in English:
We have four of them because they indicate the gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural) of the noun we’re talking about. So this means they have to match the gender and the number of the noun:
Artículos indeterminados (Indefinite Articles)
We use these articles to talk about non-specific people or things or when we want to generalize. “Un” and “una” translate to “a” (or “an”) in English, and they can also mean one (1). “Unos” and “unas” mean “some” or “a few”.
Again, we have four of them because they indicate gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural). They have to match the gender and the number of the noun:
Here’s a great tip: only use “uno” when you intend to refer to the number one (1). Not when you’re describing the quantity of something as being “one”, instead use the indefinite article (for example, “un momento”, not “uno momento”).
*Note: With feminine singular nouns that begin with a stressed “a” or “ha” we use the masculine indefinite article “un” instead of the feminine “una”.
Hay (There is — There are)
“Hay” means both “there is” and “there are” (singular and plural) in Spanish. Below are some of its different uses together with:
*Note: As long as the group of things or people has at least one male noun, the masculine plural article is used.
Do you think you know your definite and indefinite articles in Spanish well? Take this Spanish article quiz to see if you do!
Spanish Articles: Definite and Indefinite QUIZ
In this lesson, you’ve learned how to use definite and indefinite articles in Spanish. Remember Spanish articles must reflect the gender (masculine or feminine) and quantity (singular or plural) of the noun they come before. Definite articles in Spanish (el, la, los, las) are used to describe specific things and people, whereas we use indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas) to make generalizations. If you feel confident with these articles, you’re ready to move on to learning other parts of speech, like Possessive Adjectives and Pronouns and we’d recommend looking at Plural Forms of Nouns if you haven’t done so yet.
