Module 3 of the free Spanish course (CEFR A2, first half), lesson 20 of 30: "To the" fuses only with el: a + el becomes al (al mercado), a la. On this page: 8 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
| Spanish | English | Say it |
|---|---|---|
| al | to the (m) | ahl |
| a la | to the (f) | ah LAH |
| yo voy al mercado | I am going to the market | yoh boy ahl mehr-KAH-doh |
| ¿vas a la piscina? | are you going to the pool? | bahs ah lah pee-SEE-nah |
| en autobús | by bus | ehn ow-toh-BOOS |
| en tren | by train | ehn TREHN |
| a pie | on foot | ah PYEH |
| yo llego a las ocho | I arrive at eight | yoh YEH-goh ah lahs OH-choh |
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
"To the" fuses only with el: a + el becomes al (al mercado); a la, a los and a las stay as they are. Voy al banco. ¿Vas a la piscina? Vamos a los museos.
How you go takes en: en autobús, en tren, en carro — but on foot is a pie. Voy a la escuela en autobús. Llego a las ocho.
a + el always fuses to al, and de + el to del — the only two fusions in Spanish. a la, a los, a las and de la never fuse.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.
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