Spanish indefinite articles
Online language lessons with native teachers
Skype teachers
Free trial lesson
Flexible appointments
Spanish indefinite articles
Spanish indefinite articles refer to one individual out of a general group and they often correspond to English a / an (singular form), some / a few (plural form). Like definite articles, they give information about the gender (femenine, masculine) and the number (singular, plural) of the noun and they have four forms:
| Masculine | Femenine | |
|---|---|---|
| Singular | un | una |
| Plural | unos | unas |
Examples:
- Miguel quiere comprar un libro. (Miguel wants to buy a book.)
- Acabamos de recibir una carta. (We have just received a letter.)
- Necesito comprar unos tomates para la cena de esta noche. (I need to buy some tomatoes for tonight's dinner.)
- Pon unos vasos encima de la mesa. (Put a few glasses on the table.)
Lesson Outline
Hide- 1.When to use the indefinite article in Spanish
- 1.1.When referring one individual in a general group
- 1.2.When describing someone with a noun
- 1.3.When saying there is exactly one of something
- 1.4.When describing an approximate amount of something
- 2.When to omit the indefinite article in Spanish
- 2.1.With non specific amount of material
- 2.2.With ser + professions and occupations, nationality or religion
- 2.3.With cierto(a) / medio(a) / mil / otro(a) / qué / tal(-es) + noun
- 2.4.With verbs such as tener / comprar / sacar / buscar / llevar
- 3.Exercises
- 3.1.Spanish indefinite articles - Single choice question exercise
- 3.2.Spanish indefinite articles - Fill in the blanks
When to use the indefinite article in Spanish
Like English, the Spanish indefinite article is used in the following cases:
When referring one individual in a general group
Un cuadro es una obra de arte. (A painting is a work of art.)
When describing someone with a noun
Gracias, eres un sol. (Thanks, you are a sweetie.)
When saying there is exactly one of something
Quiero una galleta. (I want a biscuit.)
When describing an approximate amount of something
Necesito unos calabacines. (I need some courgettes.)
When to omit the indefinite article in Spanish
The indefinite article has to be omitted in the following cases:
With non specific amount of material
¿Pones zanahorias en la tarta? (Do you put any carrot in the cake?)
With ser + professions and occupations, nationality or religion
- Somos albañiles. (We are bricklayers.)
- Somos españoles. (We are Spanish.)
- Yonis es musulmán. (Yonis is Muslim.)
If the noun is modified by an adjective, the indefinite article cannot be omitted.
Example:
Javier es un profesor muy competente. (Javier is a very competent professor.)
With cierto(a) / medio(a) / mil / otro(a) / qué / tal(-es) + noun
- Cierto día decidieron que lo mejor era terminar su relación. (They decided one day that the best thing to do was end their relationship.)
- José y Lorena van a salir en media hora. (José y Lorena are leaving in a half hour.)
- Perdieron mil euros en la apuesta. (They lost one thousand euros on the bet.)
- Quiero comprame otra bicicleta. (I want to buy another bike.)
- Miguel, ¡Qué bonita novia tienes! (Miguel, what a beautiful girlfriend you have!)
- No quiero escuchar tal cosa. (I don't want to listen to such a thing.)
With verbs such as tener / comprar / sacar / buscar / llevar
The indefinite article is omitted after verbs such as:
- tener (to have);
- comprar (to buy);
- sacar (take off / get)
- buscar (to look for);
- llevar (to bring)
when the noun refers to a person or thing one commonly have.
Examples:
- Lorena tiene marido. (Lorena has a husband.)
- Me estan buscando novia. (They are looking for a girlfriend for me.)
- Lleva zapatos. (She is wearing shoes.)
- Miguel ha comprado (sacado) billetes. (Miguel bought the tickets)
Exercises
Spanish indefinite articles - Single choice question exercise
Spanish indefinite articles - Fill in the blanks
What our students say
Unlike in other platforms, all our teachers are manually verified by our professional team. Trust in the experiences of our students.
Anthony L.
I have now taken few months of Spanish lessons with Elena and I am very glad I did! Elena is an amazing teacher as well as amazing person. Always on time, she will adapt to you and your weaknesses, to make you improve as fast as you can, while keeping it simple and pleasant. She provides you with quality material support and will always be there for you. Spanish has never been so enjoyable to learn. Muchas gracias Elena!
Elena P.
Anthony, thank you for your words! I am happy to know that you are satisfied with the course and that you enjoy the lessons so much. It is a pleasure for me too! I like to witness your improvement, class after class, and I am sure that you will achieve your goal soon. Con mucho gusto!
Danilo G.
It is always a pleasure to have English lessons with Corinne. The lessons are always a lot of fun and extremely interesting concerning on current affairs and unfortunately the time always ends too early. Very recommended.
Corinne P.
Thank you, Danilo. It is always a pleasure having lessons with you and I have enjoyed our many conversations together. And what a joy that over time they have become easier for both of us to understand! :D
Robbie T.
Daniela is a wonderful teacher and a pleasure to talk to. Any student would be lucky to have her as a teacher. Thank you Daniela for your help with my Italian!!!
Daniela V.
Ciao Robbie, thanks a lot for your feedback. I'm very happy you like the classes together and I'll do my best to keep them as fun and interesting as possible :-)
Alba B.
I had my first lesson a couple of days ago and everything went super good! Karin was attentive, transmiting her positivism and helping me with every doubt I had. She really focus on teaching how to pronounce and talk a language, so this is really interesting for me, to practise it & be able to use it in my day by day. I really recommend her to everyone willing to learn a new language :)
Karin L.
Hi Alba! Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I enjoyed our class too & I wish you the best of luck with all your future projects :-)
Silvia B.
Ekaterina writes new words and sentences learnt during the lesson. She has got a very nice attitude and great accent! A pleasure to work with... yes, even in German!!!!!
Ekaterina V.
Dear Silvia, thank you very much for your feedback! It's a real pleasure to have classes with you, and I hope you find them useful!
Alessandra C.
I am very satisfied with the teaching method. I highly recommend it if you want to learn the German language correctly. He has a lot of patience and can teach in a very relaxed way. Very very good
FIORINA D.
Thanks a lot. It is understood that for any difficulty and / or misunderstanding I am at your disposal.Rina
Philippe S.
Alberto corresponds perfectly to my request to converse while teaching me grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. Philippe
Alberto A.
Thank you Philippe for your beautiful words. Yours sincerely.
Benissimo, come sempre! ;-) A nice combination of conversation and following a work book. I certainly recommend Luisa if you want to learn Italian from scratch!
Luisa A.
Dear Erik thank you so much for your great feedback !!!!!
Clemence D.
Virginia is smiling and supportive all the time! She speaks many languages any addition of Spanish so she's able to help if I don't understand in Spanish. She provides structured lessons with clear goals and different ways to learn. Therefore the lesson is dynamic and very efficient. She's committed to help her students and you can see it since the beginning. Many thanks Virginia!
Virginia N.
Many thanks to you Clemence. See you! :-))))
Peter B.
In our lessons, we do mostly conversation, as that is what I need most. Ciğdem is very patient and positive. Her explanations are always clear. I'm learning a lot from our lessons.
Cigdem P.
Thank you for your feedback Peter :)
Sereen J.
it was really a great lesson with Darya, shes very organized and prepared and her speaking is obvious I enjoyed our lesson so much, and her English is very good and understandable which make it easier to have the lesson she's a great teacher I recommend her for sure
Derya K.
Thank you Sereen! Derya
Aleksandra K.
Deborah is a teacher with whom it is always a pleasure to work. She is punctual, professional and always ready to adapt to your student needs. I can't wait for the next lesson to arrive. :)
Deborah M.
Thanks Aleksandra !!
Leandra P.
Alessia is very professional; always well prepared, ambitious, super kind and patient. Her lessons are fun and focused on conversation. She asked me what I want to focus on and what is my learning goal. Is a great teacher!
Alessia T.
Thank you Leandra!
Aurauraura O.
My first English class with Olivia was very good. I feel that he is the type of person and method that I need to learn.
Olivia P.
Katja .
Great varied lessons with a super nice native speaker. Very competent and great fun! We recommend!!!!
Alice Z.
Practise with a private teacher on Skype!
- Private Skype lessons
- Learn any topic
- Flexible appointments
I speak: English, Spanish I teach: Spanish
Hello, Spanish learner! I am Isabel, your Spanish teacher. I am a professional online Spanish teacher for 3 years. I am a native speaker from... Colombia. My lessons are completely in Spanish because I want you to speak as much as possible. During my lessons, we will focus on conversation and pronunciation. But a typical lesson also contains a vocabulary topic and a grammar topic. I will focus on your needs and your mistakes to improve your Spanish as quickly as possible. In the first lesson, we will do a level test to check your current level (CEFR A1, A2, B1, B2, C1) If you would like to improve your Spanish, learn more about the South American culture, gastronomy and traditions, I am your teacher! Or if you just want to talk in Spanish, about any subject you like, I would be happy to meet you online. Send me a message and I will provide you a 30-minute free trial lesson! See you online on Skype. Your Spanish teacher, Isabel Read more
Availability: Monday (7-23h), Tuesday (7-23h), Wednesday (7-23h), Thursday (7-23h), Friday (7-23h), Saturday (7-23h), Sunday (7-23h).
Timezone: Europe/Berlin (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
12.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours
I speak: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Italian, Portuguese, International, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish I teach: Bosnian, Croatian, English, Italian, Portuguese, International, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Turkish
Me as a Teacher I am a Serbian native speaker and a language teacher. I have been teaching online for 5 years. I live in Belgrade. I've been... teaching online for 5 years (officially). I love teaching because it's a dynamic and an interesting job. You can teach your students and you can learn from them as well. The happiness and joy of the student + their progresses with their target language = my biggest prize (so my students are the ones who motivate me to work better)and I try to combine: a bit of reading, a bit of writing, a bit of conversation, a bit of grammar and a bit of listening by using different resources. About Me My favorite topics are: 1. Travelling , 2. Foreign languages, 3. TV programs, 4. Films and TV series, 5. Culture, 6. sport, 7. IT, 8. Science My hobbies are: learning foreign languages, horse- riding, reading, travelling, ... I am open-minded, flexible and very positive. If you come up with something interesting to talk about, please, don't hesitate to suggest me and I'll gladly discuss with you about that. I visited: Montenegro, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia and Slovenia. My Lessons & Teaching Style Firstly, I test the level of the target language... I have two parts: 1) Conversational part (here I check their vocabulary and their fluency + I find out their language goals and their needs) 2) Writing part (with that I focus much more on grammar and spelling) For each part, I take notes (I have my notebook for that). Secondly, I personalize my lessons to their goals and needs. I can cover a lot of topics: business, travelling, culture, etc. My Teaching Material Text Documents Audio Recordings Images and Visuals Video News Articles and Magazines Quizzes Example Test Templates Graphs and Charts Homework Assignments PowerPoint Presentations Read more
Availability: Monday (7-23h), Tuesday (7-23h), Wednesday (7-23h), Thursday (7-23h), Friday (7-23h), Saturday (7-23h), Sunday (7-23h).
Timezone: Europe/Belgrade (GMT+2)
See in your timezone.
12.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours
I speak: German, Spanish, Dutch, English I teach: Spanish, Dutch
Hi, I'm Adriaan. I have been teaching Dutch and Spanish for seven years to students of all levels, from absolute beginners to... students who only need conversation. My students are of all ages, from 9 to 76 years old and from all continents. With each student I create a Google doc in which I put all the grammatical information, exercises and homework after each class. I can help you if you want to learn the language for fun, for work, or to prepare for an exam. Languages are my passion! See you soon! Read more
Availability: Monday (8-13h), Tuesday (8-13h), Wednesday (8-13h), Thursday (8-13h), Friday (8-13h), Saturday (8-13h).
Timezone: Europe/London (GMT+1)
See in your timezone.
25.00€ / h
Response time: less than a few hours