use of el or la

Question

How do you know when to use an article el or la in the following. I have given the below as examples of what I am asking. Which is correct and how do you know.

Quiero la ensalada o el pollo. Quiero ensalada o pollo. Quiero comer la ensalada o el pollo. Quiero comer la ensalada o el pollo.

Daniela thanks for the response that makes sense. - RobertTarin, Nov 17, 2015

Answer 1

There is a good article in our grammar section that deals with the use of articles. Your second sentence is OK when speaking in a general sense. It follows the English usage. "I want salad or chicken" Your second sentence is also correct- but has a slightly different meaning. It's like the English "I want the salad or the chicken." ---better stated as a question: "¿Deseo/quiero la ensalada o el pollo?" When the salad or the chicken is the subject of the sentence it will always take the definite article. " El pollo está muy sabroso hoy."

Here's the link:

link to articles