We relate to nouns in two distinct forms: a. The definite form: e.g. the house, the stick – making reference to a specific house or stick. b. The indefinite form: e.g. a house, a stick – referring to any house or stick.
Construction of the Different Forms in English
a. The definite form: The definite form is constructed by adding a definite article (THE) to the noun.
b. The indefinite form: The indefinite form is constructed by adding an indefinite article (A or AN) to the noun.
Construction of the Different Forms in Spanish
In Spanish, just like in English, there are definite and indefinite word forms. Unlike English, Spanish articles (definite and indefinite) are matched according to the nouns gender (masculine/feminine) and number (singular/plural). Therefore, there are four distinct definite articles (singular masculine/singular feminine/plural masculine/plural feminine), and four distinct indefinite articles.
The Spanish Articles
The Definite Articles
The definite articles in Spanish correspond to the nouns gender and number (singular/plural). The table below shows the four definite article possibilities:
Masculine
Feminine
Singular
EL
LA
Plural
LOS
LAS
The Indefinite Article
The indefinite articles in Spanish correspond to the nouns gender and number (singular/plural). The table below shows the four indefinite article possibilities:
