un or el: the article decides whether we already know
The article answers one question: does the listener already know which one you mean? Something new comes in with un / una; something known is picked up with el / la. For example: “Hay un problema en la cocina” — There's a problem in the kitchen. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The article answers one question: does the listener already know which one you mean? Something new comes in with un / una; something known is picked up with el / la.
It shows best in the pair hay and está. Hay una farmacia en esta calle announces a pharmacy you had not heard of. La farmacia está al lado del banco points at the one you both know. That is why el almost never follows hay.
Plurals add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant: la llave → las llaves, el hospital → los hospitales. A final -z turns into c: el lápiz → los lápices.
Some words have no singular at all: las vacaciones, los deberes, las gafas.
Table
| one | many | |
|---|---|---|
| known, masculine | el vecino | los vecinos |
| known, feminine | la llave | las llaves |
| new, masculine | un vecino | unos vecinos |
| new, feminine | una llave | unas llaves |
By example
- Hay un problema en la cocinaThere's a problem in the kitchen
- La habitación tiene dos ventanasThe room has two windows
- Estoy de vacaciones hasta el lunesI'm on vacation until Monday
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Un vs el in Spanish?
The article answers one question: does the listener already know which one you mean? Something new comes in with un / una; something known is picked up with el / la.
Hay vs está?
It shows best in the pair hay and está. Hay una farmacia en esta calle announces a pharmacy you had not heard of. La farmacia está al lado del banco points at the one you both know. That is why el almost never follows hay.
When to use un and when el?
Plurals add -s after a vowel and -es after a consonant: la llave → las llaves, el hospital → los hospitales. A final -z turns into c: el lápiz → los lápices.
Why hay una farmacia, not hay la farmacia?
Some words have no singular at all: las vacaciones, los deberes, las gafas.
Los and las: which Spanish article to use?
Some words have no singular at all: las vacaciones, los deberes, las gafas.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Hay un problema en la cocina” — There's a problem in the kitchen. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.