General Preface 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:         Masculine Feminine Singular UN UNA Plural UNOS UNAS   Examples Unos zapatos Some shoes Los zapatos The shoes Un zapato A shoe Las camisas The shirts La camisa The shirt Una camisa A shirt Las lámparas The lamps La lámpara The lamp Una lámpara A lamp La bolsa The bag Unas bolsas Some bags Una bolsa A bag El hermano The brother Los hermanos The brothers Un hermano A brother Los vasos The glasses Unos vasos Some glasses Un vaso A glass Las pelotas The balls La pelota The ball Una pelota A ball Los amigos The friends El amigo The friend Un amigo A friend

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