The Articles

In Spanish, few nouns can stand alone. Most need to be

introduced or determined by an article. As in English, an
article is characterized as either definite (the)
or indefinite (a, an).  Spanish articles must match the
gender and the number of the noun they determine, resulting
in four forms of the indefinite article, as seen in the table
below:

Indefinite Articles
singular plural
masculine un unos
feminine una unas

If the noun is masculine and singular (perro), then its article

also has to be masculine and singular (un perro). If that
same noun becomes plural (perros) the article also becomes
plural (unos perros).
 
Examples:

 Quiero una galleta. - I want a cookie. (singular,

feminine)
 Compré unas faldas nuevas ayer. - I bought some new
skirts yesterday. (plural, feminine)
 ¿Hay un elefante en este zoológico? - Is
there an elephant in this zoo? (singular, masculine)
 Hay unos niños en el patio. - There are a few children
on the patio. (plural, masculine)
 Exceptions
When a feminine and singular noun begins with a
stressed á, a, or ha, the masculine indefinite article is
used instead to aide in pronunciation. When the same
noun is plural, the feminine article is used.

Exceptional Indefinite Articles

Singular Plural
un águila Unas águilas
(A eagle, Some
eagles) unas almas (A soul, a few souls)
un alma
unas aguas (A water, some
un agua
waters)
Unas hambres (A hunger, some
un hambre
hungers)

Definite Article
In English, the definite article "the" is used to modify any
noun. In Spanish, the definite article changes when the noun
is plural and depending on the gender. In English, nouns like
telephone and apple are genderless.  In Spanish, nouns are
considered either masculine or feminine. Masculine nouns
are preceded by el (singular) or los (plural). Feminine nouns
are preceded by la (singular) or las (plural). For example:

Spanish English
 Singular / Plural Singular / Plural

el teléfono the telephone / the

/los teléfonos telephones

la manzana / las 
manzanas the apple / the apples

Definite articles are typically used:

 To communicate an abstract concept.   For example,

"La verdad es necesaria para la justicia (The truth is
necessary for justice)."

 With a series of nouns.  For example,

"Mira la manzana, la naranja y el banano (Look at the
apple, orange and banana)."

 When telling the time of day, "Es la una (it is one

o'clock)."

 With the days of the week, (replacing "on" in English)

except when following the verb "ser".  For example, "Tengo
una lección el sabado (I have a lesson on Saturday)."

 With the seasons.  For example, "Voy a ir a Guatemala

en el verano (I am going to Guatemala in the summer)."
 With weights and measures (replacing "per" in
English).  For example, "El arroz cuesta 2 dólares la libra
(Rice costs $2 per pound)."

 With the parts of the body or articles of clothing

instead of the possessive pronoun (i.e., yours/mine/his/etc.). 
For example, "Dejé los zapatos en el cuarto (I lefty my shoes
in the room)."

 Before a proper name when it is modified by an

adjective.  For example, "Mira el pequeño Ricardo (Look at
little Richard)."

 When speaking about (not speaking directly to) people

with titles.  For example, "Tengo que visitar la doctor (I
have to visit the woman doctor)."

 Before the names of languages but not after hablar, de

or en.  For example, "El español es fácil para enseñar
(Spanish is easy to teach)."

Exception:The definite article "el" precedes feminine nouns

that begin with an "a" when the stress is on the first
syllable. This is done to avoid placing "la" before words like
"agua" creating "la agua", which is difficult to pronounce.
However, when the stress is not on the first syllable the
definite article "la" is used: For example:

Spanish English

Singular / Plural Singular / Plural

 el agua / las aguas the water / the waters

the female friend / the female

la amiga / las amigas friends

Example using both articles:

Article “Lo” (Neutro, no tiene

plural, it doesn’t have plural)
Lo is one of those words that doesn't always have a
clear definition — and it can function in at least three
different ways, as a subject pronoun, object pronoun
or definite article. When you run across the word in a
sentence and don't know what it means, you often need to
figure out first how it is being used.

Here, in rough order of how common they are, are the ways
that lo can be used:
 1. As a masculine direct-object pronoun: In such
cases, lo can be translated as either "him" or "it." The
feminine equivalent is la.

Examples:

 ¿Pablo? No lo vi. = Pablo? I didn't see him.

 El coche es muy caro. Quiero comprarlo. = The car is

very expensive. I want to buy it.

 Dámelo. = Give it to me.

 No creo que lo hayas conocido. = I don't think you've

met him.

Note that in the above sentences where lo means "him,"

referring to a person, it would be very common in some
areas, particularly in Spain, to use le instead of lo. The use
of le as a direct object pronoun is known as leísmo.

2. As a neuter definite article: The definite articles in

Spanish, typically el and la when singular, are the
equivalent of the English "the." Lo can be used as a
neuter definite article before an adjective to make
an abstract noun. For example;
 Lo importante can be translated as "the important thing,"
"that which is important" or "what is important."
 Lo bueno es que hemos sido más listos. = The good
thing is that we have been more clever.

 Lo barato sale caro. = What seems cheap ends up

expensive.

 Lo mejor es que me voy a casa. = The best thing is

that I'm going home.

 Lo mío es tuyo. = What is mine is yours.

 El entrenador se especializa en lo imposible. = The

coach specializes in the impossible.

3. As a neuter direct-object pronoun: Lo can be used

as an object pronoun to refer to something abstract, to
an unnamed activity or situation, or to a previous
statement:

Examples:

 No podemos hacerlo. We can't do it.

 No  lo  comprendo. I don't understand it.

 Mi religión no  lo  prohibe, pero cada vez que  lo  hago,
le doy las gracias al animal por darme vida. = My religion
doesn't prohibit it, but every time I do it, I give thanks to
the animal for giving me life.
 4. As part of lo  que or lo cual: These phrases serve
as relative pronouns usually meaning "that," "what" or
"that which":

Examples:

 (Título) La marihuana:  Lo que  los padres deben

saber. (Headline) Marijuana: What parents ought to know.

 Mis padres me daban todo  lo que  yo necesitaba. My

parents gave me everything that I needed.

 No puedo decidir  lo que  es mejor. I can't

decide what is better.

 No  todo  lo que  brilla es oro. = Not

everything that shines is gold.

5. As part of lo
de: The phrase can be translated
differently depending on the context, but generally
means something like "the matter concerning":

Examples:

 Los senadores republicanos fueron informados

sobre  lo de  la CIA. The Republican senators were informed
about the CIA matter.
 Lo de  que las niñas japonesas se perdieron no era una
mentira. The story about the Japanese girls getting lost
wasn't a lie.

 Lo de  Castro es todo pretextos y

mentiras. Castro's way of doing things is all pretexts and
lies.

In various phrases: Some examples:

 a lo largo de, throughout

 a lo lejos, in the distance
 a lo loco, like crazy
 a lo mejor, probably
 lo sabe todo, he/she knows it all
 por lo general, generally
 por lo menos, at least
 por lo pronto, for now
 por lo tanto, as a result
 por lo visto, apparently

Loísmo: In some regions, you may occasionally hear the use

of lo as an indirect object instead of le. However, this
practice, known as loísmo, is considered substandard and
should be avoided by those learning the language.

Examples:

 Le interesa mi libro? Are you interested in my book?

 Le escribo una carta. I write you a letter (The person who you write
the letter can be a female or male)
 Le importa? Do you care?