Spanish contractions al and del: the complete rule

Spanish has two standard article contractions: a + el = al and de + el = del. They are required whenever the preposition a or de comes directly before the masculine singular article el: Voy al mercado (I go to the market), Vuelvo del mercado (I return from the market).

No other article contracts. Keep a la, a los, a las, de la, de los and de las as separate words. Also keep a él and de él separate because accented él is the pronoun “him,” not the article el.

Al combines a and el

The preposition a often marks movement toward a destination or introduces an indirect object. When the next word is the article el, merge the two into al.

Caminamos al centro.
We walk to the center.

Le doy el menú al cliente.
I give the menu to the customer.

The contraction does not add a new meaning. Al still contains the idea of a, and el still identifies a masculine singular noun. It is simply the only correct written and spoken form of that sequence.

You may also see al before an infinitive in the pattern al + infinitive, meaning “upon/when doing”: Al llegar, llámame (when you arrive, call me). That construction historically contains the same contraction, but beginner learners can treat it as a useful fixed pattern.

Del combines de and el

The preposition de can express origin, possession, material, content or connection. Before the article el, it becomes del.

Soy del norte de España.
I am from the north of Spain.

La puerta del coche está abierta.
The car door is open.

Necesito un vaso del armario.
I need a glass from the cupboard.

Again, the meaning comes from de and the surrounding phrase. The contraction itself does not tell you whether English should use “of,” “from” or a possessive form. La bicicleta del niño is naturally “the boy’s bicycle,” while vengo del hotel is “I come from the hotel.”

Why la, los and las do not contract

Only masculine singular el merges with a and de. Spanish does not create forms such as ala, alos, dela or delas for article combinations. Write each word separately.

Vamos a la estación.
We are going to the station.

Hablo con los padres de las alumnas.
I speak with the parents of the female students.

Enviamos mensajes a los clientes.
We send messages to the customers.

Plural los may begin with the same letters as singular el does not matter; the contraction is tied to one exact grammatical pair. This narrow rule makes it easier than English contractions: there are only two forms to remember.

El and él are different words

Unaccented el is the masculine singular article “the.” Accented él is the subject or prepositional pronoun “he/him.” The pronoun never contracts.

Voy al despacho de Carlos.
I am going to Carlos’s office.

Voy a hablar con él.
I am going to speak with him.

El mensaje es del profesor.
The message is from the teacher.

El mensaje es de él.
The message is from him.

The accent changes both function and meaning. Writing del él would combine a preposition with a pronoun as though the pronoun were an article, so it is not a valid form.

Proper names beginning with El

When capitalized El is officially part of a proper name, keep it separate. The clearest beginner example is the country El Salvador.

Viajamos a El Salvador.
We are traveling to El Salvador.

Es un producto de El Salvador.
It is a product from El Salvador.

Capitalization signals that El belongs to the name rather than acting as an ordinary article selected by the sentence. Names and titles can have style conventions of their own, so preserve the established form instead of applying the contraction mechanically.

Choosing between al and del

Once you know a contraction is needed, choose it from the preposition. Movement or direction toward a place often uses a and therefore al: Voy al banco. Origin, possession or connection often uses de and therefore del: Vengo del banco, la puerta del banco.

The same place can appear with both:

Esta mañana fui al mercado y volví del mercado a mediodía.
This morning I went to the market and returned from the market at noon.

Do not choose a contraction only because the noun is masculine. First the sentence must need a or de; then the following article el triggers the merge. Other prepositions remain unchanged: con el profesor, por el parque, para el cliente.

Common mistakes

Leaving a and el separate

When el is an ordinary article, the contraction is mandatory.

Voy a el museo. → Voy al museo.
I am going to the museum.

Inventing contractions with other articles

Keep feminine and plural combinations separate.

Vengo dela oficina. → Vengo de la oficina.
I am coming from the office.

Contracting before the pronoun él

The accent marks a pronoun, which never merges with a or de.

El regalo es del él. → El regalo es de él.
The gift is from him.

Explore the de side in more detail in de vs del, and review destination choices in a vs en. Fluera then puts these small combinations inside movement and possession sentences when you practice Spanish, where al and del become one automatic sound.

Practice