agua del grifo

• IPA^(key): /ˌaɡwa del ˈɡɾifo/ [ˌa.ɣ̞wa ð̞el ˈɣ̞ɾi.fo]
• Syllabification: a‧gua del gri‧fo

agua del grifo f (uncountable)

1. tap water

   Synonym: agua del caño

• Before feminine nouns beginning with stressed /ˈa/ like agua del grifo, the singular definite article takes the form of el (otherwise reserved for masculine nouns) instead of the usual la: el agua del grifo. This includes the contracted forms al and del (instead of a la and de la, respectively): al agua del grifo, del agua del grifo.

This also applies to the indefinite article, which takes the form of un, which is otherwise used with masculine nouns (although the standard feminine form una also occurs): un agua del grifo or una agua del grifo. The same is true with determiners algún/alguna and ningún/ninguna, as well as for numerals ending with 1 (e.g., veintiún/veintiuna).

However, if another word intervenes between the article and the noun, the usual feminine singular articles and determiners (la, una etc.) are used: la mejor agua del grifo, una buena agua del grifo.

• In these cases, el and un are not masculine but feminine, deriving from Latin illa and una, respectively, even though they are identical in form to the corresponding masculine singular articles. Thus, they are allomorphs of the feminine singular articles la and una.
• The use of these allomorphs does not change the gender agreement of the adjectives modifying the feminine noun: el agua del grifo única, un(a) agua del grifo buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.