About el , los , la , las

Question

Hello anyone , i'm just beginner in Spanish , i just go through lesson 1.1 , 1.2 , 1.3 , it's not to difficulty , but i can't understand all of it . I still confuse by those of pronoun like : la , las , los ,el . I don't know how to use it right For example : el is single form ,los is plural form, i can understand that . I mean like , when do i use el , los , la , las to correct the Noun.. because there is too much Noun , Ex : el arroz , sometime its use la sopa , some time it's comeback using la fruta or el queso. Please show me the way to use it right .

Answer 1

el = the (masculine singular)

los = the (masculine plural)

la = the (feminine singular)

las = the (feminine plural)

Masculine Examples:

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el libro = the book

los libros = the books

el gato = the cat

los gatos = the cats

el perro = the dog

los perros = the dogs

Feminine Examples:

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la vaca = the cow

las vacas = the cows

la falda = the skirt

las faldas = the skirts

la playa = the beach

las playas = the beaches

Welcome to the forum! I hope I have helped.

I am also a beginner, but I just learned very recently that mapa is one of the exceptions. It is EL mapa and not LA mapa. Can you verity that? - Rikko, MAR 12, 2010

It is. El mapa. There are more exeptions like: El clima, La foto. - Alrisaera, MAR 12, 2010

I know there are a number of exceptions and I think only with practice do we get the hang of it. I was wondering though why you used la mapa in your example above. - Rikko, MAR 12, 2010

Good eye :D. Renea, it should be *El mapa, Los mapas ;)) Hurry, before Heidita sees it and puts you in the dunce corner :P - Alrisaera, MAR 12, 2010

:) I cannot believe I made that mistake!.....it must be too late at night.... - renaerules, MAR 12, 2010

Answer 2

Great answer Renea

But there are also some good reference articles on SpanishDict about gender.

Here is one Nouns - Gender

And here you can find a whole list of Grammar ( including Nouns, articles, etc..) Spanish Grammar

Take a good look at it.

Hope it can help you

Answer 3

I am a beginner too. Spanish gives gender to nouns. Though very often words ending in "o" are masculine, there are some exceptions, like LA MANO (the hand). I think using the right article will come along with practice and I am sure our message will be understood just the same even if we end up using the wrong article.

The best thing you can do is learn a word together with his article. For example: don't learn Map = Mapa, but Map = El mapa. Most nouns folow the rules, but there are many that don't :P - Alrisaera, MAR 12, 2010

You are right. That's what I have been doing, but I still become unsure at times because I still mix up the rule with the exceptions. - Rikko, MAR 12, 2010

Answer 4

If no ones assistance is helpful .At the bottom of page subtitled Spanish Reference under grammar then in the Articals section.