o / a / os / as
Definite Articles
Galician says "the" with four forms: o, a, os, as. Choose by the noun's gender and number: o neno, a nena, os nenos, as nenas.
How It Works
The four forms.
- o: masculine singular, o neno (the boy)
- a: feminine singular, a nena (the girl)
- os: masculine plural, os nenos (the boys, or the children)
- as: feminine plural, as nenas (the girls)
A group that mixes masculine and feminine takes os: os nenos can mean boys and girls together.
The article joins with prepositions. After de, en, a, con and por, the article is written as part of one word. These joined forms are the normal written forms:
- de + o = do: a casa do médico. See Contractions of De.
- en + a = na: está na mesa. See Contractions of En.
- a + o = ao: vou ao mercado. See Contractions of A.
- con + a = coa, por + o = polo. See Contractions of Con and Contractions of Por.
Before possessives. Galician normally puts the article before my, your and similar words: a miña casa (my house), o teu libro (your book). See Possessives: My and Your.
Not the Spanish article. The Galician article is o, never el. In Galician, el is the pronoun he.
Examples (6)
- O neno xoga no parque.
The boy is playing in the park.
No is en + o.
- A nena le un libro.
The girl is reading a book.
- Os nenos están na praia.
The children are at the beach.
Os can cover a mixed group of boys and girls. Na is en + a.
- As nenas cantan moi ben.
The girls sing very well.
- A miña casa está preto do mar.
My house is near the sea.
Word by Word: The my house is near of-the sea.
The article comes before the possessive miña, and do is de + o.
- O leite está na neveira.
The milk is in the fridge.
Leite is masculine, so it takes o.
Common Mistakes
Using the Spanish article el.
El libro é novo.O libro é novo.The masculine article in Galician is o. El means he.
Keeping the preposition and the article apart.
Esta é a casa de o médico.Esta é a casa do médico.When de goes with the noun, as here, de + o is written as one word, do. The same goes for no, ao, co and polo.
Choosing the article from the Spanish gender of the noun.
A leite está na neveira.O leite está na neveira.Leite is masculine in Galician, so its article is o.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Definite articles agree with the noun's gender and number.
Related Patterns
- un / unha / uns / unhasIndefinite Articles
The indefinite article is the "a/an" counterpart of o, a, os, as.
Level 1 - de + o = doContractions of De with the Article
The article joins with de: do, da, dos, das.
Level 1 - en + o = noContractions of En with the Article
The article joins with en: no, na, nos, nas.
Level 1 - o meu / a miña / o teu / a túaPossessives: My and Your
Galician keeps the article before possessives.
Level 1 - The Second Form of the Article
The article also has the forms lo, la, los, las in a few contexts.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
- a + o = aoContractions of a with the ArticleLevel 1
- con + o = coContractions of Con with the ArticleLevel 1
- por + o = poloContractions of Por with the ArticleLevel 1
- Dates and DaysLevel 2
- o máis + Adjective + deSuperlativesLevel 2
- todo o / todos osAll and Every: TodoLevel 2
- Gender Differences From SpanishLevel 2
- o importante / o queNeuter O Before Adjectives and QueLevel 3
And 7 more in the full list.
Words in This Pattern
Practice o / a / os / as in Bubblegum
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