Spanish Phrase
Un galón por persona al día.
Meaning
The sentence states a limit or recommendation: each individual may use or receive one gallon of a given resource every day. It is often heard in public‑health advisories, water‑rationing notices, or guidelines for beverage service.
When to use
Use this phrase when you need to describe a daily allocation per person—e.g., water distribution in a drought, a cafeteria’s drink limit, or a health‑policy that caps fluid intake.
✦Grammar Breakdown
Ungalónporpersonaaldía
Indefinite article (Un)
‘Un’ is the masculine singular indefinite article, used before masculine nouns like ‘galón’.
Noun gender (galón)
‘Galón’ is a masculine noun meaning ‘gallon’; it takes the article ‘un’ and adjectives in masculine form.
Preposition por
‘Por’ expresses a rate or ratio, equivalent to ‘per’ in English.
Noun (persona)
‘Persona’ is a feminine noun meaning ‘person’; gender does not affect the article because it follows ‘por’.
Contraction al
‘Al’ is the contraction of ‘a + el’, meaning ‘to the/at the’; here it links the time expression ‘día’.
Time noun (día)
‘Día’ is a masculine noun meaning ‘day’; together with ‘al’ it forms ‘al día’ = ‘per day’.
🗨In Conversation
¿Cuál es la ración diaria de agua en el campamento?
What is the daily water ration at the camp?
Un galón por persona al día.
One gallon per person per day.
✕Common Mistakes
Una galón por persona al día.
‘Galón’ is masculine, so the correct article is ‘un’, not ‘una’.
Un galón para persona al día.
‘Para’ expresses purpose, not rate. The correct preposition for ‘per’ is ‘por’.
Un galón por persona al día cada día.
‘Al día’ already means ‘per day’; adding ‘cada día’ is redundant.
↔Alternatives
Un galón por individuo cada día.
One gallon per individual each day.
Un galón por cabeza al día.
One gallon per head per day.
Un litro por persona al día.
One liter per person per day.
Cultural Tip
In most Spanish‑speaking countries the metric system is standard, so water is usually measured in litros, not galones. The phrase ‘un galón por persona al día’ is therefore more common in contexts that involve U.S. or British guidelines, or in translations of international documents. When speaking locally, you might hear ‘un litro por persona al día’ instead.