The difference between definite articles and indefinite articles can be observed in the following two sentences:
- Give me the chocolate chip cookie.
Give me a cookie, please.
Imagine a plate full of cookies. There are peanut butter cookies, sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies, and one chocolate chip cookie.
- The first sentence speaks of a particular (or definite) cookie:
Give me the chocolate chip cookie.
- The second sentence speaks of any of a number of cookies (or an indefinite cookie):
Give me a cookie, please.
The difference between the definite and indefinite articles is the difference between talking about a specific cookie, or any old cookie at all.
- the cookie
a cookie
In English, the definite article is the word "the" regardless of whether the noun it introduces is singular or plural.
- the cookie
the cookies
In Spanish, the definite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.
- el gato
the male cat
los gatos
the male cats (Note 1)
la gata
the female cat
las gatas
the female cats
The 4 forms of the definite article are:
- el
masculine singular
la
feminine singular
los
masculine plural
las
feminine plural
In English, the indefinite article is the word "a," "an," or "some."
- a cookie
an apple
some books
In Spanish, the indefinite article has 4 forms, depending on whether the noun is masculine, feminine, singular or plural.
- un gato
a male cat
unos gatos
some male cats
una gata
a female cat
unas gatas
some female cats
The 4 forms of the indefinite article are:
- un
masculine singular
una
feminine singular
unos
masculine plural
unas
feminine plural
Here are the definite and indefinite articles together:
- el, un
masculine singular
la, una
feminine singular
los, unos
masculine plural
las, unas
feminine plural
Each of the following has a different meaning:
- el gato
the male cat
los gatos
the male cats
la gata
the female cat
las gatas
the female cats
un gato
a male cat
unos gatos
some male cats
una gata
a female cat
unas gatas
some female cats
Un and una can mean either 'one' or 'a.'
- un libro
one book, a book
una pluma
one pen, a pen
Note 1: the masculine plural definite and indefinite articles (los, unos) are also used to indicate a group of mixed sex. Thus, 'los gatos could refer to a group of 10 male cats, or it could refer to a group of 9 female cats and one male cat. (return to text)
