When does "de" become "del" in Spanish?

Question

when does de become del

Answer 1

When de is immediately followed by the definite article el, the two combine to become del.

Also when "a" is immediately followed by the definite article el, the two combine to become al.

Here is a link to this site that explains those and a lot more.

Prepositions

Thanks Rolest, that answered a question I had the other night about "al". - Yeser007, ABR 27, 2010

Your welcome. - Rolest, ABR 27, 2010

Answer 2

Welcome to the forum. That's a good question.

De + el = del

For example, "¿Quien es el autor del (de + el) libro?

Answer 3

de + el = del

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You do not use "del" when naming an artwork or book or something where "El" is the title. Instead, it stays "de El..."

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de + él does not change "del" nor "dél"

Minor Correction- "de + él does not change TO "del" nor "dél"" - MeEncantanCarasSonrisas, ABR 28, 2010

Answer 4

They are right. it's de+el = del I think there are other verbs and such that do the same thing with el but I'm not for sure!

Bienvenido al foro smit. - Yeser007, ABR 27, 2010

Answer 5

Es de España, He/she is from Spain. Es del Estados Unidos. He/she is from the United States. Soy del Reino Unido. I am from the United Kingdom.

Wouldn't you say "Es de *los* Estados Unidos?" - --Mariana--, ABR 27, 2010

Yes I should, thanks for the correction, I should have used Reino Unido as my example and then I would have been correct. - kenwilliams, ABR 27, 2010

Answer 6

If you had the definite article El afterwards e.g: De el españa the de + el= del. So not De el españa but Del españa.

¡Bienvenido a Spanishdict y el foro! (Welcome to Spanishdict and the forum!)

Answer 7

They are right. it's de+el = del I think there are other verbs and such that do the same thing with el but I'm not for sure! smile ~Smitmega15

You are right and wrong... Neither "de" (of) nor "el" (the) are verbs. However, "el" does combine in the same way with "al"

a(to) + el (the) = al (to the)