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 indefinite article

Usage:

1. When it is referring to something unknown by the speaker or speakers.

• Él trajo una herramienta nueva (He brought a new tool)
• Ellos trabajaron en un pueblo lejano (They worked in a distant town)
• Ella recibió un regalo ayer (She received a gift yesterday)

2. To talk about qualitative or quantitative non-evident features with “que”.

• María tiene un carisma que enamora (Maria has an attracting charm)
• Tengo un sueño intenso que no puedo mantener los ojos abiertos (I feel intensively sleepy that can hardly keep my eyes open)

3. When the preceding noun doesn’t designate a particular individual but a kind.

• Los profesores deberían tener una paciencia única (Teachers should have unique patience)
• Los políticos tienen un gran poder de persuasión (Politicians have a great persuasion ability)

4. To compare somebody with a famous person

• Él tiene la voz de un Pavarotti (He has the voice of a Pavarotti)
• Rosa es una Marie Curie (Rose is a Marie Curie)

5. Before a cardinal number to mean “approximately”.

• Vinieron unas cuarenta personas (Around forty people came)
• La temperatura es de unos 23 grados (The temperature is around 23 degrees)

6. It is used with the quantifiers “pocos”, “cuantos” to mean “some” or “several”

• Él tiene unos pocos amigos (He has a few friends)
• Esa persona ha visitado unos cuantos países (That person has visited a few countries)

7. To name letters of the alphabet

• Una eme minúscula casi no se ve (A lower case ‘m’ can hardly be seen)
• ¿Qué es una hache muda? (What is a silent ‘h’?)

8. To refer to people by their last names

• Maria es una Rojas (Maria is a Rojas)
• Ese niño es un González (That kid is a Gonzalez)

9. With continent names the masculine form is used

• Un Asia próspera (A prosperous Asia)
• Un África en evolución (An Africa in evolution)

10. With names of countries, cities or regions:

• Él vivía en una Francia romántica (He used to live in a romantic France)
• La de hoy, es una Inglaterra modernista (Today’s, it is a modern England)

11. With unstressed initial “a”.

• El ave tenía una alita herida (The bird had an injured wing)
• Es una agüita medicinal (This is a medicinal infusion)

12. With elative adjectives

• ¡Fue una magnífica fiesta! (It was a great party!)
• Le dieron a él un recibimiento inigualable (He was given an incomparable reception)