Articles are more common in Spanish than in English. An article is a noun modifier and it is placed before the noun. In English some examples of articles are: “the”, “a”, “an” and "some". They are divided into: definite and indefinite articles.

In Spanish, there are 4 definite articles (“the”)

el – the (before masculine, singular noun)
la – the (before feminine, singular noun)
los - the (before masculine, plural noun)
las - the (before feminine, plural noun)

Examples:
El niño tiene sólo dos libros.
   The boy has only two books.
La niña tiene sólo tres plumas.
   The girl has only three pens.
¿Cuánto cuestan los libros?
   How much do the books cost?
Las naranjas cuestan tres Euros el kilo.
   The oranges cost three Euros per kilo.

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There are also 4 indefinite articles ( “a/an” & “some”)

un – a / an (before masculine, singular noun)
una – a / an (before feminine, singular noun)
unos – some (before masculine, plural noun)
unas – some (before feminine, plural noun)

Examples:
Yo quiero un auto rápido.
   I want a fast car.
Trabajo en una granja.
   I work on a farm.
Compre unos chocolates para Paulo.
   I bought some chocolate for Paulo.
Buenos días, ¿le importaría que le hiciera unas preguntas?
   Hello, would you mind answering some questions?

[ view full lesson - indefinite article ]