Definite and Indefinite Articles (a, an | Definite and indefinite articles
TIPSheetDEFINITEANDINDEFINITEARTICLESInEnglishtherearethreearticles:a,an,andthe.Articlesareusedbeforenounsornounequivalentsandareatypeofadjective.Thedefinitearticle(the)isusedbeforeanountoindicatethattheidentityofthenounisknowntothereader.Theindefinitearticle(a,an)isusedbeforeanounthatisgeneralorwhenitsidentityisnotknown.Therearecertainsituationsinwhichanountakesnoarticle.Asaguide,thefollowingdefinitionsandtablesummarizethebasicuseofarticles.Continuereadingforamoredetailedexplanationoftherul...
TIP SheetDEFINITE AND INDEFINITE ARTICLES
In English there are three articles: a, an, and the. Articles are used before nouns or noun equivalents and are a type of adjective. The definite article (the) is used before a noun to indicate that the identity of the noun is known to the reader. The indefinite article (a, an) is used before a noun that is general or when its identity is not known. There are certain situations in which a noun takes no article.
As a guide, the following definitions and table summarize the basic use of articles. Continue reading for a more detailed explanation of the rules and for examples of how and when to apply them.
Definite article
the (before a singular or plural noun)
Indefinite article
a (before a singular noun beginning with a consonant sound)an (before a singular noun beginning with a vowel sound)
Count nouns - refers to items that can be counted and are either singular or plural
Non-count nou...