Choose New or Identified Reference
Un/una/unos/unas commonly introduce an unspecified referent.
About 20 minutes, plus any extended practice
Supplied materials
- Paper or a browser scratch area; no audio recording, account or private information is needed.
- Choose the group matching this exact supplied reference: first mention, one feminine chair. The offered noun is already spelled correctly. Candidate answers: (A) la silla (B) mi habitación (C) son dos (D) una silla.
- Choose the group matching this exact supplied reference: already identified masculine book. The offered noun is already spelled correctly. Candidate answers: (A) el libro (B) mi habitación (C) son dos (D) un libro.
Learn the idea
Articles and adjectives carry grammatical gender and number. Use the supplied noun labels and referents to build complete noun groups; grammatical gender is a property of a word rather than a judgment about a person. Un/una/unos/unas commonly introduce an unspecified referent. El/la/los/las identify a known or contextually specified referent. Both meaning and gender/number matter when choosing an article.
Read whether the fictional scene introduces a new item or names an already identified one. Choose the indefinite or definite article accordingly, then verify gender and number with the supplied description.
This task contrasts the offered references rather than claiming first mention always forces an indefinite article. Context can identify a referent immediately. Do not add another article before a possessive such as mi libro.
- Copy the supplied example and underline its speaker, noun, time cue or evidence words.
- Apply the shown language rule; keep any required ending, accent or paired punctuation.
- Solve the changed independent check, then explain why one offered alternative fails.
- Complete all three new practice cases and use the model to correct the precise word or meaning.
See the method in action
Supplied case: Choose the group matching this exact supplied reference: first mention, one feminine chair. The offered noun is already spelled correctly. Candidate answers: (A) la silla (B) mi habitación (C) son dos (D) una silla. Solution: The reference is first mention, one feminine chair. The matching group is una silla, which expresses the required definiteness and noun agreement. The counterpart changes whether it is unspecified or already identified; the other responses are not the named noun group. Final result: una silla. This task contrasts the offered references rather than claiming first mention always forces an indefinite article. Context can identify a referent immediately. Do not add another article before a possessive such as mi libro.
Check your reasoning
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Helpful tips
- Read whether the fictional scene introduces a new item or names an already identified one.
- This task contrasts the offered references rather than claiming first mention always forces an indefinite article.
See the answer and explanation
el libro
The reference is already identified masculine book. The matching group is el libro, which expresses the required definiteness and noun agreement. The counterpart changes whether it is unspecified or already identified; the other responses are not the named noun group.
Take it further
Choose the group matching this exact supplied reference: already identified masculine maps. The offered noun is already spelled correctly. Candidate answers: (A) los mapas (B) mi habitación (C) son dos (D) unos mapas. Expected result: los mapas. The reference is already identified masculine maps. The matching group is los mapas, which expresses the required definiteness and noun agreement. The counterpart changes whether it is unspecified or already identified; the other responses are not the named noun group.
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More practice: try new cases
Choose an answer for each problem. Explain your method on paper, then use the feedback to decide what to revisit.
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Check the subject sources
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