El/La - uses
I understand why it is 'el agua' when agua is feminine because of the conflict of two vowels following each other. BUT have just checked 'apatia' in a dictionary and it is 'la apatia'. Why does the first rule not apply??
Thanks.
3 Answers
It's because the word is pronounced 'água' and not 'agúa', If you say 'la agua' there will be no way to make a distinction between the the 'la' and 'agua'. In 'la apatia', the pronunciation stress is on the second to last 'a', therefore you can hear the distinction.
But remember, even though agua uses the article 'El', adjectives that agree with it still have to be feminine. 'La água fría' or 'La água pura'.
But remember, even though agua uses the article 'El', adjectives that agree with it still have to be feminine. 'La água fría' or 'La água pura'.
"El agua fría" and "El agua pura".
The substitution of el for la takes place only when it comes immediately before a singular noun that begins with a stressed a- or ha-. A few examples:
el agua (the water)
el ama de casa (the housewife)
el asma (asthma)
el arca (the ark)
el hambre (hunger)
el hampa (the underworld)
el arpa (the harp)
el águila (the eagle)
