la
Wordform Details
Translation: the
Part of Speech: article
Inflection Type:
femininesingulardefiniteIs Dictionary Form: No
Dictionary Form Details
Lemma Details
Translation: the
Part of Speech: article
Etymology: Derived from Latin 'ille' (that), which was used as a demonstrative pronoun in Classical Latin and later evolved into the definite article in Romance languages. This evolution parallels how English 'the' developed from Old English 'þe/þæt' (that). The shift from demonstrative to definite article is a common linguistic development across many language families.
Commonality: 100%
Guessability: 70%
Register: neutral
Mnemonics
- Think of 'el' as pointing to something specific, like saying 'L' (el) is for 'Look at that specific thing'
- Associate 'el' with masculine words ending in 'o' like 'el libro' (the book)
Cultural Context
Unlike English, Spanish requires articles before most nouns and they must agree in gender and number with the noun they modify. The masculine definite article 'el' is used before masculine singular nouns, but also before feminine singular nouns that begin with a stressed 'a' or 'ha' sound (e.g., 'el agua', 'el águila').
Easily Confused With
Explanation: 'El' (without accent) is the masculine definite article meaning 'the', while 'él' (with accent) is the personal pronoun meaning 'he' or 'him'.
This word:
El perro es grande.
The dog is big.
Confused word:
Él es mi amigo.
He is my friend.
Notes: The accent mark is crucial for distinguishing between these two words both in writing and pronunciation.
Mnemonic: The accent in 'él' points to a specific person (he/him), while 'el' without accent points to any masculine noun.
Explanation: 'El' is the definite article (the), while 'un' is the indefinite article (a/an).
This word:
El coche es rojo.
The car is red.
Confused word:
Un coche está en la calle.
A car is on the street.
Notes: The distinction between definite and indefinite articles in Spanish is similar to English, though Spanish has gender agreement.
Mnemonic: 'El' refers to something specific that both speaker and listener can identify, while 'un' refers to one unspecified item.