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Spanish (Spain)

### Indefinite Articles: A, An, Some

In previous lessons, we used definite articles like *el* and *la* to talk about specific things ("the" boy, "the" girl). When we want to talk about things generally—like "**a**" boy, "**an**" animal, or "**some**" birds—we use **indefinite articles**.

Just like definite articles, these must agree with the noun's gender (masculine or feminine) and number (singular or plural).

| Gender | Singular ("a / an") | Plural ("some") |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Masculine** | un | unos |
| **Feminine** | una | unas |

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### Contrasting Specific and General

You will often mix definite ("the") and indefinite ("a / an") articles in the same sentence to contrast specific known places or items with general ones.

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### Plural Articles: "Some"

When you have more than one unspecific item, use the plural forms **unos** (for masculine or mixed groups) and **unas** (for strictly feminine groups). In English, these naturally translate to "some".

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### Tricky Genders and Adding Emphasis

To emphasize an adjective, you can place the word **muy** (very) right before it.

Additionally, watch out for nouns that break the typical gender rules. For example, the word *problema* ends in *-a*, but it is actually masculine! Because of this, it uses masculine articles like *un*.

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A word like *idea*, however, follows the normal rules and is feminine.

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Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Question	Answer
the bird	el pájaro
a, an, some	un
The bird is a small animal.	El pájaro es un animal pequeño.
the boy	el chico
the girl	la chica
The boy is a new student and the girl is a new student.	El chico es un estudiante nuevo y la chica es una estudiante nueva.
also, too	también
The dog is also an animal.	El perro también es un animal.
the town, the village	el pueblo
the city	la ciudad
A town is small and the city is big.	Un pueblo es pequeño y la ciudad es grande.
the problem	el problema
very	muy
It is a very big problem.	Es un problema muy grande.
the idea	la idea
That is a very good idea.	Eso es una idea muy buena.
Some small birds are fast.	Unos pájaros pequeños son rápidos.
It is a house with some tall trees.	Es una casa con unos árboles altos.
A city is big and a town is small.	Una ciudad es grande y un pueblo es pequeño.
You are some very smart students.	Vosotros sois unos estudiantes muy inteligentes.
Is the old dog also a problem?	¿El perro viejo también es un problema?
A boy and a girl are good friends.	Un chico y una chica son buenos amigos.
It is a very good idea.	Es una idea muy buena.

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