Definite and Indefinite Articles in English! An article is a word that comes before a noun. There are two kinds of articles: definite articles and indefinite articles. In English, there is just one definite article: “the”. There are two indefinite articles: “a” and “an”.
Definite and Indefinite Articles
Using Article A in English
- “A“ is used in front of singular countable nouns ( a person, animal or thing ) which are not specific.
- We don’t use “a“ before uncountable or plural nouns.
- If a noun starts with a consonant sound (b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, etc.), “a” comes before the noun.
Examples:
- A cat
- A bird
- A child
- A doctor
- A house
- A bike
- A boy
- A table
Using Article An in English
- “An“ is used in front of singular countable nouns which are not specific.
- We don’t use “an“ before uncountable or plural nouns.
- If the noun starts with a vowel sound (a, e, i, o, u), “an” comes before the noun.
Examples:
- An apple
- An egg
- An Ant
- An orange
- An hour
- An aunt
- An old man
- An uncle
Using Article The in English
- We use the article ‘the’ in front of all nouns ( It does not matter whether the nouns are singular, plural countable or uncountable ) to describe someone or something specific or unique.
Examples:
- The earth
- The world
- The sky
- The air
- the weather
- The moon
- The President
- The CEO
- The sun
Definite and Indefinite Articles | Infographic
How to use Article a, Article an, Article the in English | Image
