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- él
el
the
The masculine form of the word "the"
Encoding Strategies:
repetition
El is the masculine form of the and points at some definite thing0 that's known or understood in context.
el
the (specific thing)
Points at something specific that's already known or clear from context.
El libro está en la mesaThe book is on the table
Los niños juegan en el parqueThe kids are playing in the park
my, your, his, her, our, their (posession implied from context)
When who owns something is already clear from context, Spanish doesn't feel the need to label the owner. It just marks it as a definite, known thing with 'el.'
Levantó el brazoHe raised his arm (he raised the arm)
Me duelen los piesMy feet hurt (the feet hurt me)
(universal concepts)
Spanish treats universal concepts as specific known things (e.g. one universal concept of love), whereas English treats them as vague or general.
El amor es complicadoLove is complicated (the love is complicated)
Me gusta el arteI like art (I like the art)
el que
the one that, the one who
'El' points at a specific thing without naming it, then 'que' narrows down which one.
El que compré ayer ya no funcionaThe one that I bought yesterday doesn't work anymore
El que llegó primero ganóThe one who arrived first won
el de
the one of, the one from, the one
'El' points at a specific thing without naming it, then 'de' narrows down which one.
El de la esquinaThe one on the corner (the one from the corner)
Los del segundo pisoThe ones from the second floor
al
to the (a + el)
When "a" comes before "el", they merge into the contraction "al."
Voy al parqueI'm going to the park
Entró al edificioHe entered the building
del
of the, from the (de + el)
When "de" comes before "el", they merge into the contraction "del."
La puerta del cocheThe car door (the door of the car)
Vengo del trabajoI come from work (from the work)