⇒ Spanish nouns are often accompanied by a definite article, and they are often used in instances in which an article would not be used in English.
⇒ A lot of the time, the inclusion or omission of a definite article in Spanish matches up with the English translation.
⇒ For example:
| Pásame el arroz.Pass me the rice. |
| Como helado.I eat ice cream. |
⇒ However, there are also times that you will use the definite article in Spanish, but not in the English translation.
⇒ Below you will find a some helpful guidelines for remembering when to use the definite article in Spanish.
⇒ Though this list is not exhaustive, it gives you a good idea of some uses of Spanish definite articles that don't match up with English usage.
⇒ When talking about something in general, such as a type of food, music, book, etc. or a group of some sort, you'll use the definite article in Spanish.
| La comida de México es deliciosa.Mexican food is delicious. |
| Los gatos son inteligentes.Cats are intelligent. |
⇒ In Spanish, definite articles are used with the days of the week.
| Tengo que trabajar el lunes.I have to work on Monday. |
| Voy al gimnasio los lunes.I go to the gym on Mondays. |
⇒ When a day of the week follows a form of the verb ser, no article is used.
⇒ Definite articles are used with names of languages in Spanish when the language is the subject of a sentence.
| El japonés y el alemán son lenguas difíciles.Japanese and German are difficult languages. |
| El español me gusta mucho.I really like Spanish. |
⇒ When a language is the object of a verb, the definite article is not used.
| Yo hablo español.I speak Spanish. |
| Quiero aprender español.I want to learn Spanish. |
| Me gusta estudiar español.I like to study Spanish. |
| Me enseñaban español.They taught me Spanish. |
⇒ Definite articles are often used with body parts and articles of clothing in Spanish.
| Me duele el estómago.My stomach hurts. |
| Si no traes la camisa fajada, no puedes entrar.If your shirt isn't tucked in, you can't come in. |
⇒ Definite articles are used before numbers when telling time.
| Es la una.It's one o'clock. |
| Vamos a las tres.We leave at three. |
⇒ The definite article used for telling time is always feminine since it references la hora (the hour)
⇒ Definite articles are used when talking about things possessed or created by someone.
| Las películas de Almodóvar son interesantes.Almodóvar's movies are interesting. |
| Las flores de tu mamá crecieron un buen.Your mom's flowers grew a lot. |
⇒ Definite articles are also used when giving someone's title.
| El doctor Hernández es inteligente.Dr. Hernandez is intelligent. |
| La señora Cuevas tiene una casa bonita.Mrs. Cuevas has a beautiful house. |
⇒ Articles aren't used before titles when you are talking to someone or with titles like San, Santo/a, Don, and Doña.
| Señora Ocón, ¿cómo está?Mrs. Ocon, how are you? |
| Los restos de San Nicolás están en Bari.Saint Nicholas's remains are in Bari. |
| Don Juan es un hombre muy romántico.Don Juan is a very romantic man. |
⇒ Want to learn more about Spanish articles? Check out our notes on Spanish articles, which includes indefinite articles.