Definite articles and 'to be' (el, la, soy)

Nouns come with their article

Every Spanish noun is masculine or feminine, and the word for "the" matches:

  • el — masculine: el niño
  • la — feminine: la niña
the boy
el niño
the girl
la niña

The verb "ser"

The singular pronouns are yo (I), (you), él (he) and ella (she). Use ser for lasting things — who someone is, and where they are from.

SubjectVerbMeaning
yosoyI am
eresyou are
él / ellaeshe / she is

The ending already says who the subject is, so Spanish usually drops the pronoun.

He is the boy.
Él es el niño.
She is the girl.
Ella es la niña.

Jobs take no article

After ser, a profession goes bare — not yo soy el estudiante, which would mean "I am the student".

I am a student.
Yo soy estudiante.
You are a doctor.
Tú eres doctor.

Where you are from: de

He is from Mexico.
Él es de México.
I am from Mexico.
Soy de México.

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