Today, we are going to look at the definite article in Spanish, which translates to 'the' in English. Spanish has 4 different words for 'the', but don't worry, it's easier than it sounds and by the end of this lesson you will be comfortable in using the correct one.
Just before we start, if you haven't read the post on gender in the Spanish language, I suggest you do so before continuing with this lesson.
The definite article is used to describe a specific object, translated as 'the' in English. THE cat refers to a specific cat.
There are 4 words which translate as 'the' :-
El -
Masculine Singular
La -
Feminine Singular
Los -
Masculine Plural
Las -
Feminine Plural
As we learnt in an earlier lesson all nouns in Spanish are either masculine or feminine, and the definite article must always 'agree' with the noun. Let's take Gato - Cat, for an example.
EL gato - The (male) cat
LA gata - The (female) cat
LOS gatos - The (male) cats*
LAS gatas - The (female) cats
*As stated in a previous lesson on gender in the Spanish language mixed groups ALWAYS use the masculine form, irrespective of number.
How about another example? Notice that Masculine nouns use El or los, and feminine nouns use La or Las, depending on whether or not they are singular or plural.
EL Cielo - The Sky
La Manzana - The Apple
Los Pies - The Feet
Las Plumas - The Pens
See? Easy, isn't it? All you have to remember is:
For masculine verbs use EL if you are referring to just a single object or LOS if you are referring to more than one.
For feminine verbs use LA if you are referring to just a single object or LAS if you are referring to more than one.
Now, lets see what you've learned.
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