Definite articles el and la change to los and las.
Indefinite articles un and una are omitted in plural.
Definite articles in plural
el – los
la – las
el coche – los coches
la flor – las flores
El chico está alegre
Los chicos están alegres
La cama es cómoda
Las camas son cómodas
Try it yourself:
el parque – …
la amiga – …
La película es vieja – …
El profesor pregunta mucho – …
un – X
una – X
When a noun with an indefinite article should be changed to plural, the article is simply omitted.
un bolígrafo – bolígrafos
una silla – sillas
En España hay una playa
En España hay playas
Lola es una persona educada
Lola y Pepe son personas educadas
Try it yourself:
un médico – …
una habitación – …
En la parada hay un autobús – …
¿Hay un café en esta calle? – …
No tengo un perro – …
Spanish also has words unos and unas, that might seem articles in plural. In fact, they are used as indefinite pronouns, like algunos and algunas (some, a few).
unos = algunos
unas = algunas
En el parque hay niños – There are children in the park
En el parque hay unos niños – There are some children in the park
Hoy tengo clases – Today I have classes
Hoy tengo unas clases – Today I have some classes
Try it yourself:
I have books
I have some books
We watch movies at weekends
We watch some movies at weekends
Let’s now have a look at situations, in which articles aren’t used at all. It’s called article omission or zero article.
indefinite articles in plural
As it was mentioned before, articles un and una in plural are omitted. If we talk about undetermined objects in plural, these nouns are used with zero article.
En mi país hay ríos, bosques y campos – There are rivers, woods and fields in my country
Luis y Miguel son amigos – Luis and Miguel are friends
Try it yourself:
Zaragoza and Leon are Spanish cities
Elephants are big animals
There are flowers in the garden
pronouns before nouns
When there is a possessive or demonstrative pronoun before a noun, articles are omitted.
Mi coche – My car
Ese hombre – That man
Try it yourself:
This tree
Our parents
Possessive and demonstrative pronouns play the role of noun determiners, just like articles. They can be used interchangeably.
La flor es bonita – Esta flor es bonita
El camión está aparcado – The truck is parked
Aquel camión está aparcado – That truck is parked
de + noun
The de + noun construction replaces adjectives. It’s used to make descriptions, when there is no suitable adjective to be applied to the noun.
casa de campo – country house
mesa de trabajo – working desk
ropa de mujer – women’s clothing
silla de madera – wooden chair
billete de avión – flight ticket
In this construction nouns come without articles, and normally in singular form.
If you add an article, the meaning will change.
Compare:
Ropa de mujer – Women’s clothing
Ropa de la mujer – Clothes of the (determined) woman
El sillón de profesor – Teacher’s armchair
El sillón del profesor – The armchair of the (determined) teacher
Try it yourself:
children’s clothing
potato soup
love story
sunglasses
golden watch
preposition + casa
en casa – at home
a casa – home
de casa – from home
In Spanish the word casa has two meanings – house and home. If it means a house as a building, articles are needed. If it refers to home as the main place of living, articles are traditionally omitted.
Estoy en casa – I’m at home
Vamos a casa – We are going home
Salgo de casa – I leave home
Estoy en la casa vieja – I’m in the old house
La casa de María está fuera de la ciudad – Maria’s house is outside of the city
When you talk about somebody’s home, like your granny’s home or your friends’ home, articles can be either applied or omitted.
These two sentences are equal:
Voy a casa de mis abuelos
Voy a la casa de mis abuelos
Try it yourself:
Are you at home?
Luis comes back home
We are at Luis’s home
I’m in my country house
My dad buys a house in Peru
en + transport
en coche – by car
en autobús – by bus
en avión – by plane
en tren – by train
en taxi – by taxi
In these phrases articles are omitted, if they refer to a means of transportation.
Voy al trabajo en coche – I go to work by car
Cada día viajamos en metro – Every day we go by metro
Notice, that articles are omitted only when the sentence answers the question How does someone move? By means of what transport? In other cases articles should be used according to the context.
Estoy en el coche – I’m in the car
Alba deja su mochila en un autobús – Alba leaves her backpack on a bus
Los pasajeros se suben al tren – The passengers get on the train
Pido un taxi – I ask for a taxi
Try it yourself:
We fly to Spain by plane
She goes to the mountains by car
We are already on the train
I want to buy a car
uncountable nouns
En la nevera hay leche – There is milk in the fridge
Me gusta tomar café – I like drinking coffee
Álvaro no tiene dinero – Alvaro doesn’t have money
Uncountable nouns are objects or notions that cannot be counted piece by piece. It can be liquids, bulk materials and abstract notions.
Don’t say: un dinero, dos dineros
Uncountable nouns take only singular form and aren’t used precisely with indefinite articles.
Mi mamá compra azúcar – My mom buys sugar
If you need to say about some specific sugar, use the definite article.
Mi mamá compra el azúcar – My mom buys the sugar
Try it yourself:
I don’t have new clothes
The clothes are in the wardrobe
There are no people in the street
The people are on the beach
Do you need water?
Do you need the water?
Do they have time?
The time runs fast
Some uncountable nouns, for simplicity, can be transformed into countable. This is done to indicate a number of servings.
¿Me trae un café? – Could you bring me a coffee?
Dos cervezas, por favor – Two beers, please
Alicia pone un azúcar en el té – Alicia puts one sugar into the tea
Try it yourself:
Can you buy two waters?
One tea, please
ser + profession
Soy médico – I’m a doctor
Rafa es tenista – Rafa is a tennis player
This is another example of difference between Spanish and English. This doesn’t only apply to professions, but to a person’s occupation in general.
Soy estudiante – I’m a student
¿Es turista usted? – Are you a tourist?
Try it yourself:
My father is a lawyer
Luis is a mechanic
You are a teacher
Notice, that zero article takes place only when we name someone’s occupation with the verb ser. In other cases articles are used according to the context.
El médico tiene mucha experiencia – The doctor has much experience
Luis es el mecánico que repara motos – Luis is the mechanic, who repares motorbikes
Ejercicio 1
Translate into English and explain the article omission
1. No tengo hermanos
2. Estas chicas son amigas
3. Voy a la playa en coche
4. Esa fábrica produce ropa
5. Soy estudiante
6. Me gusta la sopa de tomate
7. Mi abuelo vende flores
8. Las vacaciones de verano
10. ¿Dónde están mis gafas de sol?
11. El partido de fútbol comienza pronto
12. María es veterinaria
13. Esta pastilla quita el dolor de cabeza
Ejercicio 2
What’s the difference?
Tomo café
Tomo un café
Tomo el café
Leo periódicos
Leo unos periódicos
Leo los periódicos
Compro ropa
Compro la ropa
Champú de mujer
Champú de una mujer
Champú de la mujer
Estoy en casa
Estoy en una casa
Estoy en la casa
Ejercicio 3
Use an article where needed
1. Tengo … amigos en Madrid
2. … amigos de Carla viven en Madrid
3. Salgo de … casa temprano
4. Vivo en … casa es de … ladrillo
5. Pepe lee … artículos de … salud
6. Leo es … futbolista
7. Leo es … futbolista muy talentoso
8. Vamos a Turquía en … barco
9. Vamos a Turquía en … barco “Atalanta”
10. En … calle hay … nieve
11. … nieve es blanca
Ejercicio 4
Translate into Spanish
1. The drama theater is closed
2. There are mosquitoes in the wood
3. Are you at home?
4. David doesn’t eat meat
5. My mom is a doctor
6. Do you have time? (usted)
7. We are traveling by train
8. This book is old
9. Where is the stone bridge?
10. I don’t have ideas
11. Here womenswear is sold
12. We are sisters
13. Three beers, please
14. I need a few days of rest
15. There are shops in this street
16. There are some shops in this street