Articles

Definite article - 'the'

Notes

1. de + el is shortened to del; a + el is shortened to al, e.g. El banco está enfrente del museo - The bank is opposite the museum, voy al mercado - I'm going to the market
2. The indefinite article is used with clothing and parts of the body instead of the possessive adjective, e.g. ¡cierra la boca! - shut your mouth!
3. The indefinite article is used before titles, e.g. El Señor Conway tiene el pelo negro - Mr Conway has black hair.
4. The indefinite article is used to translate 'on' with a day of the week, e.g. el lunes - on Monday, los sábados - on Saturdays
5. el and un are used immediately before singular feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a-, á- or ha-, e.g. el agua, el hada.   This is just to avoid to similar sounds one after the other and any adjective will still have the feminine agreement, e.g. el agua está fría - the water is cold.

Indefinite article - 'a', 'some'

Notes

1. The indefinite article is omitted with jobs, nationalities and religions, e.g. soy médico - I'm a doctor, es español - he's a Spaniard, ¿Eres católico? - Are you a Catholic?
2. It is not used before otro (another), e.g. Quiero otro café - I want another coffee.