arpa de boca

arpa de boca f (plural arpas de boca)

1. Jew's harp

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

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 arpa de boca or una arpa de boca. 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 arpa de boca, una buena arpa de boca.

• 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 arpa de boca única, un(a) arpa de boca buena.
• In the plural, the usual feminine plural articles and determiners (las, unas, etc.) are always used.