Spanish Definite Article
See also: Artículo and Article types
The English definite article is "the" and has five Spanish equivalents: el, la, los, las; one for each gender and number of nouns they acompany.
The definite articles are those that talk about something that we know and can identify.
For example:
La hija de María está enferma.
María's daughter [lit: the daughter of María] is ill.
El panadero no vende pan esta mañana.
The baker is not selling bread this morning.
Los coches no deben aparcar encima de la acera.
[The] cars must not park on the pavement.
Pon las madalenas en el horno.
Put the cakes in the oven.