Use definite articles correctly

el and la - singularsingularThe grammatical form used for exactly one person or thing.

A masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. singularsingularThe grammatical form used for exactly one person or thing. nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. takes el: el sol🔊 (the sun), el pan🔊 (the bread). A femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish. singularsingularThe grammatical form used for exactly one person or thing. nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. takes la: la luna🔊 (the moon), la casa🔊 (the house).

A Spanish nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun.'s gendergenderThe grammatical class of a Spanish noun: masculine or feminine. often has nothing to do with English: la luna🔊 is femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish., even though there is no gendergenderThe grammatical class of a Spanish noun: masculine or feminine. to guide you from "the moon" in English.

los and las - pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing.

In the pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing., el becomes los: los huevos🔊 (the eggs), los zapatos🔊 (the shoes). la becomes las: las gafas🔊 (the glasses).

So the articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la. tells you at a glance whether a nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. is masculinemasculineA noun's gender that typically takes el or un in Spanish. or femininefeminineA noun's gender that typically takes la or una in Spanish., and whether it is singularsingularThe grammatical form used for exactly one person or thing. or pluralpluralThe grammatical form used for more than one person or thing..

Learn the nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. and its articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la. together

At this stage it is not worth memorising gendergenderThe grammatical class of a Spanish noun: masculine or feminine. rules. Instead, learn every new nounnounA word that names a person, thing, place, or idea, such as house or sun. together with its articlearticleA short word placed before a noun that shows its gender and number, such as el or la. right away - not just casa🔊, but la casa🔊.