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Indefinite articles
The indefinite articles in English are the words "a" or "an," and in the plural "some," "a few," or "several." Spanish also has four words for this article: un, una, unos, and unas. This section is closely related to the section on nouns, and the two categories should be studied together for a complete view of the subject.
Forms
Spanish has four forms of the indefinite article, corresponding to the singular and plural of masculine and feminine nouns.
Singular –> Plural:
- un (fusil) –> unos (fusiles)
- una (batalla) –> unas (batallas)
Uses
- The indefinite article translates the word "a" or "an," and in
the plural "some," "a few" or "several."
- Tengo una cuenta corriente. (I have a bank account.)
- Me quedan unas monedas. (I have a few coins
left.)
- The articles are used with the gender and number of their
corresponding nouns, with one exception. When feminine nouns begin
with a stressed a or ha in the singular they
take the masculine indefinite article.
- un ala, unas alas (a wing, some wings)
- un alba, unas albas (a dawn, some dawns)
- un hambre, unas hambres (a hunger, some
hungers)
- The article is not used after ser with unmodified
professions, occupations, nationalities, religions, etc.
- Ellos son ingenieros. (They are engineers.)
- Ellas son guatemaltecas. (They are Guatemalan.)
- Es católico. (He is a Catholic.)
But... - Es un buen católico. (He is a good
Catholic.)
- It is omitted before the numbers cien, ciento, and
mil, before otro/a, medio/a and cierto/a, and
before tal (such a) and ¡qué...! (what
a...!)
- Vinieron cien espectadores. (A hundred spectators came.)
- ¿No tienes otro? (Don't you have another one?)
- Nunca he visto tal cosa. (I've never seen such thing.)
- ¡Qué vergüenza! (What a
shame!)
