1. Los Artículos Definidos
Definite Articles: “The”

2. Bell Ringer
On your vocabulary list, highlight all of the words that begin with “el” in one color and all of the words that begin with “la” in a different color. For example: libro escuela el la

3. Warm Up: Macho vs. Girly Act out your articles!
Words with “el” are MACHO
Words with “la” are GIRLY

4. Definite Article Rules

5. Nouns Have Genders
In English, we have one definite article, which is “the.” It can be used with all of the nouns in our language.
In Spanish, nouns or “sustantivos” have genders.
They can be either masculine nouns or feminine nouns.

6. El versus La
The article “el” indicates that a noun is masculine (masculino) and singular.
Example: El libro (the book) is masculine because it is modified by the article “el.”
The article “la” indicates that a noun is feminine (femenino) and singular.
Example: La escuela (the school) is feminine because it is modified by the article “la.”

7. Rule of Thumb Typically, if a noun ends in “o” it is masculine.
Example: El libro
Typically, if a noun ends in “a” it is feminine.
Example: La escuela

8. Exceptions to the Rule
There are some words that do not fit the el = o and la = a rule.
Example: El mapa
What do you do???
MEMORIZE THE GENDER WHEN YOU LEARN NEW VOCABULARY!!!

9. Nouns with Different Endings
Some nouns do not end in “o” or “a”
Example: el lápiz
Example: el borrador
What do you do???
MEMORIZE THE GENDER WHEN YOU LEARN NEW VOCABULARY!!!

10. Let’s see what you have learned!

11. What is the definite article for masculine singular nouns?EL

12. What is the definite article for feminine singular nouns?

13. Is “la carpeta” masculine or feminine?

14. Is “el cuaderno” masculine or feminine?

15. Is “el mapa” masculine or feminine?

16. Making Articles Plural

17. Masculine Plural Articles
If a noun is masculine, change the article from “el” to “los.”

18. Feminine Plural Articles
If a noun is feminine, change the article from“la” to “las.”

19. Making Nouns Plural

20. Rules for Making Plural Nouns
If a noun ends in a vowel, add “s”
Example: las escuelas

21. Rules for Making Plural Nouns
If a noun ends in a consonant, add “es”
Example: los borradores

22. Rules for Making Plural Nouns
If a noun ends in “z”, change the “z” to a “c” and add “es”
Example: el lápiz  los lápices

23. Rules for Making Plural Nouns
If a noun is compound and already ends in “s” but has a singular article, just change the article.
Example: el sacapuntas  los sacapuntas

24. Let’s Practice Together!

25. What is the plural from of “la grapadora?”
LAS GRAPADORAS

26. What is the plural from of “el libro?”
LOS LIBROS

27. What is the plural from of “el material escolar?”
LOS MATERIALES ESCOLARES
NOTE: ALL WORDS (INCLUDING “ESCOLAR”) MUST BE MADE PLURAL BECAUSE THE NOUN IS PLURAL.

28. What is the plural from of “el mapa?”
LOS MAPAS