What is the difference between al
and a el
? Al
and A el
are the same, right?
1 Answer
Al is the contraction of a el, the preposition a (at/to) and the article el (the):
Dale esto a-el cartero.
Dale esto al cartero.
Give this to the mailman.
You must always write al, never a el, unless you're talking of a proper noun that includes El:
Vamos a El Salvador.
Let's go to El Salvador.
A él is the preposition a and the personal pronoun él (him).
Dale esto a él.
Give this to him.
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2"The rae now recomends not to write él with diacritic" - Do you have a source for this by any chance? I'd very much like to read about this.– CatFeb 23, 2015 at 2:53
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3Probably worth noting that it used to be common to see ál (contraction of a él — back in the 1600s and all), but after a while in speech él was being fully distinguished and so in writing it was stopped too. Feb 23, 2015 at 3:54