Contractions (Al, Del)

Spanish has exactly two mandatory contractions, and both involve the masculine singular definite article el. When the prepositions a or de come directly before el, they merge into a single word — al and del. This is not optional or stylistic; it is required in writing and speech.

The Rule

Preposition
  • el
Contraction
a
  • el
al
de
  • el
del

No other article contracts. A la, a los, a las, de la, de los, de las all stay as two words.

Voy al cine con mis amigos.

I am going to the movies with my friends.

Es el libro del profesor.

It's the teacher's book.

Without the contraction, these sentences would read "voy a el cine" and "el libro de el profesor," both of which are ungrammatical.

Only with the Article, Not the Pronoun

The word él with a written accent is the third-person masculine pronoun ("he" or "him"). It looks almost identical to el (the article), but it never contracts.

Voy a él, no a ella.

I'm going to him, not to her.

La carta es de él.

The letter is from him.

In these examples, él is a person, not an article, so a él and de él stay separate. The written accent is your signal: if you see él, do not contract.

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Rule of thumb: contract only when the el is followed by a noun. If it is followed by a comma, a verb, or stands alone, it is the pronoun él and stays separate.

Many learners instinctively try to contract a la or de los. Don't — Spanish keeps these as two words.

Voy a la escuela y vuelvo de los parques.

I go to the school and return from the parks.

Hablamos de las películas nuevas.

We're talking about the new movies.

Only the masculine singular el triggers contraction because the vowel clash (a-e, e-e) is what Spanish wanted to eliminate centuries ago.

Proper Nouns That Start with El

Some place names include El as part of the name, written with a capital letter — for example, El Salvador, El Cairo, El Paso. These are proper nouns, so the article is part of the name itself and does not contract.

Viajamos a El Salvador el año pasado.

We traveled to El Salvador last year.

Es la embajada de El Cairo.

It's the embassy of El Cairo.

Writing "al Salvador" would be a spelling error. However, you will sometimes see casual speech or news headlines contract these anyway — it is tolerated, but careful writing keeps them separate.

Common Uses of Al

Al + infinitive is a very common construction meaning "upon/when doing something."

Al llegar, llamé a mi madre.

Upon arriving, I called my mother.

This is a fixed idiom that students should memorize as a chunk.

Common Uses of Del

Del is heavily used for possession (equivalent to English's 's or of the), and for origin.

El sombrero del niño está sucio.

The boy's hat is dirty.

Spanish does not have a possessive 's, so the structure noun + del + owner is the standard way to express "X's Y" for masculine singular owners. For feminine or plural owners you use de la, de los, de las.

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Memorize the two contractions as automatic: whenever you write a + el or de + el with an article, cross out the space without even thinking. Your writing will look native instantly.

Quick Recap

  • a + el = al, de + el = del. No exceptions for the article.
  • Other articles (la, los, las) never contract.
  • The pronoun él (with accent) stays separate: a él, de él.
  • Proper nouns like El Salvador do not contract in careful writing.
  • Al + infinitive = "upon/when doing something."

Common mistakes

❌ Voy a el parque.

Wrong: a + el must contract to al.

✅ Voy al parque.

Correct: al is the required contraction.

❌ Es de el profesor.

Wrong: de + el must contract to del.

✅ Es del profesor.

Correct: del is mandatory.

❌ Se lo di al él.

Wrong: the pronoun él (with accent) does not contract.

✅ Se lo di a él.

Correct: a él stays as two words when él is a pronoun.

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