Learn Spanish Tip of the Day: Articles

Articles may sound confusing, but they are easy to understand. Most people don't know that articles are perhaps the most common words in the English language: "A" and "The" and "Some".

Singular articles:

A - un, una
The - el, la

Plural articles:

Some (plural of "A") - unos, unas
The - los, las

Like adjectives, articles must agree in number and gender with the nouns they modify, for example:

Un libro - A book (notice that "Un" is singular and masculine to match "Libro" which is also singular and masculine.

Una mesa - A desk ("Una" is singular feminine because it modifies a singular feminine noun, "Mesa")


Unos libros - Some books ("Unos" is plural and masculine, so is "libros")

Unas mesas - Some desks (Same thing here, "Unas" is plural and feminine to match "mesas", the noun it modifies)