Today, the indefinite article, translates in English to 'a' or 'an' but as with the definite article, in Spanish there are 4 different words, depending on the gender and the quantity of the noun which it describes.
The indefinite article is used to describe a non-specific object. A cat, as opposed to a specific object, THE cat, which we have seen before, is the definite article.
There are four words in Spanish for the English 'A' or 'AN' -
Un-
Masculine Singular
Una-
Feminine Singular
Unos-
Masculine Plural
Unas-
Feminine Plural
As we learnt in a previous lesson all nouns in the Spanish language are either masculine or feminine, and the indefinite article must always 'agree' with the noun. Let's again, use the word 'cat' as an example.
Un gato - A male cat / 1 male cat
Una gata - A female cat / 1 female cat
Unos gatos - Some (male) cats*
Unas gatas - Some (female) cats
*As stated in a previous lesson in mixed groups the male form of the verb is always used, regardless of number.
How about another example? Remember that masculine nouns use 'un' or 'unos' and feminine nouns use 'una' or 'unas' depending on whether they are singular or plural.
Un Libro - A book / 1 book
Una Manzana - An apple / 1 apple
Unos Libros - Some books
Unas Manzanas - Some apples
See, easy, isn't it?
All you have to remember is:
"For masculine verbs use UN if you are referring to just a single object or UNOS if you are referring to more than one."
"For feminine verbs use UNA if you are referring to just a single object or UNAS if you are referring to more than one"
