Singular el and la usually lose their vowel before a word beginning with a vowel or silent h: el amic → l'amic; la escola → l'escola. The apostrophe records that elision. It does not erase the noun's gender: l'amic is still masculine and l'amiga is still feminine.
The general rule is simple, but feminine la has an important unstressed-i/u exception, and initial glides or pronounced h can block elision altogether.
For the unelided four-form system, see Definite Articles; for the sign itself, see The Apostrophe.
The compact paradigm
| Underlying article | Before most consonants | Before most vowels or silent h |
|---|---|---|
| masculine singular el | el carrer | l'avi, l'hivern |
| feminine singular la | la plaça | l'àvia, l'herba |
| masculine plural els | els carrers, els avis | |
| feminine plural les | les places, les àvies | |
L'avi i l'àvia esperen els amics davant de les oficines.
Grandfather and grandmother are waiting for their friends in front of the offices.
Plural els and les never become l'. English gives no visible clue here because the never changes; in Catalan, number decides whether elision is even possible.
The regular rule: vowel or silent h
Use l' before a, e, i, o, or u when the initial sound is vocalic. A silent written h does not interrupt the contact between the article and the vowel: l'home, l'hora, l'hospital.
L'home de l'oficina ha obert l'hotel a les vuit.
The man from the office opened the hotel at eight.
L'arquitecta ha restaurat l'església antiga i l'edifici modern.
The architect has restored the old church and the modern building.
The apostrophe touches both sides: write l'escola, never l' escola or l 'escola. It represents a missing vowel, not punctuation separating two words.
When a, de, or per comes before l', there is no masculine contraction: a l'avi, de l'edifici, per l'hospital. Compare al carrer, del mercat, and pel pont.
Feminine la before unstressed i or u
Feminine la remains full before a word beginning with unstressed i or u, including silent h followed by those vowels: la idea, la infermera, la Isabel, la universitat, la història, la humitat. This avoids an indistinct sequence and preserves the feminine article.
La infermera estudia la història de la universitat.
The nurse studies the history of the university.
If the initial i or u is stressed, elision returns: l'Índia, l'illa, l'única, l'última. The accent often makes the stress visible, but not every stressed vowel carries a written accent, so pronunciation and a dictionary still matter.
| Initial vowel | Feminine form | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| unstressed i | la idea, la història | exception: keep la |
| stressed i | l'Índia, l'illa | regular elision |
| unstressed u | la unitat, la humanitat | exception: keep la |
| stressed u | l'ungla, l'única | regular elision |
L'única alumna nova treballa a la unitat d'urgències.
The only new student works in the emergency unit.
The masculine article has no matching unstressed-i/u exception: l'infermer, l'univers, l'hivern.
The immediately following word controls elision
An adjective placed before the noun can change the visible article because elision responds to the next pronounced word, while agreement still responds to the noun.
La universitat antiga ocupa l'antiga fàbrica tèxtil.
The old university occupies the former textile factory.
In la universitat antiga, la stands directly before unstressed u. In l'antiga fàbrica, the same feminine article stands before antiga and elides. Similarly, compare la unitat nova with l'última unitat. Modifier order changes adjacency, not noun gender.
Initial i and u that behave like consonants
Do not elide before initial i or u pronounced as a glide [j] or [w]. These sounds function like consonants: el iogurt, el iode, la iaia, la iarda, el uombat, la UEFA. This is distinct from the feminine unstressed-vowel exception: even masculine el remains in el iogurt.
La iaia compra el iogurt mentre mira un documental sobre el uombat.
Grandma buys the yogurt while watching a documentary about the wombat.
The spelling alone can mislead an English speaker. Ask how the word begins when spoken, not merely which letter comes first.
Other forms that resist elision
Feminine article remains full in the fixed forms la una when telling time, la ira, la host, and la Haia. Letter names also take the full feminine article: la a, la efa, la hac. Current spelling does, however, elide before negative a- formations: l'asimetria, l'anormalitat, l'asèpsia.
An initial pronounced h in a loanword blocks elision: el hàmster, el hall. Silent h does not: l'hivern, l'hora.
La reunió de la Haia començarà a la una.
The meeting in The Hague will begin at one.
Catalan is not following the Spanish agua rule
Spanish uses masculine-looking el before stressed feminine a in phrases such as el agua fría. Catalan does not adopt that special article. It uses ordinary elision and keeps feminine agreement: l'aigua freda, l'àguila blanca, l'arma antiga.
L'aigua freda omple l'ampolla blava.
The cold water fills the blue bottle.
This is a particularly dangerous cognate pattern: the apostrophized article hides gender, but the adjective reveals it.
Regional note
The el/la → l' rules belong to the general IEC and AVL standards. (regional: Balearic) the salat articles also elide in forms such as s'amic and s'amiga. That is part of a complete regional paradigm. In a Central-standard passage, use l'amic/l'amiga rather than switching between l' and s'.
Common Mistakes
1. Keeping el before an ordinary vowel.
❌ El amic espera davant del hospital.
Incorrect — el elides before both vowel-initial words.
✅ L'amic espera davant de l'hospital.
The friend is waiting in front of the hospital.
2. Eliding feminine la before unstressed i.
❌ L'història de l'Isabel és interessant.
Incorrect — història and Isabel begin with unstressed i.
✅ La història de la Isabel és interessant.
Isabel's story is interesting.
3. Copying the Spanish article with aigua.
❌ El aigua està molt fred.
Incorrect — aigua is feminine and takes regular elision.
✅ L'aigua està molt freda.
The water is very cold.
4. Eliding before an initial glide.
❌ L'iogurt és per a la iaia.
Incorrect — iogurt begins with the glide [j], so masculine el remains full.
✅ El iogurt és per a la iaia.
The yogurt is for Grandma.
5. Adding a space after the apostrophe.
❌ L' escola obre a l' una.
Incorrect — the apostrophe has no following space, and the time expression is la una.
✅ L'escola obre a la una.
The school opens at one.
Key Takeaways
Use l' for singular el/la before most vowels and silent h. Keep feminine la before unstressed initial i/u, and keep either article full before consonantal glides or pronounced h. Plural articles never elide. Agreement survives behind l', so verify the noun's gender instead of importing Spanish patterns such as el aigua.
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Start learning Catalan →Related Topics
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- The ApostropheA2 — Use the Catalan apostrophe with articles, de, and weak pronouns, including the vowel and clitic contexts that block elision.
- Personal Articles: en and naA1 — Use Catalan articles before personal names according to region, register, gender, and the sound that begins the name.
- Elision and Linking Across WordsB1 — Learn how vowels and consonants join across word boundaries in natural Catalan speech.
- Apostrophe and Elision ErrorsA2 — Fix misplaced Catalan apostrophes in articles, de, and weak pronouns, including glide exceptions and spacing errors.