Chapter 3 – The Article
In most language almost every sentence contains a noun. Thus to formulate sentences being able to use nouns is a necessity. A lot has to do with simply studying vocabulary, but the proper use of the article should also not be underestimated. The article accompanies a noun, and indicates its gender and whether the noun is plural or singular, and is divided into:
The defined- or determined article: Masculine singular and plural el, los and feminine singular and plural la, las. It is called defined article, because when it is used, the receiver of the message knows exactly about which individual thing, event or person the message is: Puedes darme el vaso, por favor? (Could you give me the glass, please?) In this case, the person saying the sentence possibly pointed at a specific glass for example.
The undefined- or undetermined article: Masculine singular and plural un, unos and feminine singular and plural una, unas. It is called undefined article, because the specific thing, event or person is unclear. Puedes darme un vaso por favor? (Could you give me a glass, please?) It is not clear which glass the person means. It could be any glass basically.
The neutral article: This is abstract. This is called neutral because it can refer to both masculine and feminine.
