DEFINITE AND INDEFINITE

ARTICLES
Compiled by: Aisha Rehman
English Instructor
• An article is a crucial element of almost every
sentence we create in English. They’re like building
blocks of the language. Many English learners have
problems with articles, especially those learners
whose own language does not have them. To help
you use definite and indefinite articles correctly,
we’ve created a complete guide with some
examples.
 What is an article?

• The article is a tiny word that

precedes a noun and indicates
whether it is singular or plural,
specific or unspecific.Consider
the following examples:

• I need a phone. — Not a specific

phone, any phone.

• Please give me the phone on

the table. — One specific phone
that the listener can see on the
particular table.

• There are three articles in

English: a, an, and the. “A/an”
called the indefinite article,
“the” is the definite one.

• Let’s see these two types in

more details.
 The indefinite article: when to use A
and An

• There are two forms of indefinite article: a and an.

• The indefinite article shows that a noun refers to a

general thing, not something specific.

• I want to buy a car. — There are different types of

car, and I don’t know yet which one I want.

• I need a stamp for this latter. — Not a particular

stamp, a stamp in general.

• There is a book in my bag. — No matter what book I

have.
mention something for the first time;

• There is a lion.

• The lion is big.

• I read a book.

• The book is fascinating.

 Talk about a person’s profession.

• He is a firefighter.

• She is a singer.
• Remember that this type of article is used only with
singular nouns that can be counted.

• For example:

• They are a doctors. — Incorrect as “doctors” is a plural

noun.

• She is a doctor. — Correct as we describe her profession.

• Mike asked her for an advice. — Incorrect as “advice” is an

uncountable noun.

• Mike asked her for advice. — Correct as advice is the

uncountable noun, and no article is needed.
 What to choose: A vs An

• As you can see, “a” and “an” are used in the same way. But
when to use a or an?

• The rule is simple:“a” goes before a word beginning with a

consonant sound: a cucumber, a rabbit, a pen

• “an” goes before a word beginning with a vowel sound (a, e,

i, o, u): an apricot, an antelope, an idea.

• While this rule is easy to remember, there are some

exceptions. When choosing what type of indefinite article to
use, always trust the sound, not the first letter of the word.
After all, it’s about pronunciation.It’s important to note that
not all words that begin with the consonant letter start with
the consonant sound.
• For example, pay particular attention to
what type of indefinite article, a or an,
use before h. Before a noun starting with
a pronounced “h” use “a”. Choose “an”
with nouns beginning with an
unpronounced “h”. So what is correct: a
hour or an hour? Of course, “an hour” is
the right answer.Likewise, some words
start with a vowel that makes a
consonant sound.
• For instance, there is a rule about “a” or “an”
before “u”. Use “a” before “u” when it sounds
like [ju:]. So an university or a university? In this
case, “a” is required.The same rules apply to
acronym and initialism. Thus, when you need to
choose the right form of the indefinite article,
pay attention to what sound is used in front of it.
• Here are some examples:a MBA or an MBA — an
MBA is correct because M sounds like [em].a
URL or an URL — a URL is correct as U sounds
like [ju].
 Indefinite article + adjective

• The indefinite article comes before an adjective that is

followed by a singular, countable noun.

• Keep in mind that in this case the use of the a/an depends
on the first sound of the adjective, not the noun that comes
after it.

• Examples

• a man — a generous

• mana book — an interesting book

• a watch — an expensive watch

• an elephant — a big elephant

• The indefinite article isn’t used if there is no noun
after the adjective.

• Consider the following examples:

• The cat is black. It’s a black cat.

• The house is big. It’s a big house.

• The match was exciting. It was an exciting match.

 Indefinite article + Adverb + Adjective

• The same rule comes in handy when we need to use the indefinite article that comes
before an adverb followed by adjective before a noun. But in such a case, choose the
indefinite article based on the first sound of the adverb, not the adjective or noun.

• a generous man — an unbelievably generous man

• an interesting book — a very interesting book

• Pay attention to the use of the indefinite article followed by adverbs such and quite.

• Here are some examples:

• Mr. Houston is a such great teacher. — Incorrect

• Mr. Houston is such a great teacher. — Correct

• This is a quite delicious apple. — Incorrect

• This is quite a delicious apple. — Correct

 Indefinite articles with uncountable nouns

• As it was already mentioned, the indefinite article should never be used

with the uncountable nouns. As you might have guessed, these nouns
can’t be counted. Most uncountable nouns are related to:

• liquids (water, tea, coffee, milk);

• bulk food (salt, sugar, pepper, flour);

• abstract ideas (information, advice, motivation);

• feelings (live, anger, happiness);

• natural phenomena (rain, snow, sunshine, fog);

• materials (paper, iron, glass);

• collective nouns (hair, furniture, luggage, money).

• With an uncountable noun, we can use the word “some” or an
expression that shows an exact measurement like

• “a cup of,” “a pinch of,” “one kilo of,” etc.

• For example:

• Please give me some water.

• Please give me a bottle of water.

• Would you like some coffee?

• Would you like a cup of coffee?

• Note that some nouns can be both
countable and uncountable depending on
the context. Take a look at these
sentences:
• We’ve been to London four times. —
Countable, a specific event.
• I didn’t have enough time to complete
this task. — Uncountable, the general
concept of time.
 The definite article “The”

• What is a definite article?

• There is only one definite article in English —

‘the’. And it’s the most frequently used
English word. “The” can precede the singular,
plural and some uncountable nouns when we
talk about a specific object and believe the
reader or listener knows exactly what we’re
referring to.

• Let’s see in detail when to use “the”.

 When the definite article is needed

• We talk about or identify a specific person or

object;

• She is the doctor I came to see.

• My bag is still in the car.

• I’ll get it.Could you shut the door, please?

• Do you know where I left the car keys?

• we’ve already mentioned the noun we’re
referring to in a previous sentence:

• There is a book in my bag.

• The book is about war.

• This is a train.

• The train goes to London.

• A person or object is unique, or there is just one of
something in a certain place

• The North Star is the guiding star.

• The moon is huge tonight.

• The president will give a press conference tonight.

• We live in a small town next to the church.

• superlatives and ordinal numbers come
before a noun
• It’s the most interesting movie I’ve ever
seen.
• She is the tallest girl in the class.

• Sara is the first person I’ve met in this city.

• This is the third cup of coffee I have today.

• We want to say something about a whole group of
people, animals or objects.

• The tiger is a dangerous animal.

• He gives a lot of money to the poor.

• The rich should pay more taxes.

• The Browns live next door.

 How to use “the” with names

• The definite article is never used with the names of person, country, language,
months and specific places.

• Berlin is the capital and largest city of Germany.

• Joanne Rowling wrote Harry Potter.

• But we must use “the” when it comes to:countries that include words like state,
republic or kingdom in their names (the United States, the United
Kingdom);countries that have plural nouns as their names (the Philippines, the
Netherlands);

• geographical areas, mountain ranges, groups of islands, canals, rivers, seas, and
oceans (the Atlantic, the Arctic Circle, the Rocky Mountains, the Himalayas)
• famous buildings and places of interest (the Colosseum
Theatre, the Royal Opera House, the Lincoln Memorial, the
Louvre).

• But there are some exceptions such as Big Ben,

Stonehenge, Trinity Church, Carnegie Hall, etc.

• newspapers (The Sun, The Times, The Washington

Post);works of art (the Mona Lisa, the Sunflowers);

• organizations, unions, and clubs (the United Nations

Organization, the World Health Organization, the European
Union, the Kennel Club).
 Omission of the articles

• In English grammar, articles can be omitted before

particular types of nouns. In this case, the article, which is
called a zero article, is implied but not actually used in a
sentence. Generally, zero article precedes proper nouns,
uncountable nouns that refer to abstract ideas or plural
nouns when the reference is indefinite.

• Here are some examples:

• Clean air is vital for a healthy environment.

• Wisdom is the gift of heaven.

• German is a difficult language to master.

• Children like chocolates.

 Reference

• https://preply.com/en/blog/2019/01/15/
how-to-use-english-articles/