Contractions and Elision with Articles
Apply article elision before deciding whether a, de or per contracts with el.
How It Works
The ordinary contractions are al, del and pel, with plural als, dels and pels. Before a noun allowing singular elision, use a l’, de l’ and per l’ instead: a l'hotel. The plural articles never elide, so als hotels remains contracted.
When a prepositional phrase contains an adjective or title before its main noun, the immediately following word still controls elision of the article. A l'antic edifici elides before antic, even if edifici is not adjacent to the article. By contrast, al nou edifici contracts before nou. The relevant boundary is between preposition, article and the next pronounced word, not the last noun in the phrase.
Examples (3)
- Tornem a l'antic edifici.
We return to the old building.
- Entren al nou edifici.
They enter the new building.
- Parlem de l'última proposta.
We are discussing the latest proposal.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Apply the elision-first rule before handling complex article boundaries.
Related Patterns
Practice Contractions and Elision with Articles in Bubblegum
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