[...]... contents The definite article is not used with a noun that indicates either the material of which an item is made or the contents of an item una pulsera de plata the wooden house una taza de té a cup of tea la botella de vino the bottle of wine la caja de aspirinas ᭿ the plastic fork la casa de madera 18 a silver bracelet el tenedor de plástico the box of aspirin THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR Indefinite... ciento de personas en la plaza 24 ᭿ There were one hundred people in the public square THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR (2) The indefinite article is used in the plural form to give the idea of about, approximately: Había unas cien personas en la plaza There were about a hundred people in the public square Él gana unos cien dólares por semana He makes about a hundred dollars a week Juana pesa unos... in the sauce THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR AA The definite article with units of weight, units of measure, or rates When English uses per, the, or a/an to establish a unit of weight, measure, or a rate, the definite article is used in Spanish: Las bananas están a un dólar el medio kilo Bananas cost a dollar per pound La alfombra cuesta diez pesos el metro metro The carpet costs ten dollars the. .. the definite article and the noun, the feminine form of the definite article is maintained: la ácida manzana the sour apple la amplia habitación the spacious room (6) In a familiar style, the feminine definite article is also used before a feminine name that begins with stressed a: la Ana 2 ᭿ la Águeda la Ángela THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR Uses of the Definite Article A The definite article with... between the verb and the name of the language, the definite article must be used: Queremos aprender bien el japonés We want to learn Japanese well U The definite article with expressions of possession 1 The definite article may be omitted with possessive pronouns: 12 ᭿ THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR Esta cartera es (la) mía This purse is mine Los libros que están aquí son (los) nuestros The books... If the a or ha is unstressed, the feminine definite article must be used: la araña spider la amapola poppy la aduana customs NOTES: (1) This apparent masculine article is actually a modification of the old form of the feminine definite article, ela, blending the pronunciation of the letter a with the first vowel of the noun (2) The adjectives that modify the preceding nouns follow the normal rules of agreement... Celestina (old Celestina) 3 The definite article is used when a name represents the title of a book, a play, or an opera: el Hamlet la Aída el Martín Fierro NOTES: The definite article is not used, however, if (1) The title does not include the name of a person, as in Me gustó mucho Rebelde sin causa 4 ᭿ I liked Rebel Without a Cause very much THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR (2) The title already has a... Spanish grammar book, without specifying which one In order to indicate a book that is well known to both the speaker and the reader, the definite article el should be used: Tengo el libro de gramática española I have the Spanish grammar book B The indefinite article as a numeral The singular forms of the article (un/una) are used to indicate the number one, which also has a feminine form in Spanish If necessary,... number of the implied noun (second example sentence below) La señora de enfrente es rusa The lady across the street is Russian La de enfrente es rusa The one across the street is Russian E The definite article in the masculine form with infinitives that function as nouns When the infinitive functions as a noun and is in the position of the subject, it is preceded by the masculine singular form of the definite... enero de 2005 (2) After the expression estamos a (another form of indicating today’s date): Estamos a 17 de agosto ARTICLES Today is August 17 (Literally: We are at ) ᭿ 11 S The definite article with months of the year The definite article is used only if the name of the month is modified: Octubre es uno de los meses más lindos del año October is one of the nicest months of the year El cálido octubre . x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR Also in this series: Gordon, Stillman,  e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs Gordon, Stillman,  e Big Red Book of Spanish Verbs with CD-ROM . Franklin,  e Big Green Book of Italian Verbs with CD-ROM Franke,  e Big Silver Book of Russian Verbs Betts, Franklin,  e Big Gold Book of Latin Verbs THE BIG RED BOOK OF SPANISH GRAMMAR Dora.  e Big Red Book of Spanish Vocabulary Stillman, Gordon,  e Big Blue Book of French Verbs Stillman, Gordon,  e Big Blue Book of French Verbs with CD-ROM Listen, Di Donato, Franklin,  e Big