This is a neglected topic, because some people tend to think that it is intuitive, but it is not. In fact, some languages do not have articles, and in some others, we use them in a different way. Compare this:
I am a teacher (with article). Soy profesora (no article).
I like sushi (no article). Me gusta el sushi (with article).
So, you need a class to be able to decide when you need these little words. Let’s see when to use them.
-Articles are mandatory when your phrase starts with a common Noun:
Vegans do not eat meat. Los veganos no comen carne.
-When your subject is a Noun, it is always preceded by an article:
Chemistry is interesting. La química es interesante.
I like chemistry. Me gusta la química.
-The impersonal form “hay” is never followed by “el, la, los, las”:
Hay un perro en el jardín. Correcto
Hay dos perros en el jardín. Correcto
Hay muchos perros en el jardín. Correcto
Hay algunos perros en el jardín. Correcto
Hay el perro en el jardín. Incorrecto
–Another is otro, otra. Never say un otro, una otra:
Quiero otro helado de fresa. Correcto
Quiero un otro helado de fresa. Incorrecto
-We never put articles to inform the profession or activity of a person:
I am a teacher. Soy profesora.
However, we put the article when we say something else about that person:
I am a very famous teacher. Soy una profesora muy famosa.
-We don’t put articles to say the age of a person:
She is 14 years old. Ella tiene 14 años.
But we put them when we say how old was a person when something happened:
She used to practise tennis when she was 14 years old. A los 14 años practicaba tenis.
We can also say: Cuando tenía 14 años practicaba tenis.
-Days and dates go without articles:
Today is Monday. Hoy es lunes.
Today is June 6th. Hoy es 6 de junio.
But they take articles when we say that something happens or happened or will happen at that date:
Mi cumpleaños es el 8 de agosto.
Nos conocimos el 20 de julio.
El domingo pasado fuimos al cine.
El próximo domingo iremos al teatro.
-Same rule with the seasons:
Estamos en verano.
But:
El verano pasado fuimos a Portugal.
-Colours don’t take articles when we say what colour is something:
My shoes are yellow. Mis zapatos son amarillos.
But:
My shoes are the yellow ones. Mis zapatos son los amarillos.
Yellow is my favourite colour. El amarillo es mi color favorito.
-When we talk with a person, we don’t use articles:
Mr Gómez, I need to talk with you. Señor Gómez, necesito hablar con usted.
But we put them when we talk about a person:
Mr Gómez is my neighbour. El señor Gómez es mi vecino.
As you see, this case and others are totally different in English. In fact, many so called “Spanish teachers” who are not native speakers commit mistakes all the time with articles (amongst many other mistakes).
-The possessive forms “mío, tuyo, suyo, nuestro, vuestro, suyo” and the correlative feminine and plural forms take articles:
This car is nice, but I prefer mine. Este coche es bonito, pero prefiero el mío.
This becomes optional when we use these forms after the verb “ser”:
Este coche es mío. Correcto
Este coche es el mío. Correcto
-Numbers take articles when we talk about a determinate thing and for percentages:
Había cinco personas en la sala. Las cinco eran mujeres. It means than 100% of the people were women.
-We say “la mitad”, “la tercera parte”, “la cuarta parte”:
Half of the population is poor. La mitad de la población es pobre.
-Countries don’t take articles, except for names which are words on their own, as “los Estados Unidos, el Reino Unido, los Emiratos Árabes”. We also say “la India”, but this is for historical reasons (because Christophorus Columbus was totally confused and he died thinking that he arrived to India. That’s why in the old days, we called América “the West Indies”. In Spanish was very common to say “la India” for the Asian country, to distinguish it from the West Indies, and the name is still in use with an article). Last but not least, we put articles when talking about a particular period: la España franquista, la Inglaterra victoriana.
-In affirmative sentences starting with “what”, it is mandatory to put the neutral article “lo”:
What I really love is to swim. Lo que realmente me encanta es nadar.
This doesn’t happen in interrogative sentences:
What do you want now? ¿Qué quieres ahora?
-Notice the differente between these two sentences:
Quiero comer pollo (in general).
Quiero comer el pollo (for example, the chicken that my mother cooked or the chicken that we bought yesterday).
-We say “a principios de, a mediados de, a fin de”, without articles:
At the beginning of the week. A principios de la semana.
By mid-September. A mediados de septiembre.
At the end of the year. A fin de año.
As you see, it is crucial to know this in order to speak correctly.
