Definition of article

Article is a word that is linked to nouns and its grammatical function is to give specificity to those nouns rather than describing them.

The definite articles in Spanish

Usage:

1. When it is referring to something definite and specific.

• Ana recibió la carta de su hijo menor (Ana received the letter from her youngest son)
• El gato de Juan es blanco (John’s cat is white)
• El periodista no pudo ir a la reunión de anoche (The journalist couldn’t attend last night’s meeting)

2. When it is referring to something definite but not specific.

• Estamos buscando a la persona ideal para este cargo (We are seeking the ideal person for this position)
• El triunfador recibirá 2 millones de dólares (The winner will receive 2 million dollars)

3. With elliptical sense (with something known)

• Hay dos libros sobre la mesa. El mío es el rojo (There are 2 books on the table. Mine is the red one)
• Tu falda es hermosa. La de tu hermana también (Your skirt is beautiful. Your sister’s as well)

4. With acronyms either masculine or feminine depending of the main noun gender

• El SELA inició sesiones hoy. (SELA = Sistema Económico Latinoamericano y del Caribe. The word “Sistema” is masculine) (SELA started its sessions today)
• La ONU organizará un evento cultural (ONU = Organización de las Naciones Unidas. The word “Organización” is feminine) (UN will organize a culture event)

5. To name specific letters of the alphabet

• La segunda “á” en mamá debe llevar tilde (The second ‘a’ in the word mamá must have written accent)
• Antes de la “p” en “campo”, debes escribir una m (Before ‘p’ in ‘campo’, you must write ‘m’)

6. To refer to specific people by their last names

• Los Torres viven cerca de aquí (The Torres live nearby)
• Carlos es el Durán que vimos anoche (Carlos is the Durán we saw last night)

7. With specific continent names

• El África de hoy aún vive en la pobreza (The Africa of today still lives in poverty)
• La Europa del siglo pasado sufrió muchas transformaciones (Last century’s Europe underwent many transformations)

8. “a” + “el” are contracted as “al” (with a few exceptions)

• Ella visitó al doctor la semana pasada (She visited the doctor last week)
• Los niños entraron al salón (The kids entered the classroom)

9. “de” + “el” are contracted as “del” (with a few exceptions)

• Este requisito es parte del contrato (This requirement is part of the contract)
• Ese auto es del hermano de Lynn (This car belongs to Lynn’s brother)

10. With unique nouns

• El sol casi siempre sale a las 6 am (The sun almost always rises at 6 am)
• El planeta tierra podría desaparecer (The Earth planet could disappear)

11. With restrictive modifiers

• Le dieron a ella el recibimiento de siempre (They gave her the usual reception)
• El restaurante sirvió la cena habitual (The restaurant served the habitual dinner)

12. With deictic sense

• Prohibido beber alcohol en el autobús (Drinking alcohol on the bus is not allowed)
• No uses el celular cuando conduzcas (Do not use your mobile phone when driving)

13. With anaphoric sense

• ¡Trae la llave por favor! (Bring the key please!)
• El gerente no vino hoy (The manager did not come today)

14. With endophoric sense

• Juan le dio a su hijo todo el dinero que había ahorrado en la última semana (John gave his son all the money he has saved for the last week)
• Robert renunció al trabajo después de 5 años de dedicación (Robert resigned to his job after 5 years of dedication)

15. With the days of the week and time (with a few exceptions)

• El lunes es festivo (Next Monday is a holiday)
• La conferencia empezó a las 5 de la tarde (The conference started at 5 pm)
• El almacén tiene algunas promociones los martes (The store has some promotions on Tuesdays)

16. With dates (with a few exceptions)

• Ellos empezaron a estudiar el 2 de febrero de 2050 (They started to study on February 2, 2050)
• Llegaron el día 24 de abril (They came in April 24)