When to use in Spanish. In the sentence below why is del used instead of just de. I know de plus el equals but there no el. Thanks. Tengo una reserva bajo nombre Sr Saville?

You are correct! "Del" is a contraction of "de + el". However, it's not always necessary to use "del" even when "de + el" would be grammatically correct.

In your sentence:

Tengo una reserva bajo el nombre del Sr. Saville?

The reason "del" is used is because "el nombre" is directly followed by "del Sr. Saville". It's like a little phrase, and the "del" creates a smoother flow.

It would be grammatically correct to say:

Tengo una reserva bajo el nombre de Sr. Saville?

But, it's not as elegant. "Del" makes the sentence sound more natural and flowing.

Here's a simple rule of thumb:

- If "el" is directly followed by a noun, it's usually better to use "del."

- If "el" is followed by an adjective or another word that doesn't directly modify a noun, then you can use "de + el" or just "de."

Let me know if you have any more questions!