Los artículos — The Spanish Article System
📋 Los artículos — The Spanish Article System
Definite articles (the)
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | el libro (the book) | la clase (the class) |
| Plural | los libros (the books) | las clases (the classes) |
Indefinite articles (a / some)
| Masculine | Feminine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | un libro (a book) | una clase (a class) |
| Plural | unos libros (some books) | unas clases (some classes) |
The rule is simple: the article must agree in gender (masculine or feminine) AND number (singular or plural) with the noun it accompanies.
Most nouns follow predictable patterns based on their ending. Learn the patterns and the exceptions — you will encounter all of these in AQA reading and listening texts.
Earn the mark scheme marks
⚠️ Errores comunes — Common Article Mistakes
These two errors appear repeatedly in AQA student writing and cost marks in both GCSE Writing and Speaking papers.
❌ Error 1: "Soy un médico."
✅ Correcto: "Soy médico."
Por qué: In Spanish, professions used after ser (to be) are used without any article. English says "I am a doctor" — Spanish drops the article entirely. The same rule applies throughout: Es profesora. / Son enfermeros. Adding un/una is one of the most common errors made by English-speaking students because it feels natural to translate word for word from English. It is always wrong when the profession follows ser.
❌ Error 2: "la agua está fría"
✅ Correcto: "el agua está fría"
Por qué: Agua begins with a stressed á-, so it takes el in the singular to prevent the vowel clash of "la agua". However, agua is still a feminine noun — which means the adjective must be feminine: fría, not frío. A common second mistake is to then use a masculine adjective, thinking the noun must be masculine because it uses el. In the plural, las is restored: las aguas están frías.
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 13
Tap an answer to check it