Transcript Definite Articles, el, la, los, las = The

Definite Articles, el, la, los, las = The
In Spanish all nouns have masculine or
feminine gender.
el chico
la chica
el refresco
la fruta
The definite article tells you the gender of your noun.
*el, los = masculine *la, las = feminine
The gender of nouns must be learned, but generally…
*nouns that end in o are masculine (os plural).
*nouns that end in a are feminine (as plural).
*nouns that end in ción are feminine.
*no trick to remember nouns that end in a consonant.
*some nouns are both masc. and fem.:
el estudiante la estudiante el modelo la modelo.
el policía la policía
Remember there are rule breakers, so you must memorize
vocabulary words with their correct article.
* el mapa el programa el poema
Singular / Plural
When nouns identify one item they are: singular:
la galleta
When they identify more than one item, they are:
plural:
las galletas.
To make a noun plural…
• Add “s” if it ends in a vowel. el libro = los libros
• Add “es” if it ends in a consonant. la mujer = las mujeres
A few nouns will always be singular or plural:
La ropa (clothing / clothes) (generally singular).
Los jeans (always plural).
Los pantalones (always plural).
Las vacaciones (always plural).
Gender & Number
In Spanish, the definite article defines something (THE book, not
just any book).
It matches the noun it accompanies in gender and number.
Gender is randomly assigned to each noun and you CAN NOT
change it. For example, if the article is “el”, the word is
masculine and you can’t change it to “la” and make it feminine.
Gender does not always logically match the word. For example:
dress is masculine (el vestido). Thus, you need to memorize
the gender of each noun by memorizing its definite article.
(masculine, singular)
(masculine, plural)
(feminine, singular)
(feminine, plural)
el chico
los chicos
la chica
las chicas
the boy
the boys
the girll
the girls
Uses of Definite Articles
• A definite article is used in Spanish whenever “the” is used in
English (though there are some exceptions).
• Also use a definite article:
– With abstract nouns and nouns that refer to concepts, rather
than tangible items. (ex: La ciencia es importante. = Science is
important).
– Titles of people (ex: El Presidente Obama vive el la casa
blanca. La Señora Fragel es mi maestra.) (note the article
isn’t used when addressing a person. Ex: “Hola, Señora
Fragel.”)
– Before days of the week.
– Before verbs used as subjects of the sentence use the article
“el”. (Ex: El escribir es difícil.)
– With nouns joined by “and”. (Ex: Necesito el lapíz y el papel
para clase.)
Indefinite Articles: un, una, unos, unas
un, una, unos, unas = a, an, some
A noun may sometimes appear with an indefinite article
(because it is not defined, it could be a boy...any boy).
The indefinite article that accompanies a noun will also match
its gender and number.
Masculino
singular
plural
singular
plural
un chico
(a boy)
unos chicos (some boys)
Feminina
una chica
( a girl)
unas chicas (some girls)
• You can tell which indefinite article to use
based on the noun’s definite article.
Definite Indefinite
• el un
el sombrero = un sombrero.
• los unos los jeans = unos jeans.
• la una la chaqueta = una chaqueta.
• las unas las faldas = unas faldas.
¿Cómo se dice en español?
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a book
the books
some books
the girl
a neighbor (m.)
some neighbors (f)
a friend (m.)
some friends (f.)
the friend (f.)
some houses
un libro
los libros
unos libros
la chica
un vecino (m.)
unas vecinas (f)
un amigo
unas amigas
la amiga (f.)
unas casas
¿Cómo se dice en español?
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11.
12.
13.
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15.
16.
the book
the books
the house
the houses
the neighbor (m.)
the neighbors (f.)
the boy
the girls
the woman
the women
the students (m.)
the teachers (f)
the doctors (f)
the family
the dog
the hats
el libro
los libros
la casa
las casas
el vecino
las vecinas
el chico
las chicas
la mujer
las mujeres
los estudiantes
las maestras
las doctoras
la familia
el perro
los sombreros
¿Cómo se dice en español?
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2
3
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5
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7
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9
10
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
a book
some books
a house
some houses
a hat
some hats
a girl
some boys
a man
some men
a woman
some cats (m.)
some dogs (f.)
some shoes
a dress
some dresses
un libro
unos libros
una casa
unas casas
un sombrero
unos sombreros
una chica
unos chicos
un hombre
unos hombres
una mujer
unos gatos
unas perras
unos zapatos
un vestido
unos vestidos
¿Cómo se dice en español?
a blue book
some red books
some red skirts
some pretty girls
the handsome boy
some nice teachers
a nice teacher
the handsome teacher
the blond girl
the short boy
un libro azul
unos libros rojos
unas faldas rojas
unas chicas bonitas
el chico guapo
unos maestros simpáticos
un maestro simpático
el maestro guapo
la chica rubia
el chico bajo