a l', de l', per l'

Blocked Contractions Before Elision

Level 1

Use a l’, de l’ and per l’ when the singular article is elided.

How It Works

Elision takes precedence over the ordinary masculine contractions. Compare al parc with a l'hort, del barri with de l'edifici, and pel carrer with per l'avinguda. The apostrophe belongs to the article, not to a or per.

Apply this only when the article actually elides. Feminine la remains in a la universitat because its initial u is unstressed. Masculine el remains before consonantal i, producing al iogurt in an appropriate phrase. Plural els does not elide, so als hotels and dels amics keep their contractions.

A bare noun with de follows a different pattern: d'aigua contains no article. De l'aigua includes the definite article and points to identified water. Do not mechanically remove articles from such phrases.

Examples (3)

  1. Vaig a l'hospital.

    I am going to the hospital.

  2. Vinc de l'escola.

    I am coming from school.

  3. Passem per l'avinguda.

    We are passing along the avenue.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

a l', de l', per l'Level 1Blocked Contractions Before Elision

Learn This First

Recognize when an article becomes l’.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern