Español vs El Español (When to Use Articles in Spanish)

¡Hola! In this episode, you'll learn all about when to say español vs el español.
Often we need an article in Spanish where we don't need one in English and vice-versa. Specifically, when we are talking about the Spanish language or other fields of knowledge, we'll often need to use an article. But, there are a few situations where natives won't tend to use the article.
In this video, you'll learn:
- When we should say "español" vs "el español"
- How to think articles in Spanish (el, la, los, las) as they relate to fields of knowledge
- When articles are likely to occur with fields of knowledge and when they aren't
- How to think about exceptions that break the usual patterns
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[@realfastspanish]

What did you think of this lesson? Has this choice of when to use "español" vs "el español" confused you in the past?

[@TheSwettman]

Bastante útil

[@lauramuir9022]

Great lesson and, yes, it has often confused me!

[@maddiebernasconi1018]

Just saw this video, I’m a sophomore in high school and in Spanish 3 Honors and I never knew this till now, thanks so much!

[@sandycollard9535]

This has been confusing to me on Duolingo. Thanks for helping me to better understand!

[@christinarogers3695]

How do I spend so long trying to figure something out and then this channel makes a three minute video that explains it more clearly than any thing else I’ve looked at

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the kind words Christina! I'm glad the video helped! 😊

[@lauramuir9022]

Me too! I was just wondering about this exact topic a few days ago!

[@dannykane3068]

I like the way your videos don’t rely on click bait to entice people to watch. How you wait until the end to request a like and subscribe which gives me time to decide whether I like the video or not. Unlike some KZbinrs who request that you like and subscribe BEFORE the video even starts. MOST OF ALL I like the very informative content which helps me a lot, thank you. P.S. I always ‘like’ your videos and their content.

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Danny, I really appreciate that! 😊

[@CleonaPattersoneFluentEnglish]

Todavía el español es un reto grande para mi. Poco a poco aprendo hablar español. Gracias Andrew por tu ayuda.👍

[@realfastspanish]

Muy bien 👍

[@gerlautamr.656]

Hola, he visto muchos de sus comentarios, y me he dado cuenta de que usted se expresa muy bien en español (al menos en la escritura).Si sigue así, seguramente terminará alcanzando un nivel alto en cuanto a fluidez en español. Soy un hispanohablante de México, saludos.

[@curtiscpro]

When you show the written phrase in English then the translation in Spanish, I enjoy that very much. Your repeating the phrase is very helpful to me. Often I remember the phrase by recalling your repittion. it would be also helpful to me if the English statement being translated didn't leave the screen, or returned one last time after the Spanish translation appears. I often forget what the full English statement being translated had said. If, instead, the English phrase moved off to the top right, perhaps shrinking in size to deemphasize it, I could look at it if I needed to so that I could remember "that one word" written in english I had forgotten while reading the translation in Spanish. This would be especially useful in those times where I did not know what the Spanish word for the English word that I had forgotten. Great content, thank you!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the feedback Curtis and the suggestion! 😊

[@DJSt3rling]

I always tell people that when you're talking about something IN GENERAL, use the article. Not prefect, but a great tool for beginners. Over time, you'll learn appropriate use cases better . Hope that helps

[@antonetteabebuag1364]

I learn a lot from you. Thank you for making your lessons easier to understand😊

[@benoitmaisonneuve8100]

Great lessons once again, I like right at the beginning cause I know I will love it anyway !

[@nathantully9486]

awesome vid..! have been wondering about this for sooo long! gracias a ti😉

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Nathan, I'm glad you liked it! 😊

[@lauramuir9022]

Another excellent and VERY helpful video. Thanks Andrew :)

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the feedback Laura! 🙏

[@dansizemore6319]

Once again--a brilliant insight. I GUESSED that this might be the case, because Italian does this also, but I couldn't find it formalized, although Italian tends to use the article with "know" (sapere). This information is only buried in footnotes in formal texts. You are genius! I especially like that you nuance the difference between "rules" and "patterns"

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Dan, yes, the distinction between rules and patterns is critical! Lot's of vocabulary and grammar ideas fall into this arena of "common patterns", that aren't hard and fast rules but are very much are worth practicing. (Also, Italian can really be confusing on this topic with articles on top of possessive adjectives e.g. my book = Il mio libro).

[@donaldkidd9079]

Very clear and very much appreciated.

[@realfastspanish]

🙏

[@DCKiraly]

¡Qué canal excelente! Siendo, como tu, nativo del inglés, normalmente ne me gusta los videos creados por ingléshablantes. A cierto punto en el desarollo de mi español, sentía la necesidad de concentrarme solo en esta lengua sin traducciones o explicaciones en inglés. Pero viendo tus videos, me doy cuenta de que tu canal ofrece algo muy especial: la presentación de matices en el uso de español que la mayoría de la gente (o yo.por lo menos) habra fallado en clases o matierales pedagógicas convencionales. Al final, estoy disfrutando muchísimo de tus clases, no solo porque tratan temas especiales e interesantes, pero también por tu pronunciación excelente del español.

[@realfastspanish]

¡Muy bien! Gracias Don! 😊

[@ericbaugher]

I watched this video and gave it a like. I am watching it a second time as I type my comment. Looks to me like the two structures are basically interchangeable. It is just that adding the article is always correct but sometimes breaks the rhythm to the Spanish ear. Great lesson Andrew.

[@ericbaugher]

Por ejemplo ( for example) Empecé aprender español hace dos años.(I started learning spanish two years ago.) Empecé aprender el español hace dos años.(I starter learning Spanish two years and I am a smart ass who wants to show off that I watch Andrew's channel by using a less common structure that means exactly the same thing) Lol, I am pretty sure both would be understood at the local taco stand where I go for dinner a couple nights a week. But you know what next time I go I will ask 'em. Thanks again for all your hard work and please let me know if I am in error?

[@realfastspanish]

😂 Looks good Eric!

[@claudiagraves2940]

Thank you! So helpful! Please continue to the other uses of articles. :-)

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Claudia! 😊 Yes, I will have to cover more articles in other videos!

[@Lindy78752]

Andrew, first, I love your videos and appreciate the way you approach your lessons and distill the info for students. I have listened to the native speaker at the 2:37 mark easily 20 times and cannot for the life of me hear or see him say 'biología' - I play, reverse, play, reverse, and all I can see and hear is 'estudio logía' - my goodness, it is completely swallowed! Are you really able to hear the entire word 'biología' or did you have additional context to fill in what wasn't pronounced?

[@realfastspanish]

Hola Lindy, there is no doubt that this is a difficult clip and I often exclude clips from my list of possible clips to include in a KZbin video if the quote is muffled or said too quickly. And there are a lot of clips that I exclude!! But, it was really hard to find a good clip for "estudio (...)", and I may have passed on this one if I had another good option. All that said, I can hear "estudio biología" without context but it's not easy or clear. If you can't quite hear it, my best advice is to not worry about it, and keep moving forward. Try not to worry if you get stuck on one sentence or one word. It happens to everyone, myself included ! And, it happens to me with English TV shows and movies all of the time as well.

[@Lindy78752]

@@realfastspanish Ha, busted! Yes, I'm THAT student who geeks out on minutia and grammar. And your advice to get away from that and keep moving forward is being tended to. -big grins- That said, exposing us to the natural pace of the language is a good thing and I appreciate you including the clips. As difficult as this one is, it's really a fantastic learning tool. Thank you, Andrew!

[@charlemos-chat-in-español]

Awesome Andrew! Like your other subscriber, I couldn't figure out the pattern when I came across "español" sometimes con, sometimes sin, el el! It raises a bigger question for me related to the "children vs adult" language-learning question. Does pattern-recognition change with age and experience or, does the English that I already have laid out in my brain, get in the way of me seeing the patterns? ¿Qué piensas? PS: I'm adding you to the recommended Spanish KZbin channels in my Spanish conversation-practice group!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the question. I think the answer is both, we are still capable of recognising patterns but English can get in the way. When you have been speaking a different language your whole life, it's always tempting to relate patterns back to your first language. But, if we practice in the right way, we can absolutely develop an initiative feel for the proper patterns in a new language. We see this all of the time with our students.

[@brianm3160]

Gracias por este vídeo

[@realfastspanish]

¡Gracias Brian por tu comentario! 😊

[@DMSO95]

Great, love that

[@realfastspanish]

❤️

[@kengillett8892]

Maestro, your explanations of these fine points are very welcome. They are clear, and I hope they make me sound less like a casual student. May I ask, can you devote some of your valuable time to discuss the words "Cuando" and "Cuándo"? To me, the translation is the same, though in some contexts there is an accent, but not in others. Many thanks for all your teaching.

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Ken, this is a really subtle grammar point that only matters in written Spanish and not in spoken Spanish so I'm unlikely to do a video on it since I really focus on conversational Spanish. But, in short, with the accent means it's a question and without the accent means it's a conjunction.

[@kengillett8892]

@@realfastspanish You are like Chaucer's Scholar, gladly would he learn and gladly teach. I apologize for taking your time. Your reasoning is sound, and, as usual, your explanation is clear and cogent. I envy your accent, one of the many reasons I subscribe, and I mine various sources to learn Spanish. Some of them require written proficiency, but none explain things as well as you. Muchas gracias.

[@cathyhe3418]

This video is great however, I am still confused about when to use Senor Perez vs. El Senor Perez. Thank you!

[@gerlautamr.656]

We use "Señor Pérez" when we are talking to him personally or directly, For example: "Hola, Señor Pérez", or "¿Puedo hablar con usted, Señor Pérez?" And we use "el Señor Pérez" when we are talking to someone about him, for example: "Ayer vi al Señor Pérez", or "al Señor Pérez no le gusta acostarse tarde". I'm a native Spanish speaker from México, and I hope this explanation has been useful to you.

[@steveowen364]

Great video as usual. But one comment: in one of your examples you say "mi hijo el mejor .. ". In Spain we would only say " Mi hijo mejor..."

[@realfastspanish]

Hola Steve, that clip came from a movie from Spain! So, firstly, remember that "mejor" = "best / better" and "mayor" = "older". And if you wanted to say "my best son", it would be "mi mejor hijo", since "mejor" has to come before the noun. Then, we can think of "mi hijo, el mayor" (with a comma to make it clear) as "my son, the oldest one is really into...".

[@steveowen364]

@@realfastspanish many thanks Andrew. As you note I made a mistake in saying "hijo el mejor" and meant to say "hijo el mayor". However my basic point persists; in Spain we would simply say "hijo mayor" if we wanted to say oldest son. I note you got the quote from a film from Spain and can only suggest this is an example of the flexible rules around this area that you refer to in your video ...and which I certainly recognise since I moved to Spain here a few years ago. Can I just say I love your articles and videos. All that I have seen and read have been wonderfully clear and really helpful and informative.

[@petersplace3893]

In a lot of cases, the rule seems to be based on whether the word is the subject or object of the sentence. If it is the subject it includes the definite article. Even with "Me gusta el Español, "El Español" is the subject - Spanish pleases me.

[@realfastspanish]

Please note that we often need “el” when it is the object as well (Mi idioma favorito es el español). As I mentioned, the pattern is more related to specific verbs than a subject-object choice.

[@david_romerooc]

Nice

[@lindaedwards8567]

Thank you for the video. Also, something that I learned long ago is that when I say "Hablo español bien" there is no need for "el" in front of " español," but if I say "Hablo bien el español" I need to use "el". First, please confirm that this is correct, and, if so, can you include that in your video with reasons why? Thanks!

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks Linda, I'm glad you enjoyed the video! So, at the start of the video, I mentioned that there isn't a strict "correct" or "incorrect" here, so both of your sentences are fine, and we could also flip the use of "el". Note the example from the video "No sé bien inglés", in this case, the speaker chose not to use the "el" even after "bien", and I would say that this is the more common option, same thing with "hablar".

[@asmmx]

He batallado para encontrar las reglas que regulan el uso de los artículos en particular y los determinantes en general. Este video habla de un caso en particular, el artículo definido con el vocablo “español “. Observando muchos casos he llegado a concluir que se usa el artículo definido cuando el término ocupa el papel de sujeto y no se usa cuando se utiliza como sujeto. En “hablo español “, el sujeto soy yo, el verbo es hablar y español se usa como objeto directo. Esta observación es correcta en casi todos los casos que conozco, pero hay algunos que escapan la descripción.. podrías sugerir una fuente de información que trate este tema (uso del artículo en relación al rol que tiene una palabra: objeto directo vs objeto indirecto. Muchas gracias

[@asmmx]

Acabo de leer en una traducción de un libro de García M que había sido TRANSLATED FROM THE SPANISH BY … is the word THE common for theses cases ?

[@Miami7]

The one that confuses me a little is "la radio" and "el radio." I think you use "el radio" when you are talking about the actual radio. And "la radio" is when you are speaking of the program, like "La Radio Tropical." Do I have it right, yet? Your videos are great, thank you!

[@realfastspanish]

Yes, that's basically right. "El radio" is the radio "device" sitting on the table and "la radio" is the "medium" through which sound is conducted through the air.

[@Miami7]

@@realfastspanish thank you! "español" vs "el español" never confused me for some reason, but el/la radio sure did. Now the only thing that confuses me are the accents and how to use them. At least when you talk, you don't have to worry about them!😂 Que tenga un buen día!

[@JohnOnChans]

I remember you talked about easiest words to pronounce, how about the hardest? Also, do you think you should make a suggestion box orsay it in the end of the video?

[@realfastspanish]

Thanks for the suggestions John!! 😊

[@JohnOnChans]

@@realfastspanish Your welcome!

[@digitanimations2221]

How are you supposed to know when to use "le" and when to use "te"? For an example in a sentence: Que le pasa? and Que te pasa?

[@gerlautamr.656]

"Le" is used when you talk to someone in a respectful and formal way, that someone may be your boss, your father, your mother, someone that is older than you, and someone you don't know, and it's usually used together with "usted", although the word "usted" can also be omitted, for example: ¿Qué le pasa (a usted)? On the other hand, "Te", is used when talking to someone informally, it may be you friend, your brother/sister, or people who are younger than you, for example: ¿Qué te pasa?"

[@DonJohnSpain]

Days of the week are also preceded by an article.

[@geoffcorre9704]

As a football fan I know that one has to say El Valencia , El Barcelona etc

[@espartaco2028]

I wonder three things. First, beginning a sentence always requires the definite article. Secondly, when the emphasis on the subject, that subject takes the definite article. It could be THE GIRL speaks Spanish very well, with the emphasis on the her or The girl speaks SPANISH very well, with the emphasis on Spanish as the topic. The definite article would then become the focal point, like ¨un¨ does when modified. Third, I´m willing to bet it´s also cultural based on countries. By the way, I just realized after listening to you for a while you´ve chosen LA Spanish. May I ask why, instead of Castellano? I´m curious, not judging. I´m retiring to the land of thatheta so, of course, I´m making my z´s th. Won´t do that with C´s, just on principle. To keep it interesting.

[@realfastspanish]

Check out my video on Spain vs Latin American Spanish, it will explain why this question is not so simple. And, how we have teachers in our school from Spain and Mexico, so if you join our school, you have a choice.

[@huffn_puffn3710]

'There isnt a 100% right or wrong pattern' *laughs in german learner*

[@garrymontgomery2033]

So the only rule is common use?

[@akshatmahajan5524]

I have a doubt if it is eat in English then how it is como in Spanish

[@cachecow]

Primero!!

[@brianm3160]

No, yo soy

[@realfastspanish]

👍

[@cachecow]

@@brianm3160 No mi amigo mira el reloj

[@robertbrown3400]

I still don't get it.

[@TheBChelby]

Your voice is much lower when you speak Spanish.