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GRAMMAR LESSONS

Spanish Articles and Agreement

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Spanish Articles and Agreement

¿“El coche” or “Un coche”?

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Unlike English, nouns are accompanied by an article most of the time in Spanish.

Estoy en el trabajo.
I’m at work.
Me gusta el jazz.
I like jazz.
Los profesores tienen que ser pacientes.
Teachers have to be patient.
Ella va a la universidad.
She goes to university.

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:

El (masculine singular)
La (feminine singular)
Los (masculine plural)
Las (feminine plural)

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:

El niño (the boy)
La niña (the girl)
Los niños (the children)
Las niñas (the children)
En contexto
In context
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¿Dónde están los niños?
Where are the children?
El perro del vecino siempre nos ladra.
The neighbour’s dog always barks at us.

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”.

Un (masculine singular)
Una (feminine singular)
Unos (masculine plural)
Unas (feminine plural)

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:

Un lápiz (A pencil)
Una cama (A bed)
Unos lápices (Some pencils)
Unas camas (Some beds)

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”).

En contexto
In context
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Necesito un lápiz.
I need a pencil.
Hay unas chicas jugando voleibol en el parque.
There are some girls playing volleyball in the park.

*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”.

En contexto
In context
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un águila
an eagle
un alma
a soul
un hacha
an axe

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:

un, una, unos, unas (a, an, some, a few)
muchos, muchas (a lot of, many, much)
algunos, algunas (some, a few)
pocos, pocas (a few, little, not many)
Hay + un, una, unos, unas + noun
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En mi comedor hay una mesa antigua.
There’s an antique table in my dining room.
¿Hay un banco por aquí?
Is there a bank near here?
Hay + muchos/muchas, pocos/pocas, algunos/algunas + noun
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Hay algunas plantas en nuestro jardín.
There are some plants in our garden.
Hay muchas personas en el concierto.
There are many people at the concert.
Hay pocos tomates para hacer la salsa.
There aren’t many tomatoes to make the sauce.

Hay + dos, tres, cuatro, cinco… + noun

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En la escuela hay dos estacionamientos.
There are two parking lots in the school.

Hay + dos, tres, cuatro, cinco… + noun

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¿Hay jugo de manzana en el refrigerador?
Is there apple juice in the fridge?

*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

Complete the following sentences with the correct article
1. Me gusta mucho _____________ pasta.
2. Ayer vimos _____________ águila
3. ¿Te gusta ir a _____________ playa?
4. Ayer fui a _____________ concierto.
5. _____________ niño tiene hambre.
6. _____________ botellas de vino están vacías.
7. _____________ gata de mi vecina es blanca.
8. _____________ niñas estudiaron más que _____________ niños.
9. El aguacate es _____________ fruta.
10. Hay _____________ lápices sobre mi escritorio.
Choose the correct word.
1. Hay ________ vasos en la cocina.
2. ________ jugo de manzana es muy rico.
3. Hay ________ plátanos para la ensalada.
4. ________ jamón en el refrigerador.
5. Hay ________ cosas en mi recámara.
6. Necesitamos ________ periódicos.
7. ________ comida de ese restaurante es muy mala.
8. No hay servilletas en casa. Quiero comprar ________
9. Hay ________ personas en la fiesta.
10. ________ estudiantes están trabajando en equipo.

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.

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