Indefinite articles in Spanish — un, una meaning a, an, unos, unas meaning some, a few— can refer to:
One individual out of a group:
Quiero una paella, por favor. meaning I want a paella, please.Unspecified items:
¿Tienes un lápiz? meaning Do you have a pencil?Things mentioned for the first time:
Hay un perro en el jardín. meaning There’s a dog in the garden.
Knowing when to use them is useful, but it’s also important to know when indefinite articles are omitted. Do you want to know more? Then keep reading!
What are Spanish indefinite articles?
Indefinite articles are those that identify an item or person out of a group. Just as with Spanish definite articles they agree with the noun they precede in gender and number.
| gender/number | masculine | feminine |
|---|---|---|
singular a, an | un | una |
plural a few, some | unos | unas |
When are indefinite articles used in Spanish?
To refer to one individual out of a group
Use the indefinite article to identify something or someone as part of a group:
To talk about something for the first time
Whenever we mention something for the first time, we need to introduce it with an indefinite article:
Did you see what we did there? First we used the indefinite article to mention the park for the first time. Once it was clear what we were talking about, we used the definite article.
To identify a person with a noun indicating their personal qualities
Sometimes we can use a noun to refer to a personal quality. In this case, that noun is introduced by the indefinite article:
To indicate quantity
Indefinite articles can be used to express quantity, as “one” of something:
Or, to express an approximate amount:
In this case, the plural forms unos/unas can be also used to mean “some” in English.
After the verb ‘hay’
To indicate that there is “one,” “a person/object,” or “some” with the verb hay meaning there is/there are, we use the indefinite article.
The use of the definite article after hay is not very common and you can learn more about it in this post about the verb hay in Spanish.
When are indefinite articles omitted?
After the verb ‘ser’ (to be) if the noun after it is not modified
Lina es enfermera. Translation: Lina is a nurse. | Lina es una enfermera brillante. Translation: Lina is an outstanding nurse. |
On the left you can see we’re only using a noun after the verb ser; no article needed. Conversely, in the example on the right, the noun enfermera meaning nurse is modified by the adjective brillante meaning outstanding; that’s why we add the indefinite article una meaning a/an
After the verbs ‘tener’ (to have) and ‘llevar’ (to wear/carry)
When the speaker refers to a specific object that they assume someone owns/has/wears or can only use one at a time:
Just like with the verb ser, if the noun is modified, then we use the article:
For more on the Spanish verb tener, check out our post!
With the quantities “a hundred” and “a thousand”
The numbers cien meaning a hundred and mil meaning a thousand in Spanish don’t need the word uno meaning one or un meaning a:
With nouns designating a non-specific amount
You might have expected to use an article to express “some,” but because it isn’t clear how much sugar we’re talking about, the article is not necessary.
With plural direct objects
The indefinite article can be omitted when referring in a general sense to an item that is the direct object of a sentence, only if the direct object noun is plural.
In this example, “Julián writes letters” is expressed as an activity that he normally does. If we wanted to say that he’s writing them for a specific reason, then we need to specify the noun by using the indefinite article:
Before the words ‘otro’/’otra’ (other), ‘cierto’/‘cierta’ (certain), ‘medio’/‘media’ (half)
After the prepositions ‘con’ (with) and ‘sin’ (without)
Please sign with a blue pen.
Don’t go out without an umbrella.
In exclamations using ‘qué’ (what!)
In summary
We have just learned when to use and not to use indefinite articles in Spanish. As always, there are similarities and differences with English. I’m sure that with extra practice and dedication you’ll be using indefinite articles correctly in no time!
We have prepared this short exercise on Spanish indefinite articles so you can put your knowledge to the test. And if you’re up for a challenge, here’s an exercise to practice definite and indefinite articles in Spanish. Happy learning!
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