How to use al in spanish?
Both al and del are Spanish contractions of definite articles and prepositions. The difference between these words is that del is used to talk about possession or the origin of an object or person. On the other hand, al describes the destination or direction a person or thing is heading towards.
Given that these words express direction and possession, among other things, they are extremely frequent in Spanish. As a result, it’s crucial that you get familiar with them. In this article, you’ll learn how to distinguish both words and also how to use them.
Both al and del are contractions built from a preposition and an article. For this reason, it can be hard to distinguish them from one another and Spanish learners can get easily confused. But even though they might seem very similar, these terms express very different things.
‘Al’ is usually a translation of ‘to the’ or ‘at the’. In other words, this contraction is mostly used for expressing direction and location. On the other hand, ‘del’ expresses possession and holds the same meaning as ‘from the’ and ‘of the’.
Mañana iremos al teatro.Tomorrow we will go to the theater.
El menú del día cuesta 130 pesos.The menu of the day is 130 pesos.
Although ‘del’ is more commonly used to talk about possessions, we can also use this word to talk about the origin or source location. Here is an example that will help you understand this meaning:
El agua corre del grifo al lavabo.The water flows from the tap to the sink.
Clara salió del supermercado hace rato y se fue al dentista. Clara left the supermarket a while ago and she went to the dentist.
Both of these contractions are made to avoid having two vowels together and make the pronunciation easier. In the following sections, I’ll explain more in-depth how and when to use these words correctly.
In Spanish, when you have the preposition ‘a’ followed by the definite article ‘el’, you need to contract them. So, by contracting or combining these terms, we have the word ‘al’, which can be translated in several ways, but it commonly means ‘to the’ and ‘at the’.
One of the most common uses of ‘al’ is indicating the direction or destination someone or something is moving towards. In this case, ‘al’ is translated as ‘to the’. When translated as ‘at the’, ‘al’ can also be used to talk about location.
+ +
El gato salió al patio.The cat went out to the yard.
Pasen al centro de la pista.Come to the center of the dance floor.
¿Quieres ir al cine mañana?Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?
Acerca la mesa al sillón.Bring the table closer to the couch.
Siempre me siento al fondo del salón.I always sit at the back of the classroom.
Another common way to use ‘al’ is by adding it before a verb in infinitive. This phrase structure indicates the moment when something happens.
+ +
Al caerse, se rompió la muñeca.Falling, she broke her wrist.
Me sentí ansioso al ver a la multitud.I felt anxious seeing the crowd.
La policía acudió al escuchar gritos.The police came when they heard screams.
Additionally, ‘al’ is often used as a part of some dishes’ names. In Spanish, people add ‘al’ before a description that specifies the way the food is made or the ingredients it contains.
¿Quieres tacos al pastor?Do you want tacos al pastor?
Los camarones al mojo de ajo son típicos de la costa.Shrimp with garlic sauce is typical of the coast.
Notice that this contraction only applies to masculine singular nouns and not feminine nouns.
Mi primo fue al concierto de Duran Duran.My cousin went to the Duran Duran concert.
Tengo que llevar esta ropa a la lavandería.I have to take these clothes to the laundry.
Corrieron al primo de Luis.They fired Luis’s cousin.
Ayer me encontré a la profesora en el supermercado.Yesterday I ran into the professor at the supermarket.
As you may have already noticed in these previous examples, we also use ‘al’ to introduce people and objects. In this case, we don’t always have a direct translation into English.
Take Note: In Spanish, we don’t use the contraction ‘al’ if the article ‘el’ is part of the name of the place that we’re going to.
Vamos a ir a El Paso. We’re going to El Paso.
Lucero fue de vacaciones a El Salvador. Lucero went to El Salvador on vacation.
‘Del’ is the correct and shorter way to say ‘de el’. This contraction indicates origin, possession or ownership, so it can be translated as ‘from the’, ‘of the’ and it can also be used to replace the ‘s that is added after a noun to indicate possession in English.
+ +
El diagnóstico del paciente es alentador.The patient‘s diagnosis is encouraging.
La película del aclamado director recibió tres premios.The acclaimed director‘s film received three awards.
Las hojas del árbol están secándose.The leaves of the tree are drying up.
El Día de Muertos es la festividad más grande del mes.The Day of the Dead is the biggest holiday of the month.
‘Del’ can also explain people’s and things’s origins and backgrounds.
+ + +
Mi mamá es del norte de México.My mom is from northern Mexico.
Este vino es del viñedo de Burdeos.This wine is from the Bordeaux vineyard.
Just like ‘del’, this contraction is only applicable with masculine singular nouns.
El hijo del profesor es dentista.The professor‘s son is a dentist.
El hijo de la profesora tiene 5 años.The teacher‘s son is 5 years old.
Both ‘de’ and ‘del’ are used to talk about possession and origins. ‘De’ is a preposition that can be translated as ‘of’ and ‘from’, while ‘del’ can be translated as ‘of the’ and ‘from the’ and is only used when ‘de’ is followed by the singular masculine article ‘el’.
¿De dónde eres?Where are you from?
Soy del sur de Argentina.I’m from the south of Argentina.
El celular de mi mamá está en la mesa.My mom‘s cell phone is on the table.
Me gusta el cabello del actor de esta película.I like the hair of the actor in this movie.
‘Al’ and ‘del’ are fundamental elements in the Spanish language, so, knowing what they mean and how they are used will improve your conversational skills. On top of that, it will show people that you have a good understanding of grammar.
Now you can express endless ideas as you are now able to explain where you, and other people are going to, where they are from and what they own, among other things.
Here’s a summary of what we went through:
Al
Del
Both al and del are Spanish contractions of definite articles and prepositions. The difference between these words is that del is used to talk about possession or the origin of an object or person. On the other hand, al describes the destination or direction a person or thing is heading towards.
Given that these words express direction and possession, among other things, they are extremely frequent in Spanish. As a result, it’s crucial that you get familiar with them. In this article, you’ll learn how to distinguish both words and also how to use them.
Both al and del are contractions built from a preposition and an article. For this reason, it can be hard to distinguish them from one another and Spanish learners can get easily confused. But even though they might seem very similar, these terms express very different things.
‘Al’ is usually a translation of ‘to the’ or ‘at the’. In other words, this contraction is mostly used for expressing direction and location. On the other hand, ‘del’ expresses possession and holds the same meaning as ‘from the’ and ‘of the’.
Mañana iremos al teatro.Tomorrow we will go to the theater.
El menú del día cuesta 130 pesos.The menu of the day is 130 pesos.
Although ‘del’ is more commonly used to talk about possessions, we can also use this word to talk about the origin or source location. Here is an example that will help you understand this meaning:
El agua corre del grifo al lavabo.The water flows from the tap to the sink.
Clara salió del supermercado hace rato y se fue al dentista. Clara left the supermarket a while ago and she went to the dentist.
Both of these contractions are made to avoid having two vowels together and make the pronunciation easier. In the following sections, I’ll explain more in-depth how and when to use these words correctly.
In Spanish, when you have the preposition ‘a’ followed by the definite article ‘el’, you need to contract them. So, by contracting or combining these terms, we have the word ‘al’, which can be translated in several ways, but it commonly means ‘to the’ and ‘at the’.
One of the most common uses of ‘al’ is indicating the direction or destination someone or something is moving towards. In this case, ‘al’ is translated as ‘to the’. When translated as ‘at the’, ‘al’ can also be used to talk about location.
+ +
El gato salió al patio.The cat went out to the yard.
Pasen al centro de la pista.Come to the center of the dance floor.
¿Quieres ir al cine mañana?Do you want to go to the movies tomorrow?
Acerca la mesa al sillón.Bring the table closer to the couch.
Siempre me siento al fondo del salón.I always sit at the back of the classroom.
Another common way to use ‘al’ is by adding it before a verb in infinitive. This phrase structure indicates the moment when something happens.
+ +
Al caerse, se rompió la muñeca.Falling, she broke her wrist.
Me sentí ansioso al ver a la multitud.I felt anxious seeing the crowd.
La policía acudió al escuchar gritos.The police came when they heard screams.
Additionally, ‘al’ is often used as a part of some dishes’ names. In Spanish, people add ‘al’ before a description that specifies the way the food is made or the ingredients it contains.
¿Quieres tacos al pastor?Do you want tacos al pastor?
Los camarones al mojo de ajo son típicos de la costa.Shrimp with garlic sauce is typical of the coast.
Notice that this contraction only applies to masculine singular nouns and not feminine nouns.
Mi primo fue al concierto de Duran Duran.My cousin went to the Duran Duran concert.
Tengo que llevar esta ropa a la lavandería.I have to take these clothes to the laundry.
Corrieron al primo de Luis.They fired Luis’s cousin.
Ayer me encontré a la profesora en el supermercado.Yesterday I ran into the professor at the supermarket.
As you may have already noticed in these previous examples, we also use ‘al’ to introduce people and objects. In this case, we don’t always have a direct translation into English.
Take Note: In Spanish, we don’t use the contraction ‘al’ if the article ‘el’ is part of the name of the place that we’re going to.
Vamos a ir a El Paso. We’re going to El Paso.
Lucero fue de vacaciones a El Salvador. Lucero went to El Salvador on vacation.
‘Del’ is the correct and shorter way to say ‘de el’. This contraction indicates origin, possession or ownership, so it can be translated as ‘from the’, ‘of the’ and it can also be used to replace the ‘s that is added after a noun to indicate possession in English.
+ +
El diagnóstico del paciente es alentador.The patient‘s diagnosis is encouraging.
La película del aclamado director recibió tres premios.The acclaimed director‘s film received three awards.
Las hojas del árbol están secándose.The leaves of the tree are drying up.
El Día de Muertos es la festividad más grande del mes.The Day of the Dead is the biggest holiday of the month.
‘Del’ can also explain people’s and things’s origins and backgrounds.
+ + +
Mi mamá es del norte de México.My mom is from northern Mexico.
Este vino es del viñedo de Burdeos.This wine is from the Bordeaux vineyard.
Just like ‘del’, this contraction is only applicable with masculine singular nouns.
El hijo del profesor es dentista.The professor‘s son is a dentist.
El hijo de la profesora tiene 5 años.The teacher‘s son is 5 years old.
Both ‘de’ and ‘del’ are used to talk about possession and origins. ‘De’ is a preposition that can be translated as ‘of’ and ‘from’, while ‘del’ can be translated as ‘of the’ and ‘from the’ and is only used when ‘de’ is followed by the singular masculine article ‘el’.
¿De dónde eres?Where are you from?
Soy del sur de Argentina.I’m from the south of Argentina.
El celular de mi mamá está en la mesa.My mom‘s cell phone is on the table.
Me gusta el cabello del actor de esta película.I like the hair of the actor in this movie.
‘Al’ and ‘del’ are fundamental elements in the Spanish language, so, knowing what they mean and how they are used will improve your conversational skills. On top of that, it will show people that you have a good understanding of grammar.
Now you can express endless ideas as you are now able to explain where you, and other people are going to, where they are from and what they own, among other things.
Here’s a summary of what we went through:
Al
Contractions are when two words combine to form one.
In English there are many contractions which could make it quite difficult for those learning the language. Below are just a few examples:
Do + not = don’t
I + am = I’m
You + are = you’re
They + have = they’ve
You + will = you’ll
You + would = you’d
Luckily for those learning Spanish there are only two contractions:
a + el = al
de + el = el
This comes from combining ‘a’ (the English preposition ‘to’ or ‘at’) with ‘el’ (the masculine singular definite article ‘the’).
a + el = al (translates as ‘to the’ or ‘at the’)
Incorrect example – Vamos a el bar. (We go to the bar.)
Correct example – Vamos al bar. (We go to the bar.)
This comes from combining ‘de’ (the English preposition ‘of’ or ‘from’) with ‘el’ (the masculine singular definite article ‘the’).
de + el = del (translates as ‘of the’ or ‘from the’)
Incorrect example – ¿La tarea es de el maestro? (Is the homework from the teacher?)
Correct example – ¿La tarea es del maestro? (Is the homework from the teacher?)
– ‘El’ is the masculine singular definite article that means ‘the’. This should not be confused with the subject pronoun ‘él’ which means ‘he’. To differentiate the two remember the subject pronoun ‘él’ has an accent above the ‘e’.
– De+la, de+las, de+los, a+la, a+las and a+los are never contracted.
– When forming the contraction always omit the ‘e’ in ‘el’.
a + el (omit the ‘e’) – al
de + el (omit the ‘e’) – del
This modification is known as assimilation and is done because it is easier to pronounce ‘al’ or ‘del’ instead of ‘a el’ or ‘de el’.
In Spanish, to express to the / in the + masculine singular noun (a + el), you use the contraction al .
I’m always looking for ways to make my Spanish sound more fluid, natural and native-sounding.
Luckily for me, there’s one method of doing this that’s built right into Spanish grammar: Contractions!
There are only two Spanish contractions—al and del—and learning them is an integral part of speaking correct Spanish.
The grammar rules behind Spanish contractions are simple to learn. In fact, the hardest part of learning these contractions is remembering to use them in your daily Spanish speech!
Download: This blog post is available as a convenient and portable PDF that you can take anywhere. Click here to get a copy. (Download)
The Spanish language has two contractions: al and del.
Al is a contraction of the two Spanish words a and el, and can mean many things, such as “at the” or “to the.”
Del is a contraction of the words de and el. It can mean “from the” and “of the,” among other things.
In English, contractions are optional. For example, in English you can write “do not,” and it’s every bit as grammatically correct as “don’t.” In Spanish, this isn’t the case. If you have the words a and el or de and el next to each other, you must contract them. Saying voy a ir a el parque (I am going to the park), for example, is grammatically incorrect.
Note that contractions only happen with the article el. You’ll never see a contraction with the other articles: la, los and las.
Remember two sentences ago when I said that contracting a+el and de+el is obligatory? Well… let’s back up a second. There are two important exceptions to keep in mind.
First off, don’t form a contraction if the el is part of a proper noun, such as a city name or book title. Many cities and towns in the Spanish-speaking world—and even some countries—start with articles. Take, for example, the Argentinian town El Chalten.
Vamos a ir al Chalten. Vamos a ir a El Chalten. We’re going to go to El Chalten.
The same happens with book and movie titles that start with el.
Jorge Luis Borges es el autor del “otro.” Jorge Luis Borges es el autor de “El otro.” Jorge Luis Borges is the author of “The Other.”
The second time that you shouldn’t form a contraction is when you’re dealing with the pronoun él rather than el.
These two little words might look similar, but that accent mark makes all the difference. To refresh, el (no accent mark) is an article, like the English word “the,” used for masculine-gendered nouns. On the other hand, él (with an accent mark) is a pronoun for masculine-gendered people or nouns, like the English words “he,” “him” or “it.”
You’ll frequently see the word él after the prepositions a and de. However, make sure to pay close attention to that accent mark and avoid contracting.
Le dí el regalo al. Le dí el regalo a él. I gave the gift to him.
Al le gusta el fútbol. A él le gusta el futbol. He likes soccer.
It’s all well and good to know that you need to contract a+el and de+el. But what use is that to you if you don’t actually know when to use a and de? We’ll break it down for you here.
Like the English preposition “to,” use a to describe somebody moving towards a place. When that place happens to begin with the article el, you get al.
Ella va al cine todos los viernes. She goes to the movie theater every Friday.
Use a like the English “at” to describe a location.
Te espero al final de la cola. I’ll wait for you at the end of the line.
Like the English “to” or “until,” use a to describe when a period of time ends. Again, if your ending point happens to begin with el, use the contraction al.
Ella va a estar aquí del lunes que viene al viernes siguiente. She’s going to be here from next Monday until the following Friday.
Certain verbs in Spanish require an a after them. After the a comes the indirect object of the sentence. If the indirect object starts with el, you’ll form the contraction al. One example of such a verb is acercarse a (to approach).
Me acerco al coche. I approach the car.
In Spanish, you need to use a to introduce a direct or indirect object if that object happens to be a person. There’s no equivalent to this in English, so it’s a grammar rule that you’ll just have to learn and adjust to in Spanish.
Vi a Joaquín en el supermercado. I saw Joaquín in the supermarket.
Note: There are many other usages of a—such as in time expressions and before infinitive verbs—but since those never match up with the preposition el, they’re not relevant to this article. If you want a more thorough run-down of when to use a, click here.
In Spanish, there’s no equivalent to the English possessive ’s. Instead, to express possession, write the object, followed by de, followed by the owner.
La camiseta del chico The boy’s shirt
When talking about where you or somebody else is from, use de. In some cases, this will require you to use the contraction del.
Soy del norte de España. I’m from the north of Spain.
As stated previously, a demarcates the end of a period of time. On the flip side, de can express the beginning of a period of time.
Ella va a estar aquí del principio de junio a finales de agosto. She’s going to be here from the beginning of June until the end of August.
Like with a, the preposition de is sometimes an integral part of verbs. One example is the verb acordarse de (to remember).
¿Te acuerdas del chico que conocimos en la feria? Do you remember the boy who we met at the fair?
Again, there are many uses of de that aren’t covered here because they rarely or never turn into del. For a more thorough lesson on de, click here.
I always find that learning some short, snappy phrases helps me remember new grammar rules. If you memorize these phrases and repeat them to yourself often enough, the grammar aspect will soon become second nature!
Plus, in the meantime you’ll be learning new vocabulary and having a fun time trying to understand Spanish proverbs. Here are a few that use al and del.
Literal meaning: To hunger, there’s no stale bread.
Actual meaning: When you’re desperate, you’ll take what you can get even if it isn’t that great. Think of the English phrase “beggars can’t be choosers.”
Literal meaning: He who takes what he gives goes to hell.
Actual meaning: This one’s pretty straightforward! If you give something to somebody, you can’t change your mind later on and decide to take it back, or you’ll be considered a bad person.
Literal meaning: Far from the eyes, far from the heart.
Actual meaning: This one’s similar to the English phrase “out of sight, out of mind.” It can specifically refer to a loved one who’s absent and therefore forgotten.
Literal meaning: From the child a kiss, and from the old man advice.
Actual meaning: One of children’s best qualities is that they’re unfailingly loving and caring. On the other hand, old people are wise. Therefore, you can get unconditional love from a young person but you should seek out somebody older and wiser if you truly need advice.
Literal meaning: From what’s said to what’s done there’s a good stretch.
Actual meaning: Just because somebody says they’ll do something doesn’t mean they’ll necessarily follow through on their word. It takes a lot of effort to put what you’ve said into action.
If you’re having trouble keeping track of al, del and other Spanish contractions, then it may be helpful to see them in action with real examples. Try to get a lot of exposure to Spanish contractions as they’re used in actual conversations.
A good method is by listening to Spanish audio clips or watching Spanish videos. The more varied the content, the more you can become familiar with proper contraction usage.
One resource for this is the language learning program FluentU, which has short, authentic Spanish videos like news segments, commercials, movie clips, vlogs and other native Spanish-language media. The program equips these videos with interactive subtitles that supply word translations, grammar information, example sentences and even example video clips.
So keep your eyes and ears peeled for Spanish contractions, wherever you encounter them! Over time, you may even craft your own little tricks for remembering Spanish grammar rules.
So, the next time you ir al bar (go to the bar) with your Spanish-speaking friends, you can think to yourself:
Me acuerdo del artículo que leí en FluentU! (I remember the article I read on FluentU!)
Spanish contractions aren’t hard, and speaking them will make a great deal of difference in the fluency and correctness of your Spanish.
And why not try out one of these Spanish sayings while you’re at it?
A contraction happens when two words merge into one. The only two contractions that exist in Spanish are al and del.
By the end of this lesson, you will know the rules to form the contractions al and del, and how to use them in sentences.
You will also find a Quiz and an Exercise to practice.
al happens when the preposition «a» would otherwise be followed by the article «el».del happens when the preposition «de» would otherwise be followed by the article «el».
Examples:
«al» and «del» don’t happen if the article El is capitalized:
Also, in this lesson we are always talking about the article «el» (meaning the), not the pronoun «él» (with an accent mark, meaning he).
With the pronoun «él», the contraction never happens:
Take this short Quiz about «al» and «del»:
