la
Lemma Details
Translation: the
Part of Speech: article
Etymology: Derived from Latin 'illa' (that), which was the feminine demonstrative pronoun. Over time, it weakened to become the definite article in Spanish. This evolution parallels how English 'the' developed from Old English 'þe/þæt'. The reduction from 'illa' to 'la' shows a common linguistic pattern of function words becoming shorter over time.
Commonality: 100%
Guessability: 90%
Register: neutral
Mnemonics
- Think of 'la' as in 'la-dies first' to remember it's the feminine article.
- The letter 'a' appears in both 'la' and 'female', helping you remember it's feminine.
Cultural Context
Unlike English, Spanish requires articles before most nouns and they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. 'La' is used before feminine singular nouns. Spanish speakers often use articles in contexts where English wouldn't, such as before abstract concepts or general categories.
Easily Confused With
Explanation: 'La' is the feminine definite article, while 'el' is the masculine definite article. They both translate to 'the' in English, but are used with different genders of nouns.
This word:
La mesa es nueva.
The table is new.
Confused word:
El libro es interesante.
The book is interesting.
Notes: Spanish nouns have grammatical gender that doesn't always correspond to biological gender. Learning the article with each noun is essential.
Mnemonic: Remember: 'la' for feminine nouns (ending in -a usually), 'el' for masculine nouns (often ending in -o).
Explanation: 'La' is the feminine definite article, while 'lo' is the neuter article used with adjectives to form abstract concepts or with direct object pronouns.
This word:
La película es buena.
The movie is good.
Notes: 'Lo' doesn't have a direct equivalent in English article usage.
Mnemonic: 'La' refers to specific feminine nouns, while 'lo' refers to abstract concepts or qualities.