In a Spanish self teaching book it says: la Argentina, los Estados Unidos.But I hear them without the article?

Answer 1

That is because there is formal ways of saying it, those are with the correct articles, like: La argentina, Los Estados Unidos, but, of course, sometimes people don't speak correctly, or don't use articles in some occasions.

Yo vengo de Argentina <-- I come from Argentina
Yo vengo de la Argentina <--- I come from Argentina

Both are ok, properly you should use the article, but nobody will correct you if you speak or write without it, at least its a document, or something important like that :)

Answer 2

It's true that some countries are often used with their corresponding articles e.g. el Perú, la India, la China, los Estados Unidos, but most are not used in conjunction with the article. Fuimos a Argentina is a lot more common than Fuimos a la Argentina. so i would say only use it with the ones listed above, not so much with the rest.

Answer 3

You should be able to hear the article in los Estados Unidos, but the two a sounds in la Argentina become one, so it's pronounced lArgentina.

Answer 4

Sometimes in spoken spanish is not necesary to use the articles.

For example:

Argentina es un país hermoso = Argentina is a beautiful country

Fui a Estados Unidos el mes pasado = I went to USA the last month.

Answer 5

Many countries have a gender and it is very common to add the corresponding article.
Here some examples:

Francia, feminine
China, feminine
Japon, masculine
Estados Unidos, masculine plural
Argentina, feminine
Peru, masculine
Chile, no gender, never uses article
Bolivia, is feminine but doesn't bear article

Answer 6

Hi. In spanish we say "los estados unidos" or just "estados unidos", but in the case of Argentina I dont think I have ever heard someone saying "La Argentina". We only say "Argentina", withouth "la".
I hope it helps!

Answer 7

the articles "los,las, el, la" are used like "the". as "the" can be optional, so are the spanish words for the same.

Answer 8

u only use the articles if ur learning the language or when speaking formally. the articles r optional and u dont really use it when speaking 2 someone who is a fluent speaker