“El café”, “los lunes”, “el español”
CEFR A1 · part 1
edumaterial's parts within the level. The European framework does not subdivide them.
“Ser” or “estar”: two verbs for one “to be”Choosing between “ser” and “estar” in everyday sentences: who you are and what you are…Every noun is “el” or “la”Putting “el” or “la” in front of a noun, including the ones that do not follow the -o /…Adjectives agree, and they come afterMaking the adjective match the noun in gender and number, and putting it in its usual…You do not say “yo” every timeLeaving out the subject pronoun when the verb ending already says who it is, and putting…“Tú” or “usted”: one English “you”, two Spanish onesChoosing between “tú” and “usted”, and using the verb form that goes with each: “usted”…“Me gusta”: the sentence turns roundBuilding sentences with “gustar”, “encantar”, “doler”, “interesar” and “faltar”: the…The rule, in three lines
Spanish puts el, la, los or las in several places where English puts nothing: with things in general (me gusta el café), with days of the week (el lunes, los lunes), with languages (el español es fácil) and with parts of the body (me duele la cabeza).
The usual slip. Leaving it out because English does: me gusta café, voy lunes, hablo el español — the last one is the mirror mistake, putting it where it does not go.
Why it catches you out. English drops the article to speak in general —“I like coffee”, “cats are independent”— and Spanish does exactly the opposite. So what you have to unlearn is not a Spanish rule: it is a habit of your own language that fires before you notice. And there is one place where Spanish agrees with you: right after “hablar”, “hablo español”.