de + el = del

Contraction of De and El

Level 1

De + el becomes del, and de + els becomes dels.

How It Works

De can mark origin, possession, material or another relationship. When an ordinary masculine article follows, contract: del barri and dels alumnes. With feminine articles, write de la and de les; with an elided singular article, write de l’.

Catalan place names with an article normally contract: del Vendrell. Titles of publications preserve their own article; for example, d'El Temps keeps El intact while de itself elides. Do not apply a general no-contraction rule to all proper names.

Keep el before consonantal i/u, as in del iogurt. The numeral noun uses an elided article: l'u, de l'u. The letter name is feminine and does not elide: la u, de la u. Stress alone does not decide whether initial i/u is consonantal. With a bare noun, d'oli means of oil; de l'oli means of the identified oil and can be perfectly grammatical.

Examples (3)

  1. Vinc del mercat.

    I am coming from the market.

  2. Són els llibres dels alumnes.

    They are the students’ books.

  3. El color de l'oli és clar.

    The color of the oil is light.

How It Connects

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de + el = delLevel 1Contraction of De and El

Learn This First

Identify the article that combines with de.

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