The

DEFINITE ARTICLE
DANIEL MORALES IVONNE HERNNDEZ

CONTENT
DEFINITION

(definite article) FORM (Englis and S!anis ) "ENDER AND N#M$ER #SES Si%ilarities Differences S&E'IAL 'ASES N(%inali)ati(n (In Englis and S!anis ) '(ntracti(ns (Onl* in S!anis ) T e +se (f t e article EL ,it fe%inine n(+ns (Onl* in S!anis )

THE DEFINITE ARTICLE

T e definite article !(ints (+t a certain s!ecified t ing (r !ers(n (r a certain s!ecified gr(+! (f t ings (r !e(!le- It is a deter%iner (The in Englis ) t at intr(d+ces a n(+n ! rase and i%!lies t at t e t ing %enti(ned as alread* .een %enti(ned/ (r is c(%%(n 0n(,ledge/ (r is a.(+t t( .e defined (as in the book on the table1 the art of government1 the famous poet and short story writer)- It is c(%%(nl* +sed t( tal0 a.(+t s(%et ing t at is s!ecific-

2IM&ORTANT NOTE3
In English language, definite article THE has no variation of gender and number. Whether we use singular or plural forms in masculine or feminine, the definite article is the same in all forms. E4a%!les5 T e dog walks every day in the park. El perro camina cada da en el par ue. T e girl plays the piano very uickly. La ni!a toca el piano muy r"pido. T e door was damaged. La puerta estaba da!ada T e rotten oranges were replaced by fresh strawberries. Las naran#as podridas fueron reempla$adas por fresas frescas.

FORM
PHONETIC TRANSCRIPTION

SINGULAR

PLURAL

%&E

'()'

%he book

%he books

%&E

'(i'

%he orange

%he oranges

E6AM&LES

T e books on the table are really interesting L(s libros ue hay en la mesa son realmente interesantes. T e oranges that are in the kitchen are rotten Las naran#as ue est"n en la cocina est"n podridas.

2IM&ORTANT NOTE3
*n the other hand, the Definite Article in +panish has five different forms in terms of gender and number and it also has a neuter one. %here are some e,ceptions to the rule such as to find the -efinite .rticle THE in masculine form accompanied to a noun in feminine. It will be e,plained later.

FORM
MAS'#LINE FEMININE NE#TER

SIN"#LAR

EL

LA

LO

&L#RAL

LOS

LAS

EXAMPLES
El

cartero e,travi/ la correspondenciaT e letterman lost the correspondence La estatua de la libertad fue robada T e +tatue of 0iberty was stolen L(s escritores brit"nicos son muy creativos T e brittish writers are very creative Las man$anas se vendieron m"s baratas ue ayer T e apples were sold cheaper than yesterday L( bueno es ue encontr1 mi billetera T e good thing is that I found my wallet

THE FUNCTIONS OF A DEFINITE ARTICLE

T e definite article 7THE8 can identif* a n(+n and s (, t at it as .een singled (+t in s(%e ,a*- "enerall*/ t e s!ea0er (r ,riter 0n(,s t e listener (r reader is a,are (f t e n(+n .eca+se it ,as !re9i(+sl* %enti(ned (r e (r s e can see it/ as eard (f it/ as e4!erienced it/ as read a.(+t it/ etc-

THE SIMILARITIES
#SE S&ANISH EN"LISH

It is n(t +sed , en t,( !e(!le tal0 t( eac (t er It is n(t +sed ,it titles (f 7D(n8 (r 7D(:a8

2+e!or. 3"e$, 4est" usted en su casa5. 2+, lo estoy. -on 8arlos y -o!a 0aura son los propietarios de la casa.

6r. 3"e$, 4are you at home5. 27es, I am. 6r. 8arlos and 6rs. 0aura are the owners of the house

It is al,a*s +sed t( f(r% t e s+!erlati9e (f a c(%!aris(n

.ntonio es el alumno m"s flo#o de la clase. %eresa fue la chica m"s bonita en la fiesta

.ntonio is t e la$iest student of the class. %eresa was t e prettiest girl in the party.

#SE

S&ANISH

EN"LISH

It is n(t +sed .ef(re La Espa!a de na%es (f c(+ntries 8ervantes (r cities e4ce!t , en t e El 3ars bohemio "e(gra! ical ter% is %(dified-

T e +pain of 8ervantes T e 9ohemian 3aris

;it #ni<+e N(+ns

El +ol es muy brillante T e +un is too shiny

#SE

S&ANISH

EN"LISH

$ef(re s+!erlati9es

El efecto m"s importante sucedi/ en :unio

T e most significant effect happened in :une

$ef(re %(difiers t at %a0e t e n(+n t at f(ll(,s/ s!ecific

;l se refiere'est" refiriendo a la misma teora

&e is referring to t e same theory

In ! rases t at refer 8ada uno de l(s t( a s!ecific !art (f e,perimentos fue a , (le gr(+! e,itoso

Each of t e e,periments was successful.

#SE

S&ANISH

EN"LISH

$ef(re Ordinal n+%.ers

<altaba el tercer componente

T e third component was missing

;it identifia.le n(+ns t at are f(ll(,ed .* a %(dif*ing (f ! rase

El efecto de un terremoto puede sentirse a millas de distancia

T e effect of an earth uake can be felt for miles.

$ef(re ad=ecti9es t at re!resent gr(+!s (f !e(!le

8uidar de l(s desamparados es un problema may=sculo

. ma#or problem is caring for t e homeless

#SE T( refer t( a general e4a%!le (f s(%et ing rat er t an a s!ecific (.=ect t e s!ea0er>,riter as in %ind

S&ANISH

EN"LISH

7o siempre escucho las I always listen to the noticias en la radio news on t e radio cuando condu$co hacia when driving to Work. el traba#o.

$ef(re l(cati(ns ass(ciated ,it certain t*!ical (r a.it+al acti9ities-

6e voy para el gimnasio despu1s de clase 4&as ido a la playa este verano5 ?na ni!a est" comiendose un helado en la banca, hay un gato con la ni!a

I>m going to t e gym after class &aving you been to t e beach this summer5 . girl is eating an ice cream on the bench, there is a cat with t e girl

;e als( +se t e definite article 7t e8 t( tal0 a.(+t a !ers(n (r (.=ect t at as .een %enti(ned !re9i(+sl*-

THE DIFFEREN'ES
USE T( indicate general (r incl+si9e senseT( refer t( s(%et ing alread* defined (r %enti(ned SPANISH 6e gustan l(s gatos. El libro de carlos es verde. La pluma del muchacho tiene tinta negra. El se!or 6arcos es muy inteligente. La doctora 6artne$ dicta clases en la ?niversidad. ENGLISH I like cats. 8arlos> book is green %he boy>s pen has a red ink.

It is al,a*s +sed ,it titles/ e4ce!t , en it is referred directl* t( t e !ers(n

6r. 6arcos is very smart -r. 6artne$ teaches at the ?niversity.

#SE It is +sed ,it t e na%es (f lang+ages .+t n(t after !re!(siti(ns 7de8 (r 7en8 Its +se is (.ligat(r* .ef(re !(ssessi9e !r(n(+ns e4ce!t after 7$e8 , en it?s fre<+entl* (%itted-

S&ANISH El portugu1s es la lengua oficial de 9rasil. El ruso es una lengua difcil de aprender. 4-e ui1n es ese libro5. 2Es AelB mo.

EN"LISH 3ortuguese is the official language of 9ra$il. @ussian is a very difficult language to learn. 4Whose that book5 2It is mine

After a9ing esta.lis ed t e referent/ t e article can f+ncti(n as a !r(n(+n .ef(re !re!(siti(n 7de8

7o tengo el cuaderno de :os1 y el de :uan 0as plumas de 3edro y la de @icardo son verdes

I have :oseph>s and :ohn>s notebook 3eter>s and @ichard>s pens are green

#SE Englis d(es n(t +se t e article ,it na%es (f s!(rts Englis d(es n(t +se t e article ,it Acade%ic s+.=ects It is +sed instead (f a !(ssessi9e ad=ecti9e referring t( cl(t es (r !arts (f t e .(d* S!anis +ses t e definite article in e4!ressi(ns (f age and ti%e

S&ANISH El @ugby no es mi deporte favorito Las matem"ticas no son mi fuerte en la escuela

EN"LISH @ugby is not my favorite sport I>m not good at 6aths at school

4-/nde est" el Where is %* hat5 sombrero5 %he football player got El futbolista se lesion/ in#ured on is kneels en las rodillas

7a son las nueve y mediaC

It>s FGHI alreadyC

6arina y :oseph se 6arina and :oseph casaron a l(s DE a!os were married at DE

#SE In S!anis ,e +se t e definite article , en ,e tal0 a.(+t t e %eals (f t e da*5 .rea0fast/ l+nc and dinnerEnglis d(es n(t +se t e definite article .ef(re !l+ral n(+ns , en ,e tal0 a.(+t t e% in a general ,a*S+.stances/ %aterials (r c(l(rs ,e d( n(t +se t e definite article .ef(re t e%-

S&ANISH El desayuno fue servido hace dos horas

EN"LISH 9reakfast was served two hours ago

L(s port"tiles y las tablets son m"s baratos en los Estados ?nidos

0aptops and tablets are cheaper in the ?nited +tates

El ro#o y el a$ul son los colores de mi e uipo de f=tbol favorito

@ed and blue are the colors of my favorite football team

USE

SPANISH

ENGLISH Mar* ,(r0s at Linc(ln?s A9en+e

;e ne9er +se a Mar* tra.a=a en la definite article .ef(re a9enida Linc(ln MOST (f !r(!er n(+ns/ incl+ding t e na%es (f streets-

"EO"RA&HI'AL NO#NS-

Na%es (f %(+ntains Na%es (f c(ntinents Na%es (f islands

Las islas de San Andr@s * &r(9idencia s(n las %As .(nitas de '(l(%.ia

San Andr@s Islands are t e %(st .ea+tif+l (f '(l(%.ia

"EO"RA&HI'AL NO#NS-

Na%es (f la0es and .a*s

El lag( Erie es el lag( %As grande <+e a* en Francia

La0e Erie is t e largest la0e in France-

SPECIAL CASES

NOMINALIZATION

LO B ADC L( interesante de este li.r( es s+ %isteri(s( finalT e interesting t ing (f t is .((0 is its %*steri(+s endingLO B ADV Me s(r!rende l( rA!id( <+e lees ese li.r(It i%!resses %e (, <+ic0l* *(+ read t at .((0-

LO B &ARTI'I&LE L( da!ado de este edificio puede rempla$arse o repararse. T e damaged thing of this building can be replaced or fi,ed. LO B ADC B D#E Ella no sabe l( terrible ue fue para m verla partir. S e does not know (, terrible was for me to see her leaving. A B LOE IN THE ;AF OF/ IN THE MANNER OF 6ichael se visti/ a l( antiguo6ichael was dressed in t e old way

INFINITIVE ;HEN IT?S #SED "ENERALLF

INFINITIVE ;HEN IT?S #SED "ENERALLF

Drin0ing

coffe keeps you awake. El beber caf1 te mantiene despierto

St+d*ing

a foreign language e,pands your cultural knowledgeEl estudiar un idioma e,tran#ero e,pande tu conocimiento cultural.

&RO&ER NO#NS
Ese escritor es el %olkien de 8olombia %hat writer is t e %olkien of 8olombia. Ese futbolista es el 6aradona de <rancia %hat <ootball player is t e 6aradona of <rance.

'ONTRA'TIONS

'(ntracti(n (f t e !re!(siti(n ,it t e article5 A B EL E AL 6e voy al cine esta noche I>m going t( t e 8inema tonight

N(te5 In English, the preposition and the article is always separated.

'(ntracti(n (f t e &re!(siti(n ,it t e definite article5 De B El E Del Estos cinco libros son del mismo autor%hese five books belong t( t e same author-

E6'E&TIONS TO THE R#LE

D( n(t c(nf(r% c(ntracti(ns , en El is !art (f t e na%e7o soy de El 8airo G I>m from El 8airoH7o soy del 8airo7o soy de El +alvador G I>m from El +alvador H7o soy del +alvador-

THE #SE OF THE ARTI'LE 7EL8 ;ITH FEMININE NO#NS

"eneral r+le5 %he articles el and un are the only ones which can be used when a feminine noun begins with stressed a or ha. *nly when any of these two articles preceedes the noun immediately. 9ut when there is an ad#ective in the middle of both, we use la and unaG E.gG A.rticle J feminine nounB El agua. 2 Water A.rticle J ad#ective J feminine nounB La dulce agua K t e sweet water ;it Ad=ecti9es5 We use feminine article la and una when the ad#ective begins in stressed a. E.gG La alta sociedad La "spera superficie

T e Article 7El8 and 7#n8 .ef(re fe%inine n(+ns .eginning ,it stressed 7a8 ! (ne%e
%he articles 7el8 or 7+n8/ instead of 7la8 or 7+na8 are accompanied with feminine nouns which begin in stressed a or ha phoneme when the following conditions are givenG LB %he article precedes the noun immediately. DB %he noun is in feminine gender and it is singular. HB %he noun begins in a stressed phoneme a or ha %his rule also counts for compound nouns in which the first element, separated, begins in a unstressed phoneme.

E,amplesG
El aguamarina El aguardiente El aguamiel