How to use definite articles for nouns in a list
Here is a fragment from sentence I read from the Spanish wikipedia:
....adoptando muchos préstamos del griego, del italiano, del siciliano, del catalán y del inglés.
First, for "del", does every noun need to have its own "del"? Since they are all male, can one simply write:
....del griego, italiano, siciliano, catalán y inglés.
Second, how would I construct a list with "desde"? For example, is this the right way:
....desde el griego, el italiano, el siciliano y el inglés.
And again, can I drop the "el"s after the first one?
2 Answers
To quote from my book, parts left out to avoid having to type it all.:
The link connects to the full section, but it is an image and I can't cut and paste it.
3.2.4 Definite article with more than one noun.
Two or more nouns should have their own definite article if they refer to different things….In this respect Spanish differs from English, which allows phrases lie “the sun and moon”, “a dog and cat”…..”Un gato y perro” suggests a cross between a cat and a dog…
But if the nouns are felt to form a single complex idea (often the case when they are joined by “o”, “or”, all but the first article may be omitted, especially in writing:
El misterio o enigma del origen
Los laboratorios, equipos, bibliotecas, aulas, sistemas audiovisuals indispensables para cumplir con su trabajo.
Nouns may represent similar things in one context and not in another. One says “voy a comprar un libro y una revista, …but los libros y revistas están en el estante de arriba…
Pairs of humans or animals of different sex require two articles…
Stick with the original.
It is correct. Desde doesn't sound right here. At least not to me. Regard correctly written articles as correct and think of them as a pattern rather than trying to change them, it will help you make more progress in less time.
