Ways to say it
| Spanish | IPA | Note |
|---|---|---|
| el | /el/ /eɾ/ |
masculine |
| la | /la/ | feminine |
| los | /los/ | masculine, plural |
| las | /las/ | feminine, plural |
| lo | /lo/ | neuter |
The form el is used before masculine singular nouns, and la is used before feminine singular nouns. The word los is used before masculine plural nouns and las is used before feminine plural nouns.
Which one should you use?
While el, la, los and las are used with nouns, the neuter form lo is used with adjectives or entire concepts to create abstract nouns (e.g., lo bueno for 'the good thing').
How does it change in a sentence?
The definite articles must agree in both gender and number with the noun they modify. Do not confuse the article el (the) with the pronoun él (he). The article does not take an accent mark.
How do you pronounce it?
/el/
What mistakes should you avoid?
English speakers often forget that the gender of the article is determined by the Spanish noun's grammatical gender, not the biological gender of the object or person.
Did you know?
- When a feminine noun starts with a stressed 'a' sound, Spanish uses el instead of la to avoid a clashing sound, such as in el agua.
- The word el comes from the Latin word ille, which originally meant 'that one'. This shows that the modern Spanish 'the' evolved from a demonstrative word used to point things out.
- Spanish speakers often drop the article el or la when talking about their own profession, unlike English speakers who would say 'I am a teacher'.
Examples in context
- Él es la ley.He is the law.This sentence uses la to refer to 'the law'.Tatoeba #1133075 by cueyayotl, translation #1133021 by bluepie88
- No es el caso.That's not the case.This sentence uses el to refer to 'the case'.Tatoeba #1292112 by Shishir, translation #42351 by CM
- La vida es así.That's the way the cookie crumbles.This sentence uses la to refer to 'the life'.Tatoeba #639349 by Shishir, translation #270528 by CM
- El libroThe book
- El cocheThe car
- El hombreThe man
- La casaThe house
- La mesaThe table
- La mujerThe woman
- Los librosThe books
- Los cochesThe cars
- Las casasThe houses
- Las mesasThe tables
- 18040 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Daniel and Elena are at a cafe.
- Daniel¿Dónde está el café?Where is the coffee?
- ElenaEstá sobre la mesa.It is on the table.
- DanielGracias, Elena.Thank you, Elena.
- ElenaDe nada, Daniel.You're welcome, Daniel.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “the” translations and entries el, la, los, las, lo, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries el, la, las, los, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
