De and del

De and del
 

Another question if you don't mind :)

When is it appropriate to use "de" and when is it appropriate to use "del"?

Re: De and del
 

Not a problem, it's an easy answer :)

"de" would be used alone to mean "of" or "from"

Whenever you need to say "from the ..." or "of the..."

You would then use "de" and the proper "the" word.

de la
de el
de las
de los

The only catch is one the the above is wrong. Whenever you want to say "de el" you have to make a contraction and you use "del". That's all there is to it. And there's only one exception it's when "el" is part of a proper noun (a name for instance), then you don't do the contraction. For example "El Salvador" "He is from El Salvador" "El es de El Salvador" ... not del Salvador.. :)

Re: De and del
 

How can I know when it's a proper noun?

Re: De and del
 

Do you know what proper nouns are in English? Same thing. Specific names of people or places, generally.

Also, adding on to what Tomisimo said, "de él" does not become "del" either.

Re: De and del
 

Thanks, that had slipped by me :) And since I always like giving examples:

Es de él - It's his.

Re: De and del
 

Thanks shruti. I just wasn't sure :-[