Articles — Definite Articles
Table of Definite Articles
| Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
| singular | el the | la the | lo variously translated * |
| plural | los the | las the |
* The neuter article lo is used with adjectives, past participles and occasionally adverbs to express concepts equivalent to an abstract noun. This will be covered in the section (The Neuter Article lo in Use).
Definite Articles
In broad terms, the definite article is used in Spanish, as in English, to indicate any person or object already identified in the minds of those who are speaking.
El libro está sobre la mesa.
The book is on the table.
El cartero me trajo dos cartas.
The mailman brought me two letters.
In the plural, the definite article has the following forms, agreeing with the nouns which they accompany:
| Masculine | Feminine |
| los (the) | las (the) |
Masculine nouns require a masculine article; feminine nouns require a feminine article:
| Masculine | Feminine |
| el hombre (the man) | la muchacha (the girl) |
| los hombres (the men) | las muchachas (the girls) |
| un pasaporte (a passport) | una mesa (a table) |
Exception: Feminine nouns beginning with stressed a or ha take el in the singular instead of la, when the article immediately precedes. El here is of different origin from the masculine article of the same form and its use does not by any means change the gender of the noun, thus:
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