Unidad 1Leccion 2

Definite vs. Indefinite Articles

Los Objetivos

What are articles and how do we use them?

What does gender and number mean? What are the differences between

definite and indefinite articles? What are adjectives and how do we

use them? How are they different in Spanish?

Leccion 1: Definite vs. Indefinite Articles

Before we can talk about articles, we must learn about nouns in Spanish.

What is a noun?

Nouns (cont.)

All nouns in Spanish have both

and

Gender

Masculine vs. feminine

Sometimes, nouns in Spanish show their gender by ending in ______ for masculine and ______ for feminine.

Gender (cont.)

If you change the gender of a noun then you change the meaning of the word.

Ejemplo:

Chico = ropa =

Chica = ropo =

Number

Singular vs. plural Nouns show their number by ending in

or

*note: if a noun ends in –s or –es it is plural.

Ejemplos: What is the gender and number of the following 4 nouns?

Blusa Sombreros Chico Chaquetas

Fem./Sing. Masc./Plural Masc./Singular Fem./Plural

Articles

What are articles? Articles in Spanish help to identify the

gender and number of nouns. They do not serve this purpose in English

Ejemplos: Can you identify the gender and number of the nouns based on the article?

La blusa Los calcetines El policía La policía

Fem./Sing

Masc./Plural

Masc./Singular

Fem./Singular

Articles (cont.)

There are two types of articles.

Definite

Indefinite

Definite Articles

Shows something specific What do they mean?

Definite Articles (cont.)

Cont.

El = masc./sing.

La = fem./sing.

Los = masc./plural

Las = fem./ plural

Ejemplos

La blusa El calcetín Las blusas Los calcetines El sombrero Las faldas

Indefinite Articles

Shows something non-specific What do they mean?

This depends on the noun

Indefinite Articles (cont.)

Cont.

un = masc./sing.

una = fem./sing.

unos = masc./plural

unas = fem./ plural

Ejemplos

una blusa un calcetín unas blusas unos calcetines un sombrero unas faldas

A blouse A sock Some blouses Some socks A hat Some skirts

Practica(Fill in the blank with your articles)

Definite

1. _____ paginas

2. _____ maestra

3. _____ perros

4. _____ vestido

5. _____ amiga

Indefinite

1. _____ sombrero

2. _____ doctora

3. _____ zapatos

4. _____ libro

5. _____ cuadernos

Practica (translate)

1. A boy

2. The friends

3. A teacher (male)

4. Some books

5. The page

1.The boys are funny.

2. Maria is lazy.

3. Susana and Juana are serious.

Self Check

What are articles and what do they do?

What are your definite articles and what do they mean?

What are your indefinite articles and what do they mean?