Spanish language Q&A Forum

Is there a rule for using the definite article in Spanish? It often trips me up. It doesn’t always follow the same pattern as English, eg in Castles text: …visitar castillos (no ‘los’, where in English there would be no ‘the’), but then:… la historia de los castillos medievales (in the  English version there is no ‘the’, the history of medieval castles; the history of the medieval castles is not incorrect it just has a different meaning).  Maybe, as in English, it’s very much about common usage and there’s no absolute rule.?

How do I say I like someone, rather than I fancy someone? Or indeed that I don't like someone! For example, I like him but I don't fancy him.

I keep trying to learn different grammar points, but all I ever get is VERB tests after VERB test.  What is wrong with this program!!!!!

Why is the first al used? I thought al meant “to the” or “at the”.  It doesn’t make sense to say, Ana loves to the man.

Thank you in advance for your help,

Kim

The table formatting is bad so the third column can't be easily read. This problem exists in both chrome and safari.

Do I understand correctly that both tenses are possible? If so, is there a difference in meaning or are they interchangeable?