De vs del in Spanish: when ‘de’ becomes ‘del’
There is no difference in meaning: del is simply de + el joined into one
word. The contraction is required whenever de is immediately followed by
the masculine singular article el. With la, los, las you keep the two
words separate.
| After de comes | Result | Example |
|---|---|---|
el (masc. sing.) |
del (required) |
la puerta del cochethe car door |
la |
de la |
la puerta de la casathe door of the house |
los / las |
de los / de las |
el nombre de los niñosthe name of the children |
What “de” means in the first place
De covers possession (“of”, “‘s”), origin (“from”) and material (“made of”).
The contraction question only appears when an article el follows it.
el libro de María
María’s bookSoy de México.
I’m from Mexico.
Contract de + el into del
When the next word is the masculine singular el, you must write del. Saying
de el in this case sounds wrong to native ears.
la llave del coche
the key of the carVengo del trabajo.
I’m coming from work.
Keep de la, de los, de las apart
The contraction is only with el. The feminine and plural articles never merge
with de.
la puerta de la casa
the door of the houselos juguetes de los niños
the children’s toys
Two cases that look like el but are not
Do not contract when él is the pronoun “him” (it has an accent), and do
not contract a proper name whose El is part of the name.
Este regalo es de él.
This gift is from him.Vengo de El Salvador.
I’m coming from El Salvador.
Common mistakes
Writing “de el” before a masculine noun
The contraction is obligatory, not optional, with the article el.
la casa de el profesor→ la casa del profesor
the teacher’s house
Contracting with the feminine or plural article
De la, de los and de las stay as two words.
la madre dela niña→ la madre de la niña
the girl’s mother
Merging de with the pronoun él
The accented pronoun él (him) never contracts.
Es del.→ Es de él.
It’s his / from him.
This contraction is the twin of a + el = al, which you sort out in
a vs en, and it leans on knowing the gender from
el vs la. In Fluera you build these little phrases of
possession and origin inside full sentences, so del versus de la becomes a
sound you recognize. Use that when you practice Spanish and the
contraction takes care of itself.
Practice
De or del?
Question 1 of 10
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between de and del in Spanish?
Del is the required contraction of de + el before a masculine singular noun: la llave del coche. You only keep de separate before la, los, las or a noun with no article.Is del optional or obligatory?
de is directly followed by the article el, you must write del; de el coche is incorrect. The only "el" that does not contract is the accented pronoun él (him): de él.Why don't we contract de la or de los?
el. The feminine and plural articles stay separate: de la casa, de los niños, de las flores.