An article in Spanish is a part of speech that expresses some grammatical categories of a noun, and also indicates the presence or absence of a specification of the concept expressed by the word. The existence of grammaticalized categories of certainty and indefiniteness is one of the most significant differences between Russian and Spanish.
Functions of articles
Because the prepositive article is characteristic of Spanish, in a sentence or statement it precedes a noun (or parts of speech dependent on it) and agrees with it in gender and number.
Among the main functions of articles, grammatical and semantic ones stand out. The first is expressed on two levels. Firstly, the article in Spanish serves to express the grammatical categories of the noun, and secondly, it transforms other parts of speech into nouns (for example, the verb poder - "to be able" turns into the noun el poder - "power, strength").
Semanticthe function of the article is to express the category of certainty and indefiniteness. This allows you to determine what kind of object or phenomenon of this kind is in question. The semantic function of the article is the main one for it.
Types of articles
As follows from the definition, there are two types of articles: definite and indefinite. In general, the table of Spanish articles looks like this:
| Definite | Undefined | ||||
| Male | Female | Medium | Male | Female | |
| The Only One | el | la | lo | un | una |
| Plural | los | las | not used | unos | unas |
The neuter article is used only to substantiate other parts of speech. Since it does not have the formal features of an article, some Spanish grammarians tend to consider it a specific particle.
There are difficulties with plural indefinite articles. Many linguists, given the specific meaning of the words unos and unas, classify them as indefinite pronouns.
Features of the use of the indefinite article
Spanish has an extensive set of rules governing the use of this or that article. However, it should be borne in mind that these rules reflect only the most characteristic cases. Most often, the setting of this or that article is determined by the intentions of the speaker.
First of all, the use of the indefinite article is necessary when an object or phenomenon is introduced into speech that was previously unknown to the listener:
Estuvimos en un sitio precioso. - We were in a beautiful place (the listener does not know which one; he does not know other characteristics of the place he is told about)
The indefinite article can be used to distinguish an object or phenomenon from a number of similar ones:
Un día subí en el coche para venir a ver a un amigo. - Once I got into (some) car and went to visit (some) friend. In this example, the listener does not know what kind of car it is, and he does not need this information, it is enough that he was told about the vehicle
The indefinite article can have a general meaning when the speaker mentions some subject without specifying it:
Es inadmisible castigar a un herido. - It is unacceptable to punish (any) wounded
Stylistic functions of the indefinite article
Sometimes the article is used to emphasize the qualities and characteristics of the named object or phenomenon. In this case, it is understood that the noun expresses the characteristic features in their entirety. This meaning of the indefinite article is called emotionally typifying:
¡Eres un poeta! - You are a (real) poet
In the written tradition, the indefinite article is often used to emphasize meaningnoun. Especially often, its emotionally intensifying meaning is manifested when the noun is extended by some kind of adjective or participle:
Escúchame, es un pecado mortal! - Look, this is a mortal sin
Using the definite article
Its main meaning is to concretize the called object. Because of this, the definite article is always used:
- with one-of-a-kind item (la tierra, el cielo);
- when an object or phenomenon is repeatedly used in speech (Entré en una aula. La aula fue muy grande y luminosa. - I entered the audience. The audience was very large and bright);
- when specifying the time and with the days of the week.
The definite article also introduces abstract concepts (la libertad, el temor, la alegría) and the names of branches of science or art when they perform the syntactic role of the subject in the sentence:
La física es muy difícil. - Physics is very difficult
Finally, to avoid tautology, the definite article in Spanish is used to replace objects or phenomena already mentioned in speech. In this respect, the article in its meaning approaches the demonstrative pronoun.
Sustained momentum
In Spanish, the definite and indefinite articles are often part of set expressions. Their use in this case is not subject to any rules, so they need to be memorized. As such phraseological units can be called:
- dar un manotazo - to slap, estar como una sopa - to get wet, ponerse hecho una furia - to get furious (indefinite article)
- jugarse la vida - risk your life, tenga la bondad - be kind, según es la voz es el eco - how it comes around, it will respond (definite article).
Articles with proper names
Unlike Spanish's sister language, Catalan, the rules do not require the use of articles before proper nouns. But due to the traditions of toponymy, some names have an article with them.
First of all, this concerns the names of such geographical objects as mountains, rivers, oceans and seas (los Pirineos, el Pacífico, los Andes, el Amazonas). An exception to this rule are the names of rivers that are included in the name of Spanish or Latin American cities (Miranda de Ebro).
Often the article in Spanish appears before the name of the most famous cities and countries. At the same time, one should not forget about the spelling tradition of writing the article when naming a city with a capital letter and with a small one when mentioning a country: Los Angeles, La Coruña, El Havre, but el Perú, la Canadá, el Japón.
The name of the city can be fixed in the name of a sports club or any public organization. In this case, the article is used (most often masculine).
Often the feminine definite article is used with the names of famous people to emphasize that it is about a woman, for example, the phrase la Bergmannindicates that the speaker is referring to actress Ingrid Bergman.
The article can be used to make it clear to the listener that we are talking about a collection of works by a writer. For example, in the phrase ¿Me dejas el García Lorca? the speaker asks for the collected works of the poet Lorca, not the poet himself.
Omit the article
In some cases, linguists distinguish the so-called zero article. This occurs when a noun appears in speech without the accompaniment of an article. There are a lot of such cases, and they are difficult to regulate, since the main role in the omission of the article is played by the stylistic and linguistic preferences of the speaker.
The article is not used when the noun is defined by another part of speech: possessive, demonstrative or negative pronoun (mi coche, aquella mujer, ningún hombre). The nouns that appear in the sentence as a treatment do not need an article either:
Buenas días, señor Ballesteros. - Good afternoon, Senor Ballesteros
If a noun expressing a profession, occupation or nationality is part of the predicate, the article is also not used with it:
- Mi hermano Juan es escritor. - My brother Juan is a writer.
- Monika es alemana. - Monica is German.
If the noun acts as an object introduced by the preposition de and denoting quantity, size or capacity, then the use of the article is not required:
Me trajo un montón decaramelos. - He brought me a whole bunch of sweets
If the noun in the sentence is an adverbial modifier and is introduced by the preposition con, the article is not used:
Córtalo con cuchillo. - Cut it with a knife
Features of the use of articles in Spanish
Art culo español is one of the most difficult topics for language learners. The use of articles in speech most often leads to very subtle shades of meaning that are sometimes impossible to understand. Sometimes in phrases of the same type in meaning, the same noun can be used both with a definite and indefinite article or without it at all:
Llegará en el avión de las diez. - Llegará en un avión de pasajeros. - Llegará en avión
In these three phrases, the use or absence of the article is motivated by the meaning of the information that the speaker wants to convey to the listener. In the first case, he clearly identifies the plane on which the person in question will arrive as ten o'clock, so the article is definite. In the second case, he says that his plane will be a passenger one, distinguishing it from a number of similar ones, therefore the article is indefinite. In the third case, he says that he will arrive by plane (not by car or train).
When studying Spanish articles, you need to pay attention to the meaning of the phrase and choose exactly the one that the logic of the phrase requires. This is the key to successfully mastering the topic.
