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    What Are Articles?: Your Writing, at Its Best

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    Abby Lee
    The document discusses the two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite articles. The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. The indefinite article "a" is used before consonant sounds, and "an" is used before vowel sounds, with some exceptions for words with silent consonants or vowel sounds pronounced as consonants.

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    What Are Articles?: Your Writing, at Its Best

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    Abby Lee
    28 views3 pages
    The document discusses the two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite articles. The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. The indefinite article "a" is used before consonant sounds, and "an" is used before vowel sounds, with some exceptions for words with silent consonants or vowel sounds pronounced as consonants.

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    The document discusses the two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite articles. The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. The indefinite article "a" is used before consonant sounds, and "an" is used before vowel sounds, with some exceptions for words with silent consonants or vowel sounds pronounced as consonants.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    28 views3 pages

    What Are Articles?: Your Writing, at Its Best

    Uploaded by

    Abby Lee
    The document discusses the two types of articles in English: definite and indefinite articles. The definite article "the" refers to a specific noun, while the indefinite articles "a" and "an" refer to nonspecific nouns. The indefinite article "a" is used before consonant sounds, and "an" is used before vowel sounds, with some exceptions for words with silent consonants or vowel sounds pronounced as consonants.

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    What are articles?

    Articles are words that define a noun as specific or unspecific. Consider the
    following examples:

    After the long day, the cup of tea tasted particularly good.

    By using the article the, we’ve shown that it was one specific day that was
    long and one specific cup of tea that tasted good.

    After a long day, a cup of tea tastes particularly good.

    By using the article a, we’ve created a general statement, implying that any
    cup of tea would taste good after any long day.

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    English has two types of articles: definite and indefinite. Let’s discuss them
    now in more detail.

    The definite article

    The definite article is the word the. It limits the meaning of a noun to one
    particular thing. For example, your friend might ask, “Are you going
    to the party this weekend?” The definite article tells you that your friend is
    referring to a specific party that both of you know about. The definite article
    can be used with singular, plural, or uncountable nouns. Below are some
    examples of the definite article the used in context:

    Please give me the hammer.

    Please give me the red hammer; the blue one is too small.

    Please give me the nail.

    Please give me the large nail; it’s the only one strong enough to hold this painting.

    Please give me the hammer and the nail.

    The indefinite article

    The indefinite article takes two forms. It’s the word a when it precedes a
    word that begins with a consonant. It’s the word an when it precedes a
    word that begins with a vowel. The indefinite article indicates that a noun
    refers to a general idea rather than a particular thing. For example, you
    might ask your friend, “Should I bring a gift to the party?” Your friend will
    understand that you are not asking about a specific type of gift or a specific
    item. “I am going to bring an apple pie,” your friend tells you. Again, the
    indefinite article indicates that she is not talking about a specific apple pie.
    Your friend probably doesn’t even have any pie yet. The indefinite article
    only appears with singular nouns. Consider the following examples of
    indefinite articles used in context:

    Please hand me a book; any book will do.

    Please hand me an autobiography; any autobiography will do.

    Exceptions: choosing a or an
    There are a few exceptions to the general rule of using a before words that
    start with consonants and an before words that begin with vowels. The first
    letter of the word honor, for example, is a consonant, but it’s
    unpronounced. In spite of its spelling, the word honor begins with a vowel
    sound. Therefore, we use an. Consider the example sentence below for an
    illustration of this concept.

    My mother is a honest woman.

    My mother is an honest woman.

    Similarly, when the first letter of a word is a vowel but is pronounced with a
    consonant sound, use a, as in the sample sentence below:

    She is an United States senator.

    She is a United States senator.

    This holds true with acronyms and initialisms, too: an LCD display, a UK-


    based company, an HR department, a URL.

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