What are the CONTRACT ITEMS in Spanish

Spanish is a very rich language, and at the same time very structured in its forms and spelling rules. The articles they help us to structure the meaning and meaning of ideas that we want to transmit. They are essential, in all their forms. One of the ones that generate the most problems for us when speaking and writing are contract articles. When is AL written? Why use DEL? In this lesson from unPROFESOR.com we explain what are contract articles with examples, what they are and how to use them. Shall we start?

According to Spanish grammar, contract items are a type of item that are not pigeonholed or like determined (el, la los, las) nor as indeterminate (one, one, one, one).

The two types of contract items in Spanish they are only these:

• TO THE: The contracted articles are of the union of the definite article "the" and the preposition "a", that when merging form a single word "al".
• OF: Arises from the fusion of the same article "the" and the preposition "of". Both lack specific meaning, gender and number.

This morphological resource consisting of merge two or more words, uses in addition to the union as a way for its formation, it is also generated by the omission or deletion of an element in the article "the". This is one of the peculiarities of shrinking articles.

Used in both spoken language and writing, in order to lighten the expression, and also for do not produce hiatuses, since if you think about it, when we use any of the contracted articles, we are breaking the ‘meeting’ of two vowels in the same pronunciation.

Now that we know exactly what contract items are, we are going to delve into how are they used (and good). And it is that although it seems simple, there are certain exceptions You should know about how to use the articles in Spanish to avoid making grammatical mistakes.

More examples of when the contract articles are used when speaking and writing.

Other examples with AL (a + el)

• They always go to the same restaurant. But not: They always go to the same restaurant.
• They handed all the books to the teacher. But not: They handed all the books to the teacher.
• I looked at the boy who was playing. But not: I looked at the boy who was playing.
• The tree has fallen leaves. But not: The tree has fallen leaves.

More examples with DEL (de + el) to practice

• We take out the old clothes from the closet. But not: We take out the old clothes from the closet.
• We heard the song of the bird from the living room. But not: We heard the song of the bird from the living room.
• The plane took off from the airport in the north of the city. But not:The plane took off from the airport in the north of the city.
• They took the silverware from the top drawer. But not: They took the silverware from the top drawer.
• I appreciated the note of the bouquet you sent. But not:I appreciated the note of the bouquet you sent.

In the Spanish language there are some exceptions in the use of contract articles.

In front of proper names

Always in written language, when the article "the" is placed before a proper name, the contraction does not take place, although it does occur when speaking it.

• The journalist traveled to Cairo.
• Elena wrote the letter to El Zar.
• Juan is the director of El Periódico.
• We got to know the environment of El Salvador.

This is how it is written, but when speaking it, the union is made:

• The journalist traveled to Cairo.
• Elena wrote the letter to the Tsar.
• Juan is the director of the newspaper.
• We got to know the environment of El Salvador.

When quotation marks or parentheses are interposed before the contract article

As long as it is a verbatim quotation and it is enclosed in quotation marks, or as a quotation in parentheses, it is correct to avoid the use of contract articles.

For example, in the saying of "He who hugs a good tree, a good shade shelters him" or in "The dog that is barking, he is not a biter.

When two identical contractions coincide in a row

In these syntactic structures it is recommended to avoid shrinkage, and recover the emitted noun, in addition to euphony reasons, for a successful sound combination and in the structuring of the words:

They put the value a percentage well above that of the market. It would not be correct to say or write: They put the value a percentage well above that of the market.

Other examples in which the contract articles (AL-DEL) are not used and that can give rise to confusion.

• We travel by canoe through the waters of the Rio Grande
• The banks of the Amazon have great vegetation
• The guests came to El Escorial
• The news appears on the cover of El Nacional
• We admire El Greco's painting in the El Prado museum
• We meet your friends when we return from Cairo
• I come from El Corte Inglés in your area
• My friend is a correspondent for El País
• The soldier said "orders come from the lieutenant"