A fun and easy guide to definite and indefinite articles in Spanish

Every language has certain types of words that perform thankless tasks, and no category fits the bill more than definite and indefinite articles in Spanish.

While these words aren’t the most glamorous or exciting, they perform the essential job of letting us know whether we’re talking about a specific or a general noun. They also help us define the quantity of a noun without using any numbers, whether we even know the quantity of a certain noun, and whether knowing the quantity of it is relevant in the first place.

If that sounds like a lot of information — that’s because it is! And that’s precisely the beauty of Spanish definite and indefinite articles: we can communicate a lot of information through them without even realizing it. These are essential parts of our everyday communication, and mastering them will help you sound like a true native.

Ready to get started? Although Spanish articles are only two-to-four words long, there’s a lot of ground to cover. ¡Vámonos!

What are articles in Spanish grammar?

Articles in Spanish are small words that help us define a noun. They always go before nouns and define them in terms of number and gender. If you’re an English speaker, then you’re already familiar with articles, as English uses “the,” “a,” and “an” as articles. The Spanish articles are very similar, except that they also define the gender of a noun as well as the quantity. As such, there’s a total of nine articles in Spanish, whereas English only has three.

What is a definite article in Spanish?

Definite articles in Spanish are used when speaking about a noun whose identity is known to the speaker or reader. In other words, use definite articles when referencing a specific noun rather than a general noun. English uses the definite article “the” in these situations.

The definite articles in Spanish are:

• El
• La
• Lo
• Los
• Las

For example, if you’re at the dinner table, you would ask someone to pass you “the salt.” As long as there’s a salt shaker on the table, people will know that you’re referring to that specific salt container. If there’s no salt on the table, you might want to ask the waiter for some salt. In this case, you can’t use a definite article because you don’t know the identity of the noun. You know you’re getting salt, but you don’t know which salt you’re getting.

Here are the five definite articles in Spanish along with examples of how to use them:

The definite article lo

As you may have noticed, there’s a special neutral article within the definite articles in Spanish: lo. This article is used exclusively for adjectives, ordinal numbers, and participles. Unlike other articles, you never want to use this article before nouns.

Here are some situations where you’d use the definite article lo:

• Lo primero
• Lo bonito
• Lo pasado
• Lo mejor

Even though this is a neutral singular article, remember that all Spanish nouns are gendered, so you cannot use it as an easy way to avoid differentiating by noun gender.

What is an indefinite article in Spanish?

Indefinite articles in Spanish are used to define nouns whose identity is unknown. In other words, you don’t know which individual or group of nouns you’re talking about. This is equivalent to the English “a” and “an.”

The indefinite articles in Spanish are:

• Un
• Una
• Unos
• Unas

For example, if you’re craving a cup of coffee, you’d use an indefinite article. In this example, you’re not craving a specific cup of coffee — any cup of coffee would do. But, if you find yourself traveling through Colombia’s coffee belt, you might find yourself craving the coffee you had at that one local coffee shop the other day. In this case, you’re referring to a specific coffee cup, so you wouldn’t be able to use an indefinite article.

Here are a few more examples of when to use indefinite articles in Spanish.

Table of definite and indefinite articles in Spanish

If you’ve already got a handle on the Spanish articles and simply want a refresh, then this table is for you! Here’s a quick roundup of every article in Spanish along with simple examples.

Articles and prepositions in Spanish

The masculine singular definite article “el” can be contracted when placed directly next to certain prepositions. Unlike English contractions, these Spanish contractions are always mandatory, and failing to contract the articles and prepositions would be grammatically incorrect.

Here are the Spanish contractions and how to use them:

When to include articles in Spanish

Knowing what the Spanish articles are is a great first step toward learning how to use them masterfully. However, the real challenge is knowing when to use them. Here are some examples of when you need to include articles in Spanish.

Personal identity

As you’ll learn later on, Spanish doesn’t use articles for describing personal adjectives. However, there is one exception: when you use an adjective to modify the noun.

Things

As you now know, things require a definite or indefinite article depending on whether their identity is known. However, as you’ll see in the following section, articles aren’t always necessary. Here are a few examples of when to use articles in Spanish.

Transport

You’ll want to use articles when describing a means of transportation as a physical location. For example, “Ya estoy en el avión” (I am on the plane). In this situation, you’re using the means of transport as a physical space in relation to something else (you). Here are a few more examples:

Places

As you can imagine from the section above, most places require a definite or indefinite article in Spanish. Use articles whenever asking and answering a ¿Dónde? question (feel free to brush up on your Spanish question words if you’re a little rusty). Here are some examples:

Date and time

While English uses prepositions like “at” or “on” when telling the time to make plans, Spanish uses definite articles. More specifically, it uses the feminine plural definite article las for telling every hour of the day except for 1, when it uses the feminine singular definite article la. For days of the week, it uses the masculine singular definite article el for one-off events and the plural los for recurring events. Here are some examples:

Reflexive verbs

If you’re not yet familiar with Spanish reflexive verbs, these are actions that you do unto yourself. They use a special type of Spanish pronouns, appropriately called reflexive pronouns — me, te, se, nos, se. You’ll want to use an article with the noun any time you use a reflexive verb in Spanish.

Emphasis

This trick might fall more into the intermediate Spanish category and above, but it’s still a neat trick to learn even if you’re a beginner. Instead of saying “tengo hambre” or “tengo frío,” you can add an almost scary level of emphasis by placing an indefinite article before the noun “tengo un hambre” and “tengo un frío.” Here are some more examples:

When to exclude articles in Spanish

Perhaps more important than knowing when to include Spanish articles is knowing when to exclude them. Indeed, inserting an article where it doesn’t belong could confuse the listener but make them think that they missed out on an important piece of information. Here are some situations where excluding the articles in Spanish is essential.

Personal identity

English uses articles to define personal characteristics like nationality, profession, some personality traits, and even family status. However, Spanish doesn’t use articles for any of these, so you’ll have to remember not to translate directly from English!

Things

As you’ve learned earlier in this article, definite articles are used for nouns whose identity is known, and indefinite articles are used for those whose identity isn't known. However, what about when you’re talking about nouns in a general way? If you need to talk about a noun in a general way without alluding to any quantity, you can just omit the article.

Transport

Using articles isn’t necessary when describing means of transportation in Spanish. In English, you’d say “I’m taking the train” or “I’m taking a bus” when describing how you plan on getting somewhere. In Spanish, however, using articles isn’t necessary. Here are some examples:

Places

If you’ve been taking Spanish lessons for some time now, then you definitely know that this language is full of rules — and also full of exceptions. So, although most places do require an article, there are a few that go without an article. Here are some of the exceptions:

Date and time

Hopefully by this point, you’re starting to pick up on a trend: generalized statements tend to not need articles while specific ones do. When talking about the date or the time in a general way, rather than making specific plans, you can exclude the article.

FAQs about articles in Spanish

How do you know when to use a definite or indefinite article in Spanish?

You use a definite article when the listener knows the exact noun you are talking about. This can happen when you’ve already mentioned the noun in detail or when the noun in question is obvious. You use an indefinite article if you haven’t talked about a noun before or don’t want to talk about a specific object.

How do I know when to use el or la in Spanish?

Spanish is a gendered language, meaning that all nouns have a grammatical gender. The definite article used for masculine nouns is el, and the definite article used for feminine nouns is la. These articles have to agree with the gender of the noun they are referring to, not the noun of the person. So, in order to know whether to use el or la in Spanish, you first have to know the gender of a noun in question.

A quick trick to figure out what the gender is is to pay attention to the ending of the noun. If the noun ends in -o, such as cuchillo, hermano or amigo, then it’s likely masculine. If the noun ends in -a, such as abeja, altura or falda, then it’s likely feminine.

Is it el agua or la agua in Spanish?

In Spanish, feminine nouns that start with an a and also start with the stressed syllable use the masculine article el. Since agua meets both criteria, you should say el agua in Spanish even if agua is a feminine noun. Note that this doesn’t happen for all feminine nouns that start with an a. For example, you still say la abeja (the bee) in Spanish. That’s because abeja doesn’t start with a stressed syllable. To review stressed syllable rules, check out our ultimate guide to Spanish accent marks.

Enjoy a definite improvement in your Spanish with the definite and indefinite articles

As promised at the beginning of this article, spending the time to learn when to use (and when not to!) the Spanish articles will pay off tremendously. Although not as glamorous as learning names for landforms and beaches or terms for feelings and emotions, learning the articles in Spanish will level up your grammar game like few other topics could.

If you enjoyed this blog post and feel like you’ve learned about the use of definite and indefinite articles in Spanish, make sure to check out the rest of our Spanish content. We regularly publish helpful grammar and vocabulary posts to help answer some of your most burning Spanish questions.