When not accompanied by a definite article, Spanish nouns are often preceded by an indefinite article.

The indefinite article is used to refer to a non-specific object, place or person.

The 4 forms of indefinite article that exist in Spanish are: un, una, unos and unas.

How can I avoid making a mistake? You just need to know these few essential rules.

Gender of nouns and indefinite articles

To know which indefinite article will be used, it is essential to start by finding out the gender of the words. To do this, you will have to learn them by heart!

• un mar, un diente, una mañana, una cama…

Check the lesson about genders of nouns

Know how to use the indefinite singular article

Un : the masculine singular article

To know if a word is masculine, it is possible to rely on the ending of the word.

If the word ends with an “o”, “or” or “aje”, it is probably masculine. In this case, the indefinite article to be used before this noun will be “un”:

• Quiero un perro negro = I want a black dog
• Voy a elegir un color para mi casa = I will choose a color for my house

Be carfeul! There are some exceptions related to word endings. Indeed, some words ending with “o” are feminine, like mano, radio or moto. Words ending in “or” are also feminine: flor, labor, etc.

Una : the feminine singular article

There is a wider variety of endings for feminine words.

Although most end with the sound “a”, others end in “z”, “ción”, “sión”, “umbre”, “triz”, “cis”, “tad” and “dad”.

In all these cases, the indefinite article to choose if the noun does not designate something specific is “una”:

• Estoy haciendo una mesa = I am making a table
• España es una nación fuerte = Spain is a strong nation
• Tiene una cicatriz en la cara = He has a scar on his face
• El mundo vive una crisis económica = The world is in an economic crisis

Exceptions for endings also exist in the feminine. For example, the words corazón, día, planeta or mapa are masculine.

Omission of the indefinite singular article

The indefinite article can be omitted before a manner complement and before the words “tal”, “igual”, “cierto”, “tanto”, “otro” and “medio” :

• Hoy lo veo de otra forma = Today I see it in a different way (manner complement)
• Me habló con cierta alegría = He spoke to me with a certain joy
• Nunca había visto tal edificio = I had never seen such a building
• Voy a comprar medio kilo de pomelo = I’m going to buy half a kilo of grapefruit

Use the indefinite plural article

The Spanish plural indefinite article is mostly used to express a small indeterminate quantity, a pair or an approximation. As in English, it is not necessary to put it.

• Hay perros en la calle = There are dogs in the street
• Voy a leer libros en la bilblioteca = I go to the library to read books
• Tengo soluciones para tus problemas = I have solutions for your problems
• Compré manzanas en el mercado = I bought apples at the market

Unos : the masculine plural article

In Spanish, the plural indefinite article agrees with the gender of the noun. For a masculine plural noun, it is appropriate to use “unos”. The masculine takes precedence over the feminine.

Examples :

• Compré unos zapatos en el mercado = I bought some pairs of shoes at the market
• Voy a la biblioteca para leer unos libros = I go to the library to read some books
• Veo unos perros en la calle = There are some dogs in the street

Unas : the feminine plural article

The indefinite article “unas” is used for feminine plural nouns:

• Compré unas ropas nuevas = I bought some new clothes
• Voy a visitar unas casas = I’m going to visit some houses
• Necesitamos unas herramientas para trabajar = We need some tools to work with

👉 Practice! Check the exercise about Indefinite Articles

👉 Next lesson: The neutral article: lo

👉 Previous lesson: Definite articles

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