I am confused about when to use definite articles, el or la, before a noun. I have been given conflicting instructions by different people. I have been told to ALWAYS use a definite article before any noun I use no matter the intention of the sentence or what noun I'm using.

But I have also been told that el or la is ONLY used before certain nouns but not all, for example: la escuela. So, used in a sentence, the English equivalent would be: I am going to THE school. But in English, we would usually say: I am going to school (no definite article).

Can you please help, and feel free to show examples as well.

Thank you!

I think I got your point, and all of your examples need "la" or "el".

In the 1st example, if "cafe" were an adjective, the sentence may not need "el": Me gusta café. That's because in this case you are trying to say you like something only if it were brown. Now, as you are using it as a noun (coffee), then the sentence needs the article "el".

The 2nd example... It could not need the article "la", but the sentence is more natural using it.

In the 3rd one you must use "el".

The 4th one... If it was used as a verb, it would not need the article "el", but used as noun, then the sentence is correct.

In the last one you must use "la"

And so on...

In english a noun must or must not use that article, but in spanish (at least in general) you are going to realize all nouns need one of those articles (it depends on the "word's genre").

And last, if you find the article "el" preceded by an "a", it must be colapsed to "al".
Something like... "Mi hermana va a ir mañana al concierto de su banda favorita" instead of "Mi hermana va a ir mañana a el concierto de su banda favorita".

I hope I've been helpful