Is there a rule for when you use the definite article before a noun? "Me gusta comida mexicana"? "Me gusta la comida mexicana"?
There are many instances where we do not use the definite article in English but it is necessary in Spanish--for example, with the days of the week. "Saturday" is always "el sabado." But this seems inconsistent so I hope there's a rule. "I bought toys for them." Is it "Les compré los juguetes para ellos" or "Les compré juguetes para ellos" and WHY? Dinni
4 Answers
Spanish seems to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to definite articles. In English we use the definite articles when we wish to designate specific objects.
We bought the toys for them....refers to specific toys. Those toys over there.
We bought toys for them. (unspecified toys)
Spanish follows this pattern for using a definite article to refer to specific objects.
However, Spanish also uses the definite article with nouns that represent a class noun, referring to all such items. La comida (food in general), El trabajo (work in general). La familia (Family in general). It also uses it for nouns that represent only abstract objects such as el honor, la justicia, el amor.
So Spanish uses the definite article to specify objects as English does, but also to generalize, exactly the opposite of what English does. When we wish to generalize in English we drop the definite article. "Home is where the heart is" rather than "The home is...".
So when to include the definite article becomes a learned skill rather that following explicit rules.
Fortunately, although the rules of using the definite article can be complex, you have a head start if you speak English. That's because nearly any time you use "the" in English you can use the definite article in Spanish.
However,
With generic nouns: These are nouns that refer to a concept or to a substance in general or a member of a class in general, rather than a specific one (where the article would be required in both languages). No preferiría el despotismo. (I wouldn't prefer despotism.) Esto es la realidad de la vida. (This is the reality of life.) El trigo es nutritivo. (Wheat is nutritious.) Los americanos son ricos. (Americans are rich.) Los derechistas no deben votar. (Right-wingers ought not to vote.) Escogí la cristianidad. (I chose Christianity.) Exception: The article is often omitted after the preposition de, especially when the noun following de serves to describe the first noun and doesn't refer to a specific person or thing. Los zapatos de hombres (men's shoes), but los zapatos de los hombres (the shoes of the men). Dolor de muela (toothache in general), but dolor de la muela (a toothache in a particular tooth).
As for your example, I think you will see both used and for exactly the same reasons. You can omit the definite article to generalize (as in English), or include it to generalize (class noun). You may have to look at the context to grasp the meaning. The saving grace is:
Using the definite article when you shouldn't or the other way around won't make you misunderstood very often, but using it correctly will make you sound like less of a foreigner.
But this seems inconsistent so I hope there's a rule. "I bought toys for them." Is it "Les compré los juguetes para ellos" or "Les compré juguetes para ellos" and WHY? Dinni
The rules are seemingly inconsistent in both language, trust me. Anyway, "Les compré los juguetes para ellos" means "I bought the toys to/from someone (les) for someone else (para ellos)",and "Les compré juguetes para ellos" means "I bought toys to/from someone (les) for someone else (para ellos)", both correct. The only problem is that "Les compré juguetes" means "I bought them toys"; if you add "para ellos", now you are introducing another group of people different from those mentioned by "les". You can't use both referred to the same "them". Avoid "para ellos" until you've mastered "les" and "a ellos". The articles here are used like in English.
And now comes a very important rule: subjects in Spanish demand an article unless they are proper names (e.g. Jonathan). You can't say "Iron is hard" unless there is a guy Mr. Iron. In Spanish you must say "The iron is hard" (El hierro es duro). Spanish subjects must be always specific. In "Me gusta la comida mexicana", the phrase "la comida mexicana" is the subject -that's why you can't say "Me gusta comida mexicana" unless there is a girl called "Sra. Comida Mexicana" or any other proper name.
Spanish seems to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to definite articles. In English we use the definite articles when we wish to designate specific objects.
In Spanish too, but English does not always behave like you say. In Spanish, "El hierro es duro" is equivalent to "El metal llamado hierro es duro", which would be like "The metal called iron is hard". But, can you say "Metal called iron is hard"? Why one requires an article but not the other?
I'm not aware of any 'universal' rule for when to use the article and when not, but it isn't random of course.
The role of the noun in the sentence -as the main subject, or as a simple adjective of another noun- helps to determine if you have to use the article or not. For example if the noun is used almost as an adjective behind a preposition it doesn't use an article ('sabor a fresa', 'trabajar de médico', 'carné de identidad').
Eg:
'Los clavos resisten mejor que las chinchetas' (here 'clavos' is the subject, and even though you are talking about 'clavos' in general, it's still the subject, so you need to have an article there).
'Voy a usar clavos para colocar este cuadro' (here 'clavos' is used as a category of items ('nails'), but it's just the direct object, so in this case the lack of article is fine. You could also put an indefinite article without changing the meaning: 'unos clavos')
'Voy a usar los clavos para colocar este cuadro' (if you use 'los clavos', it means that the listener knows that you already have set aside a few nails for this task. You are not talking about a category of things anymore, but specific nails)
'Voy a usar una pistola de clavos para este trabajo' (here in 'pistola de clavos' (nailgun), 'clavos' is also used as a category, but now it is behind a preposition, just as in the other examples I put above)
Of course there is a lot more to it, because in other cases you should put an article behind a preposition, etc.. Only experience will tell you where and where not to put articles.
In your particular example, you could say 'both', although in one case ('compré juguetes'), juguetes is just a category of things (I bought toys), whereas 'compré los juguetes' means that 'I bought the toys', which is basically a way of saying 'I bought some toys'.
In English, you could say:
I bought toys for them.
I bought the toys for them.
I bought these toys for them.
I bought those toys for them.
I bought some toys for them.
I bought them some of the toys.
I bought them some of these toys.
I bought them some of those toys.
I bought them toys.
I bought them the toys.
I bought them these toys.
I bouth them those toys.
I bought them some toys.
I bought them some of the toys.
I bought them some of these toys.
I bought them some of those toys.
The toys were bought for them by me.
These toys were bought for them by me.
Those toys were bought for them by me.
Some of the toys were bought for them by me.
Some of these toys were bought for them by me.
Some of those toys were bought for them by me.
All of which have similar meanings. Spanish is similar, but slightly more flexible in terms of sentence structure.
