Can anyone explain when a ‘generalized’ noun takes the definite article and when it doesn’t? I’m very confused.

If I want to say “I speak Spanish” it’s “Hablo español”, but if I want to say “I enjoy Spanish” it’s “Disfruto el español”.

If I want to say “I like coffee” it’s “Me gusta el café” but if I want to say “I want coffee” it’s “Quiero café” - no ‘el’!

How do you tell when the noun needs el/la and when it doesn’t?

Respuestas

skeletor

8 dic 2022

Español (México)
Español (España)

there are certain verbs that are more determinative and for this reason it is not necessary to add the definite article

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Jenna_Gwyn_Ryan

8 dic 2022

Inglés (US)

@skeletor Ah so it’s based on the verb used, not on the noun! That makes more sense. Now I just need a list of verbs that don’t require the article!

skeletor

8 dic 2022

Español (México)
Español (España)

@Jenna_Gwyn_Ryan even if u have a determinative verb sometimes u'll add the article to specify a little more the object example :

Quiero chocolate = I want a piece/bar of chocolate
Quiero el chocolate =I want that piece/bar of chocolate

Escúcho música = I listen to music
Escúcho la música = I listen to the music ( a particular song )

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Jenna_Gwyn_Ryan

8 dic 2022

Inglés (US)

@skeletor Yeah, it makes sense to me (as a native English speaker) to use the article when referring to a specific item since we do that too. But in English we almost never use an article when talking about general nouns, so it’s hard for me to understand why Spanish seems to require the article sometimes but not always. I’ll probably just have to work on memorizing them, but knowing that it depends more on the verb than the noun helps a lot, thanks!