What are the articles and how to use them correctly?
In English, two types of articles are used. the primary object of using articles to exapline the sentence for your readers and help them to understand the difference between specific or general nouns.
In this article, you will learn what the articles are in English and how to use them correctly. In addition, you will see some examples to help you better understand the use of articles in sentences.
Articles are words that identify a noun as being specific or unspecific. Consider the following examples:
Examples:
- I drive the car.
- I drove a car.
- He bought a house.
- He bought the house.
Types of Articles in English
In English, there are two types of articles: definite and indefinite. A definite articles is used to describe that a noun is specific nouns. However, indefinite article is used to tell the readers that the noun is generic or common nouns.
1. The definite article
In English, the word “the” is called a definite article. It is used to describe something specific.
Examples:
- She went to the store.
- She cooked the dinner.
- He drove the car.
In these above examples, a definite article tells us about specific stores, dinners, and cars.
How to Use Definite Article
A definite articles is used with singular nouns, plural nouns, and uncountable nouns. Let’s take a look at the following examples!
Examples:
- I packed the eggs. (plural noun eggs)
- I packed the shirt. (singular nouns shirt)
- I hung the pictures on the wall. (pictures = plural nouns, wall = singular nouns)
- He gave me the water. (water = uncountable nouns)
2. The indefinite article
Indefinite articles shows that a nouns is generic noun and its not specific noun. Indefinite articles are of two types: a and an. If the word starts with consonant sound, then we use the article “a”. If the word starts with vowel sound, then we use article “an”.
Examples:
- A book
- A table
- A glass
- An orange
- An umbrella
- An ox
How to Use Definite Article
Indefinite articles are only used with singular nouns.
Examples:
- I bought a book.
- She packed a book, pen, and a paper.
- She told us an interesting story.
Using a or an
As mentioned, the rule is to use a before words that start with a consonant sound and an before words that beings with a vowel sound. This can be tricky because some words that start with consonant don’t start with a constant sound; the same is true of some words that start with vowels.
Certain words start with consonant letters but don’t start with consonant sounds.
Examples:
- An honor
- An hour
- An honest
In the above examples, each word starts with a consonant letter. However, the consonant letter is silent, and when we say these words, they start with the vowel sound. Therefore, we use the article “an” before such words.
- She is an honest person.
- She arrived home an hour later.
Similarly, when the first letter of a word is a vowel but is pronouns with a constant sound, use a, as in the sample sentence below:
- She is a United States senator.
- He is a Union representative.
- He has a unique quality.
The above rule also applies to acronyms and initialism.
Examples:
- a URL
- a US-based firm
- a UK-based company
- an HR department
An article before an adjective
Sometimes an article modifies a noun that is also modified by an adjective. The usual word order is;
article + adjective + noun
If the article is indefinite, then use a or an based on the word that immediately comes after it. Take a look at the following examples;
- He bought a small gift for her daughter.
- He told us an interesting story yesterday.
Indefinite articles with uncountable nouns
Uncountable nouns are impossible to count, whether because they name intangible concepts, collections of things considered wholes, or homogeneous physical substances.
- intangible concepts (information, animal husbandry, wealth)
- collection of things (jewelry, equipment, working class)
- homogeneous physical substances ( mills, sand)
Although most of the nouns are singular in form because they refer to things that can be isolated and counted, they never take a or an. Uncountable nouns can be modified by indefinite adjectives like some, however. Consider the examples below for reference:
- Please give me some water.
Water is an uncountable noun and should not be used with an indefinite article like a water or an water.
If you describe the water in terms of a countable unite (like a bottle), you can use the indefinite article to modify the unit.
- Please give me a bottle of water.
- Please give me an ice cube.
- Plese give me some ice.
Some nouns can be countable or uncountable. for instance, hair, noise, time.
- We need a light in this room.
- We need some light in this room.
Using articles with pronouns
Possessive pronouns – words like his, my, our, its, her, and their – can help identify wehterh you are talking about specific or non specific sites,. As we have seen, articles also indicate specificity. But if you use bot a possessive pronoun and an aritlc together, reader will become confused. Articls should not be used with pronouns. Consider the examples below.
- Why are you reading the book?
- Why are you reading my book?
Omission of articles
Occasionally, articles are omitted altogether before cerian nouns. In these cases, the article is implied but not actually present. This implied article is sometimes called a “zero article.” Often, the article is omitted before a noun that refers to an abstract idea. look at the following examples:
- Let’s go out for a dinner tonight. [incorrect]
- Let’s go out for dinner tonight. [correct]
- The creativity is a valuable quality in children. [incorrect]
- Creativity is a valuable quality in children. [correct]
The words for many language and nationalities are not preceded by an article. For example;
- I studied French in high school for four years.
Sports and academic subjects do not require articles. For instance;
- I like to play baseball.
- My sister was always good at math.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an article?
An article is a word that comes before a noun to show whether it is specific or general. Specific nouns use the article the and general nouns use the article a (or an, if the next word starts with a vowel sound).
What are definite and indefinite articles?
The definite article refers to something specific, and the indefinite article refers to something general. The is the definite article and a/an is the indefinite article.
What is an example of an article in grammar?
“The hammer” refers to only one hammer, but “a hammer” refers to any hammer.
When should we not use articles?
We don’t use the indefinite article with uncountable nouns, or any article with possessive pronouns. Certain nouns such as nationalities, school subjects, and sports often don’t take articles, especially when they refer to general or abstract ideas.
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