Spanish grammar · interactive
Definite and Indefinite Articles in Spanish
El, la, los, las, un, una — plus the traps: el agua, el día, la mano, and the article English leaves out. Drill them all with instant feedback.
These exercises drill definite and indefinite articles in Spanish — el, la, los, las and un, una, unos, unas — in the sentences where learners actually get them wrong. Every answer comes with the rule behind it, from the famous el agua to the article English quietly leaves out.
The short version: the article must match the noun’s gender and number; feminine nouns that begin with a stressed a- or ha- take el in the singular (el agua) but stay feminine; and Spanish uses the article in places English doesn’t — days of the week, languages, and general statements.
Try the articles exercise
Choose the article that fits. You’ll see why after each answer.
agua está fría.
The water is cold.
How it works
- 1
Read the sentence
A real Spanish sentence appears with the article blanked out.
- 2
Pick the article
Choose between el, la, un, una — or the trap option. Instant right/wrong feedback.
- 3
Learn the why
Every answer explains the gender rule or exception at work, so the exceptions become predictable.
What you’ll learn
- The full article system: el/la/los/las vs un/una/unos/unas
- The el agua rule — and why it flips back to las aguas in the plural
- Gender traps: el día, el problema, el mapa, la mano, la foto
- Where Spanish uses an article English omits: days, languages, general statements
Articles are the gender system’s front door
Spanish articles carry two pieces of information English articles don’t: gender and number. That makes them your best free clue when learning vocabulary — memorize la mano and el mapa as units, and you never have to look the gender up again. The default pattern (nouns in -o masculine, nouns in -a feminine) covers most words, but the exceptions cluster predictably: the Greek -ma family is masculine (el problema, el sistema, el idioma, el programa), and a small set of everyday words swims against the current — el día, la mano, la foto, la moto.
The indefinite articles follow the same agreement: un libro, una casa, unos amigos, unas ideas. The only twist is that unos/unas often means ‘some’ or ‘a few’ — unos veinte euros, ‘about twenty euros’ — a nuance English handles with entirely different words.
El agua, and the articles English leaves out
The most famous article rule in Spanish: feminine nouns beginning with a stressed a- or ha- take el in the singular — el agua, el águila, el hambre — purely to avoid the vowel collision of ‘la a-’. The noun never stops being feminine: adjectives stay feminine (el agua fría) and the plural takes las (las aguas, las águilas). The rule also only fires when the article touches the noun directly: la fría agua is fine.
The other half of mastering articles is noticing where Spanish requires one that English omits. Days of the week: el lunes (on Monday), los lunes (on Mondays). Languages as subjects: el español es fácil. Titles when talking about someone: la señora García ha llamado (but not when addressing her directly). And general statements: me gusta el café means ‘I like coffee’ — coffee in general — where English drops the article entirely.
Quick reference
| Article | When to use it |
|---|---|
| el / los | masculine: el libro, el día, el problema, el mapa |
| la / las | feminine: la casa, la mano, la foto |
| el + stressed a-/ha- (fem. sing.) | el agua, el águila, el hambre — but las aguas |
| un / una · unos / unas | a, an · some: un libro, una casa, unos veinte euros |
| Article where English has none | el lunes (on Monday), el español, me gusta el café |
Frequently asked questions
Why is it el agua if agua is feminine?
Purely for sound: feminine nouns starting with a stressed a- or ha- take el in the singular to avoid ‘la a-’ running together. Agua stays feminine — you say el agua fría, and in the plural the normal article returns: las aguas.
Why is día masculine when it ends in -a?
It’s one of a predictable set of exceptions: el día, plus the Greek -ma family — el problema, el sistema, el idioma, el mapa. Learn these with their article and they stop being surprises.
Do you use articles with days of the week in Spanish?
Yes — the article does the job of English ‘on’: Tengo clase el lunes means ‘I have class on Monday’, and los lunes means ‘on Mondays’. You drop it only after ser when identifying the day: Hoy es lunes.
What’s the difference between un and uno?
Un is the article used directly before a masculine noun (un bolígrafo); uno is the form that stands alone as a pronoun or number: ¿Tienes un bolígrafo? — Sí, tengo uno.
Stop guessing el or la
Article instinct comes from volume, not from tables. HablaCore drills definite and indefinite articles in real AI-generated sentences with instant feedback, resurfacing the gender traps you personally keep missing.
Practice Spanish articles in real sentences