Contractions - AL - DEL
Spanish Grammar Rules
Contractions in Spanish are very easy because you only need to learn two. Yes, there are only two contractions in Spanish. So, what are they?
One is A + EL = AL and the other is DE + EL = DEL
See the summary chart below:
The contraction AL
Whenever the preposition A is followed by the article EL, the two words are joined to form one new word (contraction) AL.
Incorrect: Voy a el supermercado.
Correct: Voy al supermercado.
More examples of sentences with AL
- El libro está traducido al español.
- Tienes que entregar la tarea al profesor.
- Mañana vamos al estadio.
The contraction DEL
Whenever the preposition DE is followed by the article EL, the two words are joined to form one new word (or contraction) DEL.
Incorrect: Es el perro de el vecino.
Correct: Es el perro del vecino.
More examples of sentences with DEL
- La palabra del día.
- Jorge es el mejor empleado del mes.
- Las ventanas del departamento son grandes.
Important Exception:
We don't make a contraction of de + el when the EL is a part of a name (or city/country)
- El es de la ciudad de El Paso.
- Ellos son de El Salvador
El vs Él
Be careful with the difference between the article EL (= the) and the pronoun ÉL (= he).
We do NOT contract the words A + ÉL or DE + ÉL
- Tírale la pelota a él.
- A él no le gusta comer carne.
- Este libro es de él.
- ¿Esa es la bicicleta de él?
See our game about the difference between el vs él
Next Activities
Try our games to practice these contractions in Spanish:
AL vs A LA ---- Preposition + AL vs A LA
DEL vs DE LA ---- Preposition + DEL vs DE LA
AL vs DEL ---- Preposition + AL vs A LA vs DEL vs DE LA
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