We have two types of articles in English grammar; The definite article and the indefinite article. We will show the differences between them in this lesson.
We combine articles with nouns to indicate the type of reference made by the noun.
A quick overview of noun types:
1- Countable noun: A noun that refers to something that can be counted or determined with numbers. And it accepts indefinite and indefinite articles, whether the noun is singular or plural, for example, Book/Books.
2- Uncountable noun: A noun that cannot be counted or determined by numbers. We only use the definite article with the uncountable noun, for example, Rice.
Articles
1- Definite Article (The): this article is used with both countable and uncountable nouns.
2- Indefinite Article (A/An): this article is used only with countable and singular nouns.
The
1- We use it with common nouns such as rivers, seas, oceans, deserts, and planets, for example, The moon - The Nile - The Sahara Desert.
2- We use it with known things to speakers, for example, Did you see the match? (both the speaker and the listener know exactly what match)
3- We can use it with singular and plural nouns, for example, The cat - The cats.
A/An
1- We use it when we don’t specify what we are talking about, for example, I saw a car.
2- We use (A) with words that start with consonant sounds, and we use (An) with words that begin with vowel sounds, for example, A girl - An apple.
3- We don’t use it with plural nouns, for example, A boy.
4- We don’t use it with uncountable nouns, for example, I drink tea.
No article
1- We don’t use articles with countries, cities, mountains, or lakes, for example, London - Mount Everest, unless the country is a group of states and counties like The United States.
2- We don’t use articles with proper names, sports, languages, and subjects, for example, Football - English - Literature.
3- We don’t use articles with plural and uncountable nouns when talking in general, for example, I read novels - She eats bread every morning.
Examples:
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Do you want to watch a movie? |
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I like the notebook over there. |
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She ate eggs for breakfast. |
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Can you give me an orange? |
A/An with uncountable nouns
We can only use the indefinite article with uncountable nouns when we put a countable noun before the uncountable to determine or specify, for example, I bought three bottles of water.
Using the definite or indefinite article depends on the noun that follows it. So, it is important to know if the noun is singular or plural, countable or uncountable. If you have any questions or suggestions, you can share them in the comments section below.
Exercise
Choose the correct article.
1- My brother is .... teacher.
(a - an - the - x)
2- I have .... apple.
(a - an - the - x)
3- She is cooking .... rice.
(a - an - the - x)
4- Do you have .... pen?
(a - an - the - x)
5- I finished reading …. book you gave me.
(a - an - the - x)
Answers
1- a
2- an
3- x
4- a
5- the