grammar.articles.el-with-feminine-nouns
El agua, el águila: el before feminine nouns
Feminine nouns starting with stressed a-/ha- take el/un in the singular for sound, but stay feminine: el agua fría, las aguas frías.
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Explanation
The rule is phonetic: immediately before a stressed initial a, la sounds awkward, so el steps in — el agua, el alma, el hambre, el águila, un arma. Gender never changes: el agua está fría, esta agua.
It only applies right next to the noun and only in the singular: la misma agua, las aguas. Words with unstressed initial a keep la: la arena, la amiga.
Examples
El agua de aquí es potable.
The water here is drinkable.
The water here is drinkable.
Region: global
Tengo mucha hambre.
I'm very hungry.
I'm very hungry.
Region: global